Joe K/Timmer RV envy - no TV for me - thanks Timmer - cooking Ribs at the reunion

Joe K arrived Sunday for the mini family reunion in which I was so mightily blessed to be the main cook and apparently the job everyone else was glad for me to have.  But I love cooking so it was alot of fun for me.  Jimmy Brents cleaned all the BBQ grills up since they hadn't been used in a long time and Aunt Ida was (that afternoon) introduced to the love Lee Douglass has of Tennessee VOLs football - hard to not hear the hoozahs down at Aunt Ida's...lose as they did. 

Joe K's and Timmers obvious RV envy started almost immediately.  "Hey Jed, where's Jethro?"   "They should have paid you to drive that thing all the way from South Carolina."  (Just because it had 1-800-rv4rent on the side and a picture of a Wyoming Rodeo emblazoned on the back?  C'mon!  It was an adventure).  It was a dream machine. 

"Hey, anyone seen Ellie Mae?"  Ha, Ha, Ha...so funny - NOT!  Timmer couldn't quite catch up on the whole Beverly Hillbillies thing since he spends most of his time 'farming' a faux farm on Facebook.  Then to top it off Timmer blows my whole PA vacation by not having a way for me to tie into their TV in the house.  Thanks for hooking me up Timmer...it did allow me to catch up on the first three seasons of HBOs 'Rome' series which was a great program.  We didn't catch the first couple of seasons since we were overseas but watching those DVDs helped us get what was going on.  Cleopatra was definitely a seductress.  HOT!

But it sure was good to see so many of the family show up - looked like about 45-50 in all.  The ribs went quickly since I decided to use a real BBQ recipe and sauce I concocted while living at Fort Campbell.  By the time some of the Billings family showed up it was too late because the Swartz/Kircher Scottish/Germanic clan scarfed up all 12 racks of babybacks that Kevin bought with no guidance from me since he bought them pre-seasoned.  I forgave him because he is from PA and has little understanding of what it means to cook BBQ from a vegeterians point of view who's never tasted a piece of meat in his life (me)...the Billings and all other late comers had to settle for hot dogs and hamburgers which Chrissey was quick to get me to keep turning out. 

Joe Lott and Amy made it in time though as well as my favorite cousin (?) Karen and her smart beyond imagination daughter Amanda.  Amanda's a prodigy in waiting, she just doesn't realize it.  Who takes Chinese in college?  Wow!  Mandarin on top of it.  I thought Greek was tough (it was).  Alot of neighbors and some of Aunt Ida's relatives showed up too which was a nice addition to the party. 

I understand there was also a major party on the Thursday before we arrived down at the old Thompsons ice cream store in Newton (now a bar - not sure of the name - McNeils?).  Apparently SueAnn, Jamie, Jimmy, Lee, and Trey-man, et.al. went there for some wings and challenged the ability of the cooks in the back to keep up with the wings being devoured.  Nice move and remember Southerners like their chicken especially when it has a hot rub and is deep-fried.  I heard that Jimmie had wings bones piled high in front of him so high that it looked like the mountain  from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Fortunately, Rita kept the kitchen happy and the bar made some serious money that night.  You can see the Trey-man at left at the Easter party down South.  That kid is the bomb...Jamie and Lee did very well and I'm proud of them.

Steve was Steve.  I still can hear Uncle Rex talk about Steve the last time we were up there last time.  He said, "Steve, if snow was bulls_ _ _, you'd be a blizzard."  I always said Uncle Rex had it right.  But I think Steve may be finally getting it right too.  He has a job most of us wouldn't want to do but he does it and does it well.  Can't say that about too many people today.  We first ran in to him at the Wyoming County Fair doing his job while driving slowly through the crowd looking for his next victim.

Next - Getting insulted at Salerno's in Old Forge is just a matter of course...there really is a good pizza place in Montrose - especially since Aunt Martha paid for it...Aunt Martha became my newest bestest hero an hour later...Grant Adams is the bomb...Sunday - New York Strips - TROVATO'S MEAT MARKET CLARKS SUMMIT PA  ($69.66).  Leon makes sure the Travato kids get a boost for their college.

Here's a picture of William G. Swartz and Anna Mae Billings on a date at the Wyoming County Fair in 1930.  They started the ball rolling for the boys who started it all on the porch in PA.  Good move Grandpa.