Ribs...

... being ever the adventurer, I drove into town yesterday for the Pumpkin Festival... spent an hour or so casually strolling around the court house square and watching goings-on... grown men giggling like school girls when their pumpkin won the "scariest face" ribbon... millions of kids running rampant with caramel apples and cotton candy... doddling crumblies beaming with pride while showing off their mint-condition Ford Model-T.... it was a fine day to be loafing.. bright blue sky and sun shining.. just barely still warm enough for short sleeves...

... and I picked up three pounds of ribs on the way home... the good kind.. country-cut and boneless... grilled them up with a hot Caribbean jerk & 57 marinade.. perked up some baked beans as well... and choked them down while watching the Georgia/Vandy game... all in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday...

... one thing did stand out though... I stood in my garage with the grill going and some Neil Young on the stereo, and just looked down my driveway... two young girls were tossing a softball back and forth in a lawn across the street... their laughter rising and falling far off as one would make a catch... my neighbor in the house across from them had just taken her dog outside for a walk and was sitting in a rocker watching it play... taking it all in, I sat my evening tumbler of whiskey down and took a step forward.. the sun was slanting down through the burgundy of the dogwood leaves and the wind was whispering along with the lyrics of "Powder Finger"... I closed my eyes and tilted my head to the Sun.... feeling the last fading warmth of the day... the meat was popping and sizzling quietly.. the Wife was on the deck out back finishing up a Randian work... and I could barely make out the faint sounds of LSU grappling with Florida coming from the vacant living room...

... I was right where I wanted to be.. the good and bad of the day had been cooked down along with the ribs... and what was left was a feeling of wonder...

... I gathered up the meat, turned off the CD player and walked back inside... using the bowl of food to peck on the glass of the back door, my Wife glanced up from her book and smiled.. I began preparing the plates and she entered the house just as I was dipping out the beans... she sat down at the table and removed her wooden bookmark from the pages of the book...

... "well, babe... old Atlas has stopped shrugging... and thank God... one Ayn Rand book is enough for anyone.. I'm finally finished.."..

... "hard going, was it?"..

... "yeah.. but damn, those ribs smell good".....