Life in Cayuga

No, I’m not talking about that ridiculous conspiracy crap, Q-Anon.  In my world, “Q”is short for barbecue.   I’ve told you how I became a barbecue judge (Read the post “Egg Rolls”). I am a certified judge for the Memphis Barbecue Network and for the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. MBN is the sanctioning body for local contests during the year.  I took my training class in August, 2007, and got my certification in November of that year, so I’ve been doing this for 16+ years   If you’ve watched any of the barbecue shows on television, most of what you’ve seen is KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) rules or contests.  Our group differs from KCBS in that we are pork only.  Ribs, pulled pork, and whole hog. KCBS is pork, ribs, chicken, and brisket. The judging rules are a little different but I won’t go into that.   We used to do onsite judging where the judges go out to the teams’ booths and judge them there.  The teams wou...

 I got a haircut today.  I love getting a haircut.  I didn’t always feel that way.  Mr. Archie Sims was the barber in town for many years.  He would tell anyone who would listen that I was the hardest and worst first haircut he ever gave!  Mama said I screamed, cried, thrashed, and kept trying to run away the whole time! I have changed my attitude toward haircuts since then! For many years only women cut my hair.  I don’t know why it worked out that way but it did.  Several years ago, a nice girl moved to Utica with her new husband and opened a hair shop in town.  I started going to her and she gave me the best haircuts I’ve ever had.  I just loved her.  Everyone in town loved her.  Then one day she killed herself.  Nobody could figure out why, but the whole town was devastated.  So I had to find a new barber.  I tried the barber school at the local community college.  It had one attractive feature, 50¢ hair...

 I’m at the age where I spend a lot of time in doctor’s waiting rooms.  I took my parents for years and now I’m taking me.  I’ve learned that doctors’ waiting rooms can be great entertainment!   Like today at the cardiologist.  There was a couple there in their 70s.  The man apparently had several tests scheduled and he told his wife, “I don’t give a damn what that doctor says, when I get home, I’m pouring myself a big stiff drink!  After today I’ve earned it!”  Can’t argue with that logic!   I took my father for a scan and I waited for about an hour for him to finish.  Everyone in the room was playing on a phone or a tablet, me included. Everyone, that is, except for one elderly man with a flip phone, on speaker.  He was yelling, his wife was yelling, and we all had a front row seat!  Everyone looked up when he yelled at her, “I can’t talk now, I’m at the doctor having that “THING” done!”   We all wondered what “thing” he...

 In my post about the Tractor Shed, I mentioned my grandfather, PopDaddy, going up the hill from the store to the house for his nap.  Every day, at about 1pm, he went home for a nap. He stayed about an hour and that hour was sacred!  We grandchildren learned at an early age not to disturb PopDaddy at nap time or there would be dire consequences! Unless someone had died or the store was on fire, you didn’t bother him during his nap!   As a child, I thought it was strange that a grown man took a nap every day. I fought naps like a tiger!  I did not want to go to sleep in the middle of the day!  It just didn’t make sense. I had things to do and a nap interfered with them!   As a younger adult, I still thought it strange.  You took an hour out of a productive day just to get a nap. I remember in the 1980’s and 1990’s the “Power Nap” fad.  I never went in for it because I usually had too much to do.   But, as an older adult, around the same a...

 This came up in my Facebook memories today.  It took place a few years ago but it still touches me every time I think about it.  “Sometimes it’s little things that give you the biggest blessing. Today I was eating lunch at CiCi’s pizza.  There was a young man with special needs cleaning and busing tables.  He stopped by my table and took my salad plate and before he turned to leave, he looked at me and said “You look very nice today.”   I was kind of taken aback, but I thanked him, and I realized that he was giving me a sincere, heartfelt compliment.  After that I watched him as he worked around the room, and at every table, he had something nice to say to everyone there.   The bishop of my church is always telling us to look for what he calls “glory sightings”, examples of God working through people.  This young man was a real glory sighting.  He had the light and love of Jesus in him and he was giving it to all of us.  Simple thi...

 I don’t do Christmas lights.  In fact, I don’t do any Christmas decorations at all.  I don’t even have a tree.  I have a fake ficus with white lights strung in it that my ex wife left when she moved out.  I plug it in once a year and take a picture of it and send to people who can’t understand why I don’t have a tree. I love to look at other people’s lights, but I don’t want to put any up   There are several reasons for this.  First, if you put that stuff up, you have to take it down.   Second, my ex wife went overboard decorating for Christmas.  She had literally hundreds of Santas all over the house.  Every kind of Christmas do-dad she could find.  And a huge tree with thousands of lights and so many ornaments it was groaning. The house was about to explode with all that crap.  I couldn’t find anything because every surface was covered with some decoration or another.  In the property settlement, she wanted all the...

 I watched the funeral service for former First Lady Rosalyn Carter yesterday. It was a beautiful service and a wonderful tribute to a strong and gracious lady.  But to me, the saddest part was seeing how frail her husband, former President Jimmy Carter is.  Jimmy Carter shaped my political beliefs that have lasted to this day.  In 1976, I was a junior at Mississippi State. One day as I was walking through the Student Union to find some lunch, I saw a crowd gathered in the lobby.  Some guy was speaking so I went over to see who it was.  One of the security detail was a Mississippi State Trooper I recognized. I went I over and asked him who this guy was.  “Some guy from Georgia running for president.  Name is Carter. I’ve never heard of him.”  Since I was finished with classes for the day, I stayed around and listened to what he had to say. He was talking about things that hit home with me. The struggle of farm families.  Fairness and equ...