The Barbecue

The Barbecue

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”

Mark Twain

Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack lived in La Cañada, near Pasadena. Aunt Dolores and Uncle John lived right behind them, one street over. When we were kids, we would “hop the fence” between their yards. Uncle Jack liked to barbecue; one summer evening, he was grilling hamburgers for everyone. The whole family was enjoying themselves, including my grandmother, Nonie. The food and fixings were laid out, macaroni and potato salad, baked beans, all the good stuff.

Uncle Jack called everyone over when the burgers were ready. We went to the table and helped ourselves to salads and sides and put our burgers together. Once everyone was seated, Nonie, enjoying her dinner, said, “Nothin’ hits the spot like a hamburger!” She even complimented Uncle Jack on his cooking.

A few moments later, Uncle Jack, who was still at the grill, noticed that there was one burger left. That seemed odd, so he asked if everyone had been served. That’s when Nonie noticed that, while helping herself to the bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, she’d left out one thing…the burger!

Everyone got a big kick out of that, including Nonie, who had a great sense of humor. And for years afterward, whenever we would have a family barbecue, someone would always call out, “Nothin’ hits the spot like a hamburger!”