Whew! My Head is Spinning!

People can get kinda confused when I talk about Bar-B-Q bread. I think it must be a Southern thing. The bread is really dense, semisweet, and yeasty. You don't slice it with a knife, but pull the individual slices off by hand.

The Game is Afoot!

I made it to the cookout which took a miracle. I was actually there at 10am to help my father cook the Bar-B-Q chickens. It took them an hour and a half to smoke on two grills. Dad grilled a dozen half chickens. Yes, we don't do anything half-assed around here as my father would say.

"Things are about to start hopping around here," my father said in a foreboding manner to me as he looked at his wrist watch.

Charlie and Janice soon arrived then things really started to pick up. I nervously shook everyone's hands and welcomed them inside.

"Hello, Andrew!" Charlie exclaimed as I gave Janice a hug smelling of smoked chicken.

Then came my brother and family soon followed by my sister and her family. The house got busy quick! Grandkids were everywhere! At one point, my heart got to pounding in my chest and I had to go sit out on the quiet front porch with my iPad. It was my much needed moment of solace for this introvert. Dad calls me "reserved" when I have those types of moments.

Dad and I then slathered the chickens with Bar-B-Q sauce one last time and then took them off the grill. We ate at noon. We each had a half chicken, two slices of buttery Bar-B-Q bread, a baked potato, and Janice had brought the salad which was delicious as well -- full of salad fixins. She had made a homemade blue cheese dressing which I about died for. It's truly my favorite dressing and the salad was almost my favorite part of the whole meal not to disparage my father's grilled chickens.

About four hours into being there, I told my father I had to sneak out to the car and head home to Maggie, solitude, and quiet. They were about to cut the cake and eat some ice cream. I had sat down in the den and tried to calm down -- my heart just pounding in my chest. It didn't work and I didn't want to ask for any medications.

"You did good, son!" he exclaimed to me. "I would have never thought you would have made it this far."

Well, as soon as I had gotten inside my house, Charlie came pulling up front in his Caprica. This is so a Charlie like thing to do.

"You forgot your cake and ice cream!" he said as I opened my front door. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you so much Charlie!" I told him with the world's biggest smile.

Dad's chocolate cake was primo and so was the homemade vanilla ice cream.

I'll Trade You a Sausage Biscuit for a Hug...

The routines must go on and Charlie was here at 8am this morning with Maggie's and my breakfast of three bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. I learned today that Horsefly also has to have a sausage biscuit before going to bed for the day. Charlie has to tear it into tiny little pieces to make sure Horsefly doesn't choke.