What a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, it is above freezing and it’s Friday. Actually it’s supposed to be in the low 60’s today. I think Spring has sprung!
I like certain sports. I know that’s not a feminine thing to have an interest in, but I do enjoy certain sports. I hate football though. Nasty pointless game. My favorite is Hockey (Go Flames!) I also love baseball and basketball. I don’t think you are allowed in the state of Indiana unless you love basketball. This is truly a basketball state. Life revolves around basketball in Indiana. Every year in March a fever hits called March Madness. It’s basically the top college teams playing basketball against each other to see who is the tops in the country. There are many betting pools on March Madness. This year I decided to join in on the betting pool at G-man’s company. It is $10 and you basically pick who you think will beat who and which team will come out as the ultimate victor. G-man told me yesterday that he had turned mine in. That’s odd, I didn’t get to pick anyone yet. He told me he did it for me. I am pissed. How can it be MY bet if it is HIS picks? Sure, I would have liked his input, but I wanted to pick my teams. He gave me a copy of the sheet of picks he did for me and I wouldn’t have chosen most of them. He has Illinois winning the final game. I don’t think Illinois is going to win the final game. If you look back in history the favored team NEVER wins the bounty in the end. Damn men.
Speaking of our friend Larry, he is still “clean” and off of the Oxycontin. We are so proud of him and really hope he keeps up the good work. I guess it’s been close to a month now. That is remarkable! Larry used to live in San Francisco. So when he found out I was going to be near San Francisco next week he asked me to bring him back something. Are you ready for this? You sure you are ready to hear his request? What does Larry want me to carry back on the plane? A huge Salami. He wants me to lug a salami through the Sacramento airport and the Los Angeles airport. He has even given me the money to purchase this monstrous salami for him. Uh, they sell salami in Indiana. It’s not the same though, he wants this one certain brand of salami. He tried to get me to drive up to San Francisco the day that I leave California and bring him back a loaf of sour dough bread from a certain bakery. He claims it is the best sour dough bread in the world. It very well may be. However, I don’t think I want to be the woman people sit next to on the plane and complain about. “Damn, that woman smells like salami and sour dough bread”. “What a pig, did you see the big-ass salami she brought on board to snack on?” Nope, I don’t want to be that woman. Excuse me, is that a salami in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
And since we are talking about food, we are going to my favorite restaurant tonight, Mississippi Belle Soul Food. G-man says we go there every other week and he would like to see us go somewhere other than Chinese or Soul Food. I can’t help it, that’s my comfort food and I need some comfort now. What could be more comforting that fried catfish, chicken fried in an iron skillet, fried sweet corn with flecks of red pepper in it, collard green with chunks of smoked pork in them, hot water cornbread cakes (hoecakes) fried in lard which makes them crunchy on the outside and so tender and moist on the inside. And the sweet tea, mere words cannot describe that.
It’s not just the food. The people that work there are the most genuine people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. We are greeted on a first name basis now. They will ask when my mother in law and sister in law will be coming down again to visit and coming in to eat. They ask where the kids are why we didn’t bring them tonight. They don’t ask because they want a tip. They ask because they are genuinely kind and thoughtful people. You don’t get that at Applebee’s or any of these other chain restaurants. We have been going to the Mississippi Belle now for about 8 years. In fact when we first started going they were under a different name – Loren’s Southern Soul Food. The menu was written on a chalkboard that was passed from table to table. Just one hand held chalkboard for the entire place. They still have the original owner and the food has not changed in the 8 years we have been going there. And our two favorite gals have been bringing the food out to us for 8 years. Soul Food is constant, stable and comforting. This place is like going to your grandmothers place for Sunday dinner. It doesn’t get any better than that. Damn, I’m hungry now. Pass the cornbread!
