Tag: random

  • The Bottle Brigade

    The Bottle Brigade

    There’s an unwritten law about backyard grilling that no one ever explains, but everyone somehow understands: the beer bottles will eventually line up. It starts innocently enough. A man steps outside with purpose. He’s carrying tongs like a surgeon carries instruments. The grill lid opens with ceremony. Charcoal crackles. Flames rise. Somewhere in the distance,…

  • I Think My Fence Has a Drinking Problem

    I Think My Fence Has a Drinking Problem

    I was outside grilling, enjoying a cold one, just watching the smoke drift up and pretending I knew exactly what I was doing. I take a sip, and out of the corner of my eye I catch this little glint—light bouncing off something over by the fence. At first I think it’s just a loose…