FUN BBQ FEST FACT: In 1968, the Yippie Party nominated a pig named Pigasus for president of the United States.
Y’know, if Mayor Herenton wants to do something to improve his popularity, I have a suggestion for him: Declare the Friday of BBQ Fest a citywide holiday. Encourage local businesses to give their employees the day off, so the employees can go down to the river and enjoy an event that is uniquely Memphis. I bet he could pick up a good 20,000 votes or more in one fell swoop.
So last night people were asking me, “Paul, you’re actually dressed pretty nicely… I mean, you have on khaki shorts rather than jean shorts… what’s the deal?” Very simple… the khaki shorts are ones I ordered from Lands’ End that have a hidden expandable waistband. Expandable waistband = good thing to have for BBQ Fest. Lands’ End could probably set up a booth selling them and make quite a bit of money, now that I think about it.
I want to thank one team in particular that has been incredibly generous so far this weekend: GenuSwine Cookers, LLC, from Hornbeak, TN. Check out their website – they sell sauces, seasonings, rotisserie grills, lump charcoal, and grill accessories, and are competing this year in the whole hog category. I enjoyed their fine BBQ and beer last night and will be back today for a second helping. Also check out their sponsor, Colt Industries, who sell DuPont Corian, Zodiaq, and Bath surfaces, among other products.
Spent a good bit of time hanging out with my friend Chad and his uncle Paul last night. Uncle Paul is from Denver, and he told me, “You need to come check out the casinos in Denver… they have one where practically all the dealers are Romanian girls, and most of them are single.” Sounds like I need to book a cheap flight to Denver. He told me the name of the casino, but what I really want to know is, what time is shift change, and where’s the nearby bar where the Romanians go for an after-work drink?
On the agenda for tonight… in addition to a repeat visit to GenuSwine, I have a neighbor whose BBQ team’s booth has a stripper pole in it, and that sounds worth a visit. I also have an accountant friend with a triple-decker booth, and then there’s my fellow Sleep Out’s drunks who have several teams. After the fest I’ll probably end up in a late-night bar, maybe the Tap Room or the Black Diamond or Earnestine & Hazel’s.
That’s it for now… there WILL be a BBQ Fest photo album… seriously. I know I’ve promised photo albums in the past and not delivered, but this time it will happen. Also, don’t forget that we’ll be kicking off Tube Top Month in this blog in a mere 13 days – I told several people about that last night, and they all said, “That’s a good theme!” Not surprisingly, all of the people who said that were guys. Anyway, off to cubicle world, see you on the river tonight.