Part I, Thursday
Mother Nature threw mid-Michigan another meteorological curveball (high and hanging) in the form of 50˚ temps and several hours of steady rain on Thursday. Followed by 20˚ temps and high winds overnight, which proceeded early morning snow showers on Friday.
Due to said rain and melting snow, I avoided a woodsy lumber on Thursday, and spent the day doing what I do, along with writing a long-winded post that will be published in the near future. Maybe, I don’t know.
Part II, Friday
Lola (the Dog) woke me at 5 AM this morning with a heavy thud as she leaped off the bed, and sniffled and snuffled her way down the steps in search of food. I would not be following her. Yet.
Eventually, I dragged my ass out of bed and got her outside to do her business. Light snow was blowing, and what lawn I could see by the light of the porch light was a mix of half-melted frozen snow, mud, puddled water, and dog shit.
As I slid the door shut, I already knew that a lumber was not going to happen. If for no other reason than I felt little desire to layer up, drive in the dark on snowy roads, and hike on ice. There will be many weeks of that ahead for me; no use getting burned out on it now.
So with Lola fed, I went back to bed for another hour.
Part III, Remembering
I had kind of looked forward to a lumber today and some peaceful time in the woods, for today is the one year anniversery of my father’s passing.
I’m not one to cry in my beer about lost loved ones and friends on anniversaries of their passing, but I do like to spend some time thinking about them in a positive way, and find that time in the woods is the perfect setting for contemplating. But it’s not to be today.
However, I did crack myself up this morning as I made breakfast, when I thought what it would be like if December 19th were a holiday in which people celebrated my dad with a family gathering, similar to Thanksgiving, but it would include all the foods my father seemed to enjoy. Some of these are inside jokes that only me and like five other people will get, but that’s not stopping me.
This is my unique way of connecting with some memories of him, and if my dad were still around, I don’t know if he would even get this bit, but I know it would crack the rest of my family up, and he would laugh along, even though he didn’t know what the hell they were laughing at.
The R.A.M Memorial Feast Menu
First Course
Each dinner guest recounts a tale about wanting to stop for a Big Mac at McDonald’s, but in the end chooses not to. Nothing tastes as good as the burger you tell people you thought about eating but didn’t.
Second Course
Beef stew. More precisely, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, unevenly heated in the microwave, eaten too soon, and immediately spit out while yelling, “BLEH!! GODDAMNIT!!!” This can be done in unison, or guest by guest.
Third Course
Each dinner guest is asked by the host what they are hungry for next, spaghetti and meatballs, some reheated canned baked beans in the fridge, or tuna salad made 10 days ago and surely spoiled. After each vote is cast, the host then ignores the votes, and orders a pizza from JJ’s Pizza in downtown Scottdale, to which the eldest sibling present is required to pickup rather than have it delivered. Saves time, saves tip.
Fourth Course
Baked frozen fish. Probably Blue Haddock, but the type isn’t all that important, as long as while eating at least one guest talks about stopping at an Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips circa 1973, just outside of State College, Pennsylvania, as they accompanied an uncle picking up his kid at college.
The fish could be served with the aforementioned canned baked beans (spicy ones with real-ish bacon) or egg noodles, AKA Kluski Noodles with Walmart brand butter served from a 96-ounce container bought at least 2 years prior.
Fifth Course, Dessert
A giant tub of freezer-burnt chocolate ice cream is eaten directly from the container with a large soup spoon whilst the guests all stand at the kitchen counter. Bonus serving for those with sagging jeans, or a “dump sack” as we called it.
Alternative dessert choices include eating copious amounts of peanut M&Ms from an industrial-sized bag or stale Enterman’s donuts stored near a bag of rotting onions, next to a Remington electric razor by the stove.
Drink Choices
Diet Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola (no ice)
Tap Water (no ice)
Caffeine-Free Iced Tea (no ice, despite the name)
Maxwell House Coffee (served 2 hours after making, black or with slightly sour 2% milk)
I like to think my dad would get a kick out of this; I know I did. And it has helped me avoid some PTSD from last year, that started with his passing on the 19th of December, Jake (the Dog), 14 hours later, and my mother-in-law, a few months later.
Sorry, no real photos today, all I had were some found texture/type phone pics I took the other day while spraying a month’s worth of salt, dirt, and mud off of Escape II (Electric Boogaloo). Nothing says you live in Michigan like washing your car as it rains.
Later.