Tag Archives: Rick

Domicile

Le Grille on the Fourth of July

Leave a comment

How about a story about a grill for the Fourth of July?

About a month ago grilling season began in earnest (we had a rainy spring around here) and we discovered that our grill had finally succumbed to rust. Of the two burners, only one would stay lit and the flames were iffy at best, spilling out of the rusty burner in such a haphazard fashion they were barely safe for hot dogs. Which is a sad state of affairs for grilling season. Trying to replace the burner went nowhere. The grill was done. Which is a sad end to a good grill.

The grill was a wedding present from my brother. But we lived in Minnesota, he lived in Michigan and the wedding was in Wisconsin. The car he drove to the wedding was too small to transport the grill, so it stayed in Michigan until the next time we visited. No big deal. But 11 months later when we returned to Michigan we no longer had the truck I was driving when we got married. We were now driving a little four-door sedan with a non-grill compatible trunk. So the grill came out of the box in order to fit in the trunk. This was back before grills came ready for “quick assembly.” We had a thousand grill parts wedged between our luggage. Remarkably we managed to get all the parts in the car and were finally able to take our wedding present home.

Home to our apartment that lacked a balcony and a patio. The grill parts went into the closet.

Two and a half years later we bought a house and were hosting a painting party with promised grill food for anyone willing to help. I was still at work, so one of the volunteers, our friend Lance, was assigned the job of assembling the grill parts. Cries of “‘Le grille’?! What the hell is that?!” could be heard all day long.

And so three and a half years after our wedding the wedding present was finally put to good use. Grilling season had begun.

Last week we realized we’d lost enough of grilling season with nothing to show for it but poorly cooked hot dogs. So last night we picked up a new grill and Abby assembled it today (yes, I do enjoy sub-contracting my grill assembly work). We christened the new grill on the Fourth of July with grilled chicken for pizza that neither of our kids would eat. We convinced Lexi to try a piece of grilled chicken and she actually spit it out and declared it gross. Except for the hot dogs, grilling season is lost on her.

So we have a new grill. It doesn’t have as cool of a story as the old grill, but it provided flame-cooked meat on the Fourth of July. What more can you ask for?

Health, Style & Fashion

I Salute You, Mustache Men

1 Comment

Today is the last day of November, which means it’s the end of the Movember charity drive, an event where men agreed to go clean-shaven and then grow mustaches for the month of November in order to raise money for men’s health. Movember specifically fights prostate and testicular cancer and donations go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Since its inception in 2003, Movember has raised more than $47 million for men’s health. That’s a lot of money for mustaches.

I first heard about this event when I saw my old friend Kyle and my brother Rick participating this year. I really wanted to join them, but my wife said I wouldn’t get kissed for a month if I grew a mustache. That’s a long time to go without getting kissed by your wife, so instead of participating I’ll have to make do with supporting them. Cancer is one of those things that inevitably impacts everyone. My grandpa is a prostate cancer survivor—and it’s through efforts like these that hopefully there can be more survivors.

Despite my wife’s distaste for the mustache fashion statement, I have to say that I love these kinds of charity events. As a culture I think we place entirely too much importance on personal appearance, and anything we can do to thumb our nose at the status quo while supporting a charity is just awesome. (This coming from the guy whose only haircut in the past two years has been shaving his head for a cause.) Maybe next year I’ll forsake getting kissed for a good cause (but don’t bet on it).

So even though I couldn’t join my mustachioed brethren, I salute your Movember efforts and the mighty hair spreading across your upper lip. Every mustache makes a difference. You can support Kyle or Rick by making a donation on their respective pages.

And what’s a post about mustaches without an homage to them in song from none other than the Tick? We could all use a little mustache feelin’: