turning pro

  Yesterday afternoon as the temperature neared sixty degrees a sudden hankering came over me. Now years ago, back in the day, it might have been spring fever. There may have been a certain stirring, a certain mood in the air, and thoughts turned to love. But yesterday that wasn't the case, no yesterday as that thermometer rose, well the digital display anyway, my thoughts turned to grilling. All at once, just like that, I wanted a grilled hot dog, with toasted buns and all the fixins'. And by golly I went directly to the store to get just that. 

 Out on the porch sitting in the corner waiting for the occasion is my grill. I bought that grill last year when a bit of nostalgia hit me. No more gas grill for me, I'm going back to charcoal. It is only the wife and I most times, and certainly no hurry. I have time to prepare the grill, wait on the coals to be right and time to clean up. Yeah it does cost a bit more and does require a little more effort but the results are worth it all. So I decided on Mr. Flame, son of Hibachi. If you are old enough you will remember that particular grill. If you are not familiar with it, it is basically an Habachi grill that folds in the middle. It isn't very large, enough grill space for four hotdogs or hamburger patties at one time, a little more if you squeeze them in. It's big selling point is ease of lighting and ease of cleaning up. When folded up it can be carried to the beach or wherever quite easily. I went out on the porch, unfolded Mr. Flame and fired him up for the first time in the 2021 season. I wasn't disappointed in the results. I did have that summer meal I had craved. Hot dogs, macaroni salad, and baked beans. Eating like a king! Later on I even had an ice cream cone, with nuts. Life is certainly good.

 It is my feeling that all too often we complicate things. That seems to be the trend in recent years anyway. Everything has to be taken to the professional level. Even our leisure activities are becoming that way, professional grade! All that may have started with the first really expensive pair of sneakers. Today the kids may think of Jordans or whatever but for me, a pair of Chucks was a real extravagance. If it weren't for those shoes who would remember Chuck Taylor today? I'm betting there are kids today wearing Chucks that have no idea who he was. But to be a better basketball player better shoes were required weren't they? Yes, and Chuck Taylor filled that need to go, pro. My first pair of "expensive" sneakers, that's what we called them before they were athletic shoes, was a pair of Pro Keds. They had gold colored split suede leather uppers and super sticky soles. Cost? About 35 dollars! I was working at the IGA at that time, after school and weekends, made almost sixty a week. But I'm getting off track a bit, I was talking about making everything professional. Fact was, my basketball playing didn't improve one bit after buying those shoes, the game wasn't more enjoyable and I had less spending money. 

 The luxury yesterday wasn't the grill, the charcoal, or the food. The luxury yesterday was paper plates. Yes, paper plates. Buying something with the express intent of throwing it away. Yup, you buy it knowing full well you will use it once and toss it. Why; for convenience. That's right money to burn. That is what a neighbor of mine when I was growing up would have had to say about that. Why you could just wash the dishes you know? I laughed at her frugality, we all did, but it remains a fond memory of her nonetheless. We called her Aunt Francis and she did live a simple life and strangely as I look back I have to say, she was a professional at living. She entertained herself, fed herself, maintained her home and genuinely enjoyed living. That is professional level in my book. She reveled in the simplest things. She did have money to do pretty much whatever she wanted to do, to live comfortably. That is where the professional part came in, understanding just what was needed. She wasn't easily swayed in her choices. She felt no need to upgrade, to go pro, with anything. She did buy a mower that started by winding up a spring when pulling the string became difficult. She didn't buy an electric start riding mower however, a push mower worked just fine. No need to mow the whole yard in one day, I'm not getting paid to do it, is what she would say. 

 I did post a couple pictures on Facebook. That is the best use I have found for that site, sharing your life with others. It is a social media platform after all, just some have turned it into a professional opinion machine. But then again that should come as no surprise, there are always those folks at the party. They are the ones that always start a fight sooner or later. But I did enjoy reading the comments about my grilling being old school and how basic it all was. I'm sure it brought back memories for many of the "old" days with their parents and friends when grilling out was a thing. The backyard barbecue was our introduction to all that. Good days with family and the neighbors. Kingsford charcoal was the top of the line, used by professionals! That's what I though anyway as Dad would complain about the cost of charcoal. He would say, we could have used wood if we had just started earlier and you could get good oak! Of course he's say, when I was a kid we didn't cook and eat outside, that was for poor people. Well, then we all turned pro. 

 Isn't it strange? I've even heard the real professionals say it, going pro takes the fun out of it! I'd say that has been my experience as well. When you begin to worry about the details, about getting everything just right, making sure it is the best it can be, it ruins the fun. I think there is a life lesson to be learned in all of that. Maybe Aunt Francis knew that lesson, but she never told me if she did. She did appear to have mastered being content. I wouldn't go as far as to say, happy, I can't really speak to that. But she was certainly a pro at "making do" as she put it. No Martha Stewart but a great cook, an excellent seamstress, and creative. I'd say she was the Martha Stewart for the average housewife. Pro level? Yes, I'd say so. Well the real pros do make it look easy don't they? Like I say, there has to be a life lesson in there somewhere.