Sunday, September 4, 2022

Three Beautiful Things 09-03-2022: Ed and I Deliver GarrenTeed BBQ, Supporting a Beleaguered Bartender, 7 & 7s and Yakkin' at The Lounge

1. Thursday morning, Ed swung by the house. He'd been wondering what he could possibly give someone, like me, who he said already had everything in life (ha ha). He was hiding something behind his back and soon he revealed that he'd brought me a baseball cap embossed with a GarrenTeed BBQ logo.

This cap has huge significance. 

It means that now when Ed and I make volunteer deliveries out of town to help Garren with his catering business, we can round out our catering outfits with this cap.

So, today, Ed picked me up at 11:00 with a hot box, huckleberry lemonade, and BBQ sauces in the back seat of his Camry and both of us, decked out with our caps on, delivered food to a customer in a gated community near the waters of Hayden Lake.

We had delivered to this family about month ago. Today, Ed needed my services his lovely assistant, but not as his front seat navigator. 

The delivery went smoothly, the customers were happy, and Ed and I completed our fourth delivery as volunteer caterers for GarrenTeed BBQ. 

Want to check out Garren Taylor's food truck and catering business at the GarrenTeed BBQ website? It's here

2. I enjoy heading out to a casino once a month and, unlike my younger days, I no longer enjoy going alone. After Ed and I finished making the delivery for GarrenTeed BBQ, we bolted down to Worley and played around for a while at the CdA Casino and enjoyed an afternoon lunch at the Red Tail Bar and Grill. I had fun bouncing around from one game to another. I didn't have any luck today, but so it goes. It was fun yakkin' with Ed on the way down and back and we enjoyed kidding around with our beleaguered bartender at the Red Tail who had little staff support and was besieged with orders from the bar and the dining area. 

I think she enjoyed and appreciated that we had no problem with how slow her service had to be nor with our food coming out slow. We knew what the deal was and every time she came by where we were seated she joined in our wise cracking, we all had some laughs, and it seemed to lighten up her stressful shift a bit. She shook my hand and expressed gratitude for our patience, good humor, and easy going manner when she brought me our tab when it was time to go. 

I was stoked that the Red Tail had what might be the USA's best Pale Ale on tap, the old and reliable, perfectly balanced, and tasty Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This marked the second day in a row that I could order an "old school" craft beer and, as with last night's Mirror Pond Ale, I savored this most satisfying pint of beer.

3. Back home, I decided I wanted to go uptown and visit with Cas at The Lounge. I arrived and a guy I'd never met, Buck, was at the bar. Bob was too. The place was quiet. I got my wish. Bob was free to yak for a while. 

So, I ordered a longtime favorite cocktail, one I hadn't drunk for a while, a 7 and 7, and Cas and I yakked away, Buck took off to go see how things were going at the Dirty Dog Saloon, and I was the only customer for a while.

Soon, though, The Lounge's door swung open and a whole bunch of Treckers arrived, including Diane. Diane was ecstatic that her daughter, Kelly, was in town along with her sister Donna and other friends and Kelly's husband. 

Diane sat with me for a while and we yakked away, giving special attention to how happy Diane is that she moved to Kellogg and we reminisced about how successful our 50 year reunion was. I had ordered some to go food from Wah Hing. It arrived. But, I didn't leave right away. Diane and I continued our most positive conversation until I decided I'd better take the food home and Diane decided to rejoin her family.

Debbie and I dove into our fried rice when I got home, topping off a fun day for me of catering, playing, laughing, seeing friends, dining, and enjoying old favorite adult beverages. 

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