Barbecue and Gospel-Singin'

Yes, ma'am, I had me a real Tennessee kind of weekend last weekend. It made me miss Nashville so bad I can hardly stand it. Wonder if I could talk J into a few days down at the Opryland Hotel or Lowe's Vanderbilt at Christmas-time. We have Rosemary & Brent's wedding on New Year's Eve, but maybe for just a few days after the boys go with their father, we could hit Music City.

Anyway, about the weekend. Friday night, we took the kids out for barbecue at Rudy's. They'd not yet been there and, for some reason, Pie ordered the Brunswick stew. I guess he thought it'd be like his mama's beef stew, but he hated it & refused to order anything else. The rest of us loved our food. I had a beef brisket sandwich while Boot & J ordered a half rack of ribs each. Their sweet tea tastes like the real thing, not a Yankee interpretation of it. The barbecue is the real thing, too, and served without pretension, on wax paper & paper plates.

Saturday, we slept in a smidge, then took the kids to Foy's. We had lunch at the grill, then rounded out the Halloween costumes (at least for the kids...J still hasn't decided what she's going to be). Pie found a scary tiki mask & decided that my suggestion that they both be tiki guys was a good one. He got a spear at the kids' costume shop & a green lei at the main store. They both got lei wristlets, green for Pie & pink for Boot. My macho man choosing pink...what is the world coming to? J thinks she'll be either Zorro or a werewolf. I tried to talk her into coming as a black cat, my familiar, but she wants to be something more exciting than a cat. As if there is such a thing. Rob Brezsny says I should be a big cat for Halloween. I do like a tiger. As for my Foy's indulgence, I splurged on some of those wax bottles. I love those things. Speaking of kid candy, I wonder if Jess got her package. I hope so.

After we left Foy's, we stopped at Hornback's to get our pumpkins. I learned that this is their last year, which makes me sad. I've been getting my pumpkins there since I moved back from Tennessee. I guess I'll hit Autumn Creek next year. They do always have cute decorations. J & I independently choose very similar, smallish, round pumpkins, while Boot got a middle of the road one & Pie got the biggest one he could find, true to form. I also picked up some very small, greenish ones to write B-O-O on. They're on the hall table awaiting carving. If the rinds are too hard, I'll just leave them plain. They're very pretty as is. I nedd to get some good tools like Exacto knives & chisels.

Saturday evening, we went to church at the UCC. J was the liturgist & did great. I miss my Presbyterian church so much, though. I love the justice focus at the UCC & I think the sermons are great, but I miss my people, my traditions, and especially Brendan. After the service, there was a pizza & hors d'oeuvres dinner. I ate an inordinate amount of crudités and Chex mix! I never make Chex mix at home, but I truly love it, apparently. After we ate, there was a concert by Kenneith Perrin. He is a tiny little black man with a great big voice and an even bigger smile. The concert was wonderful, even if interrupted by a bipolar transgendered fella who got up in the middle & started crying & telling us all his woes. I felt badly for him & liked that people were respectful & handled it very diplomatically. Of course, the kids had all kinds of questions & we had to explain what he meant when he said he was bi-polar...and that he probably had not yet found, or wasn't taking, meds that would help him behave in a more socially expected manner. We also explained that he wasn't talking crazy because he was transgendered, but because there is a chemical imbalance in his brain that causes him to have a hard time thinking clearly. I sure hope I gave them the right information. I don't know enough about bi-polar, really. It was really weird to them that someone would stand up in the middle of a concert & start talking about their woes in society. In a way, I think it's good for them to see how wounded people can be. But, I would rather the lesson had come later in their lives, frankly. I hate to be discriminatory & I feel so closed-minded & wicked, but I just wanted my kids to be able to enjoy the concert without that weirdness thrust upon them. I hope the pastor can help find this guy some help getting stabilized. They handled the whole thing with such compassion that I felt proud to be there. But, also, I was really glad I'm not a pastor yet. What a delicate thing, to help a person who is obviously hurting very badly & needs attention while still allowing the planned events to go on. Kenneith responded beautifully, too, hugging him & promising him to sing spirituals at his funeral & having us all say a prayer for him after he was re-seated.

Sunday morning, instead of going to our Presbyterian church, we had planned to go to COSI. But, Boot wanted to watch the Packers game & J didn't want to be in the car for a long time. So, I got out the rubber stamps & Pie & I played with those at the kitchen table while Boot watched his team lose to the Vikings (who I think have prettier costumes, anyway) & J cooked. She spent all afternoon in the kitchen & had a blast. She made us stuffed pork chops & creamed peas for dinner. Pie made a picture of a dragon flying over a bunch of goats & ladybugs, with the moon & stars overhead, saying, "I won't eat you, my friends!" I made some Halloween, Yule, & Christmas cards. I need to get some good Hanukkah rubber stamps.