What I Call a Bar-b-Que

Well, well, well. I think I told you all that a couple of weeks ago, because no one was paying me, I threw three grand into the stock market to try to make my mortgage this month. I had a few bucks saved and picked Ford, Pier One, Mclachy newspapers and a company called Visteon.
I spent 2056 or so. Right now I am up nearly $2500. Had to be. The math wasn't hard. Doesn't mean I won't lose it all but I guessed right.
But part of the reason for guessing at the market was because I don't have enough guests for Peru this Summer. Two trips: One with 8 people to the jungle--fine by me--but only five for the mountains, which will lose me $3,000. The second trip I had to cancel and the third trip, just 8 1/2 days for $1200, is far from full. So I'm dying here, financially, and I no longer live in a rent controlled apartment in New York but have a mortgage, water, electric, phone, car insurance and local tax bill. Whew! That's a lot of bills even though I don't use credit cards.
And then there are things like birthdays. We've had two here in the last two weeks, and tomorrow we're having the public birthdays for both Madeleina and Sarah. Which means 5 pounds of angus beef, two pounds of hot links, 10 pounds of chicken, 2 pounds of goat sausage, 10 pounds of pork ribs and 5 pounds of hamburger. I'll cook most of it on the stove or in the oven and let it get finished on the grill, rather than kill it altogether which is what they do in Texas by cooking it for hours on the grill. And we'll have cole slaw, home made, good mac and cheese, homemade, with tomatoes, onions and garlic and 5 cheeses, the potato and egg salad, rice, grilled asparagus with corn nibs and red pepper in a nice vinagrette, spinach/mushroom and bacon salad, warm, and then a nice fresh salad and top it all off with another ice cream cake or somesuch.
We'll also have fresh beans with salt pork, some crawfish tails in brine and garlic bread, roasted peppers and fried ocra.
And if that doesn't make your mouth water, you should have had the homemade ice cream my friend E made yesterday: Strawberry cream so smooth I felt god spackling my stomach with another layer of fat while I ate it.
So if you're in the neighborhood and want to taste a Peruvian Bar-be-que, tomorrow at 4 PM is it.
Just bring a card for Madeleina, who turned 12 yesterday and you're in. We're an open house, after all, so long as you are nice people.
Happy Birthday, Macaroni!
Your completely flawed dad, who loves you fantastically.
Me,
Peter G