BBQ Fest load-in begins: There is no “I” in “team”

Today was supposed to be my favorite day of the year, BBQ team load-in day at Tom Lee Park. However, plans have changed. The scaffolding company erecting our booth needs today to put the floor in. So, tomorrow we will lay the carpet and pick up supplies from the team’s storage locker. Monday we will do the main load-in.

The only real work today is that the team needed a few people to ride out to Dexter Road and pick up our new commercial refrigerator. Of course, as soon as I found out about that opportunity, I raised my hand, only to have my request denied.

“Oh, come on,” I protested. “I never get to have any fun. Lifting a heavy refrigerator into the bed of a pickup truck sounds like an ideal way to spend my Saturday. And you know how much I love Cordova!”

“Absolutely not,” replied the team leaders. “Your contributions to the team are way too valuable for us to let you leave Downtown on Saturday. What if some urgent team business comes up Downtown, and you’re not at the Flying Saucer holding down the fort, where you can deal with it immediately?”

I see their point, I guess. But I really would have liked to get my hands on that refrigerator. And I have to admit I had a hidden agenda: Since we would be in Cordova, I was hoping we could stop by Applebee’s before or after the pickup. Their new Taste of Summer menu sounds absolutely divine!

Seriously, though, I have done valuable work for the team already. Yesterday an email went out about the revised load-in schedule. Curious if anyone new had joined at the last minute, I expanded the To: field in Gmail to see who the recipients were. I discovered that they had used an old list, and that about 10 people who I knew were on the team had not received the email. I texted those whose phone numbers I had, and notified the team leaders, who corrected the problem. At least one person told me she would have been pissed if she’d gone to the park at 7:30 this morning and there was nothing to do. This kind of valuable attention to detail that I provide is part of the reason the team can’t risk me leaving Downtown this morning.

My BBQ Fest vacation has begun, and I will not be back at work until a week from Monday. There will still be plenty of blog posts but they will be on a “here and there when I get to it” basis than a schedule. Thursday through Sunday there will be BBQ Fest recaps.

In the news, the Redbirds are back in town with a 6:05 game tonight followed by fireworks. Former Cardinal Tommy Herr will be on hand to sign autographs. I remember seeing him play with the AA Arkansas Travelers when I was a little kid. Tomorrow there will be a Mother’s Day brunch at the ballpark where you can get brunch and a club-level ticket for $42. Visit the team website for more information. This week’s homestand is absolutely loaded with giveaways and promotions.

The Daily News reports that work has begun on the Blues Hall of Fame at 421 South Main.

More South Main news from the Flyer: Marisol tributes appear on South Main

Don’t forget about the Tunes for Tupelo Relief concert tonight at the Green Beetle. 6:30 start time.

Tube top mama nearly six feet tall, she is the fox of the shopping mall.

All right, time to publish this and let my day of HARD WORK for the BBQ team begin. The phone is already ringing off the hook with team members needing me to take care of stuff Downtown, people asking for guest wristbands, people on other teams asking for advice. I have got to get out of this apartment by 11 though because I have to do some research on a product that will be handed out in our booth. The team can expect a full report tomorrow.