Thanks to favorable weather, I was able this evening to repeat one of my favorite winter-time rituals. I began this in 1986, soon after taking ownership of my first house in Yorktown Heights (the closing was conducted on the date of Hurricane Gloria). Although I am a fan of winter, I was reared in Texas (cattle are raised, people are reared, so I'm told), and therefore I remain a skeptic concerning the existence of winter.
So, I find a day when it's good and cold outside, preferably with snow on the ground. I put on gym shorts and a T-shirt, and go out and grill something for dinner.
Toinght was perfect: about 4 inches of snow on the ground (and on our deck), temperature in the high 20s, a clear, dark evening with plenty of stars. I grabbed a Moosehead beer (left over from the non-beer-drinking CS party at my house), and headed outside to boot the grill.
One nice feature of grilling in winter is that the temperature of the open beer bottle drops as the grilling proceeds. The grill puts out plenty of heat, and I am bracketed between the quiet snow below and stars above. True, I can't see the steak on the grill too well, but my intuition tells me the steak is done when my beer runs out.
I know that the Polar Bear club dons swimsuits and jumps into the Long Island sound to make a similar statement, but when they come out, what do they have to show for their efforts? Steak? I think not.
Hurricane Gloria was actually in 1985 (September 27, to be exact.)
Why do I know this? That's the day my youngest brother was born.
Posted by: Sara at January 7, 2003 2:37 PM
oops, you're right -- I must have closed in 85. How times flies! Ron
Posted by: rkc at January 7, 2003 8:19 PM