Ron the Mine Inspector?

Today was my Dad's birthday, and I always like to remember him today than the day he died..... 

One of my favorite stories he told was about going to a mine in New England. We used to go to New Hampshire every summer for a week, and my dad was a rockhound.... He would often wear a work shirt, and dickies to dig through dirt, rocks, etc. He rolled up to a mine with his working gear on, and pulled a hard-hat out of the trunk. (of course he had a hard hat!)

He walked up to the mine and asked a guy for a tour. The guy grabbed the foreman and gave my dad the five-star tour of the operation. It became evident that the foreman thought my dad was some sort of inspector and not just a curious rockhound. My dad never told him a story, but just went along with it and got a tour that no other rockhound got that summer! My dad said thanks for the tour at the end, and the foreman probably breathed a sigh of relief thinking he passed some kind of safety inspection. In the end, everyone was happy.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Fruit Pie Surprise

I was able to enjoy some great cooking on my way from Michigan to Texas this past weekend, and it reminded me of another story......   I was able to enjoy some peach cobbler courtesy of Gail's Aunt Mary.  It, along with the dry-rub ribs that had purchased especially for our visit, were AWESOME!

My father had a blueberry story of his own.  His mother, my grandmother, Reba loved baking.  One time she made a blueberry pie, and my father decided to have a piece as soon as it came out of the oven.  He cut himself a piece, and realized that the area he removed filled in with more blueberries!  He decided that must be part of his piece, so he scooped those up too!  And voila, MORE blueberries filled in afterward, and he filled up his plate and enjoyed them all.

A little while later, his brother Lynn came along and thought he would have a piece of pie.  However, when he cut his, there was little filling left and my Dad was off in another room having a good laugh.