It's been a long time for a posting and this is not how I thought I would kick off further posts, but I must tell this story.
Lunch was served and I was pawing through the refrigerator finding some tomatoes and two big fat red peppers which I decided to grill. I started the Weber, set the red fruits and vegetables on the grates and closed the lid.
I had a busy afternoon. Checked in on my bees over at Circle Drive; one hive is doing well, the other needs to be treated and needs a prayer. Went to the grocery store. Half way down the baking isle, the light turned on. I had forgotten about the grill.
Panic hit, of course. I almost left my wallet in the shopping cart which was immediately abandoned. I jumped in the car and started calling people who might be near. They were not. Racing down the highway, I anxiously looked to the northwest to see if there was a smoke column. I hit 80 mph a couple of times. As I peeled into the driveway, nauseous with anxiety, I arrived at the hot grill and turned it off. I did not burn down the house.
Twenty four hours later, I am still jittery. Today, a big rump roast is smoking on the Traeger. Every now and then, a puff of smoke sets me into waives of anxiety and then I recall it is the Traeger.
Years ago, I remember holding my phone close to my ear, trying to get close to Will, the man who had just burnt down his house in Jackson when he left his grill burning. "No one got hurt, Will," I said, "shit happens. It's just a house." Now I can feel his agony, his guilt, his shame. I got lucky. He did not. Most everything was lost in his home.
I came so close I could feel how I would feel. It was not a good feeling.
Today, I show a friend the inside of that grill. He is amused and says, "it wouldn't have burnt down your house." He is wrong, of course, and I enlighten him to the many calls I have been on which started with the bbq grill. There are a couple of things on this farm that you must not leave when you start them. The hydrant that fills the horse tank. The gas grill.
FYI, these vegetables were not wrapped with foil, this is their fully charred and cooked corpses.
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