BBQ, Families and Diamonds..

Now, I'm not Dennis Rogers but I know a thing or two about 'que. Oh yeah, a regular aficionado of finely crafted, chopped, sauced and served 'que. I cook my own and trash others with the best of them!

My wife's brother and his wife invited us over for dinner! Miracles do happen. First time we've been invited for dinner (hint, hint...I'll travel for free food!) and we had a chance to meet her parents. They are good folks and I enjoyed meeting them. It was fun, good food and lots of deserts. They served chicken, BBQ and all the fixin's for dinner. The 'que was from a local chain, which is a family favorite. My girls got through high school hitting the one close to school for lunch almost daily. The car makes an auto turn in there when we drive near one.

Now, being an aficionado of the art and soul of 'que I tend to turn my nose up at the swill from this chain. I act holier than thou about it, act as if it might ruin my highly refined sense of taste and epicurean development. I treat the place as if it was just above a body dump. But I hit that stuff today like a crack addict in a police evidence room. I was all over it and went back for seconds! I think I blew my cover but man I needed a 'que fix and did I get one! It was good. Now, it isn't King's in Kinston or Moore's in New Bern or Alan and Son in Chapel Hill or even my favorite place on a back street in Goldsboro where no two chairs match. But it was good and when a man needs a 'que fix he can't be picky about his source! And this was not anything to be picky over it was just good!

Many thanks to S&B for the invite and the fine victuals and mostly for the fine company. It was good to see B's sister and to meet her parents. Good folks even if they hail from Arkansas. You take the good with the bad and move on. Think I'm wrong? OK, bub, let me tell what the big discussion was about. B's mother's sister (B's Aunt) passed away recently and was cremated. They want to turn part of the ashes into a diamond! No, seriously. There are companies that take the ashes, reduce them to carbon, turn that into graphite and then put it under heat and pressure to make a diamond AND PEOPLE WEAR THEM!

Instead of "laying people to rest" we are now "laying them to wash our hands". Instead of wearing our feelings on our sleeves we are wearing our loved ones on our finger!

Needless to say, we had fun with this over dinner. Think I'm kidding, check out LifeGem.com . I don't make this up!

Thanks again for the food. I think my wife left her mother on the sink in the bathroom!