REMUS SAYS: Barbecue in a time of Pandemic

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic requires sacrifices, deferred gratification, watching out for and helping others in need, and following strict local and federal mandates to put an end to this viral grip on our globe. The pandemic is taking a tragic toll of human lives. Cancellations and rescheduling of contests on the competition circuit are a temporary inconvenience by comparison.
 
February’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo World’s Champion Barbeque Cookoff barely made it before the curtain came down on other major barbecue events. The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is postponed to this fall, September 30 – October 3. Most barbecue restaurants are closed or drive-thru, curbside or home delivery only. We live one day at a time, preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.
 
Every story, like every life, moves along in three stages: Beginning, Middle, End. Of course what makes our lives as humans more complex than one 3-part story is our ability to start over, to change the story of our life with a new beginning: recovery from addiction; recovery from a life-threatening disease; adapting our lifestyle to a physical or mental disability; loss of a significant other; becoming a parent or grandparent; starting a new significant relationship, or other new beginnings.
 
Now our life story has been turned upside down and divided in half: pre-pandemic and post-pandemic. There’s no going back to life before this pandemic.
 
Some KCBSers plow ahead intuitively. Some do spreadsheets. Some talk with a therapist. Some contact a trusted minister or rabbi. Some go to an astrologer. Some meet with a medium. Some get guidance from futurists. Some channel the wisdom of the ages. Some take it a day at a time, come what may. Everyone has their own approach.
 
For a mix of fun and getting a grip on your new post-pandemic life, use your time to get things done and reward yourself for moving forward.
 
Try this:
List things you can do now, later and what you must do before it’s too late (Bucket List). It’s your list. Make it as easy or difficult as you wish.
 
Next, note things that give you pleasure that can be done during social distancing. If it involves another person that you are in stay-home mode with, get their consent initials on that note. Fold each note and drop it in a Rewards Jar. Reward notes should exceed the number of To Do items. Each time you accomplish something on your To Do List, randomly pluck a note from the jar and reward yourself! Here’s a sample To Do List for inspiration:
 
Pandemic BBQ To Do List
 
  1. NOW
  • Wash your hands thoroughly & frequently.
  • Sanitize your habitat & vehicles with anti-virus wipes & sprays several times daily.
  • Exercise—daily walk &/or Dr. Zach Bush’s 4-minute workout  3 times daily
  • Sharpen your sense of humor: read joke books, watch Laurel & Hardy…
  • Pay attention to what’s around you: write down 3 details every day of what you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t paying attention
  • Minimize, Simplify, Discard, Unsubscribe…
  • Meditate for at least 5 minutes three times daily
  • Eat healthy foods
  • Donate once, weekly or monthly to Operation BBQ Relief. Every dollar counts!
  1. LATER
  • When you’re back on your feet financially, pick one cancelled bbq contest or festival that you missed. Invest $400 of that unencumbered cost in a Lifetime KCBS Membership. If you’re already a Lifetime Member, invest in a Wall of Flame plaque in your name or your team name or in memory of a bbq friend, mentor or another special someone.
  • Read one or more novels—mystery, historical, thriller, classic, new or old. Many great stories await you.
  • Read one or more non-fiction books—history, philosophy, science, social science, psychology, health & wellness, gardening, nature, fishing—so many to enlighten and inspire.
  1. BUCKET LIST
  • Write & self-publish a book of your favorite personal recipes, recollections & cooking tips in your own barbecue cookbook for relatives, friends, & neighbors.
  • Write & self-publish a novel or autobiography.
  • Create or add to a family scrapbook, family tree, or barbecue scrapbook.
  • High Priority: Plan & write down your desired end-of-life details. Before you “kick the bucket,” you’ll be glad and your loved ones will very much appreciate that you’ve covered all or most of the important details regarding what you want to happen when your life ends. By then it’s too late for you to do it. Your loved ones will appreciate not being burdened with those decisions and expenses on top of mourning the loss of your physical presence in their lives.
 
Minimum details:
  • Living Will
  • Advance directives
  • Legal notarized Last Will & Testament
  • Instructions on file with a local undertaker as to the care of your body & your final resting place. Instructions for what happens in the event of your death away from home.
  • Wording you want on your tombstone, marker or memorial, if any.
  • Draft obituary or at least a list of basic facts, memories or messages you’d like to be included.
 
Rewards
Choose foods and activities that are available, such as barbecue, candy, pies, cake, a ten minute back scratch, a 20 minute massage, a hug, a kiss, a home-delivered grocery order or restaurant meal, a favorite beverage, etc. You know what you like. Return redeemed notes to the jar; add more rewards at any time.
 
As many have remarked, “We’re all in this together.” We’ll get through this together. Take care, be safe, be kind, get some ribs after the pandemic, smoke them to perfection, ring the “Come & Get It!” bell and shout out,
 
“Ribs to ya!”
Remus Powers PhB  ;o)
 
P.S. Moira, a hospice nurse in Alex Gordon’s highly engaging novel, Setting Free the Kites, shares these words of comfort & wisdom to a grieving young man: “My mother had a saying she was very fond of at times like this. It’s an old Irish rhyme. ‘Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.’ My heart aches for all who are grieving the loss of a loved one. May Jim Tabb, Craig Layman, George Stone, and all others we have lost, rest in peace. No one can steal our memory of them.