Happy B-Day Ryan
Ryan Young is relatively new to FATC but jumped right in and volunteered on his 50th birthday to help serve dinner at the West County Ronald McDonald House. He mentioned he wanted to set a good example for his children by doing service for others on his special day and it’s one of the wisest things I’ve heard in quite a while. After introducing myself I forgot that newbies always peel potatoes for their first task and I had him take the all important job of making the 72 hot chocolate chip cookies which turned out great. One of the traditions we’ve established is that everyone must eat one cookie hot right out of the oven to make sure they have been cooked correctly and Ryan got high marks from all of us. He pitched in with some other jobs and I overheard him excitedly talking fishing throughout the evening so I’m sure many of you will see him on future trips.
Ken Welter has been a regular and he contacted me a couple of days ago to let me know he had something come up but then said he could meet me early and help some before he had to leave. Ken is one of the trained meatloaf makers in case Mike Bisaga can’t make it so he graciously came at 3:30 (everyone is supposed to show up at 4:30) and started dicing and sauteing onions and garlic to mix in the meatloaf and green beans. He pitched in when Mike arrived to get the dinner started before he had to leave and I’m sorry he couldn’t stay to enjoy the meal and fellowship. It was nice with just the two of us there at the beginning as we found we both had some earlier times in our lives in Minnesota.
Mike again was magnificent in orchestrating the prep and is so much fun to watch and interact with as he is a master in the kitchen. The rest of the crew was Don Mccain who I gave the job of gravy-maker and told him we didn’t have enough last time but didn’t remember how much we had made so not very helpful but he asked around and thankfully we had plenty for the 25 lbs. of mashed potatoes served for dinner. The meatloaf we serve is called “cowboy meatloaf” because BBQ sauce is added while baking and then poured over the top when done. Some including me like to pour gravy on top to give it added flavor. Don then helped with all the other jobs of prep and cleaning. Doug Smedley and Christopher Beahm have helped a few times now and no instructions are needed. They jumped in peeling and dicing potatoes and then never stopped helping. Each commandeered a sink and washed a ton of pots, pans, dishes,etc. as we always try to keep up so there is not as much to do when the meal is finished. I told them I was sending a car to bring them from now on.
We had a nice size group of families eating and some came back for seconds and all were very complementary. Stepping back we realize what a hardship they are going through and are thankful we can provide a hot home cooked meal. As the dining room was full we ate standing around one of the big island counters and there were many fishing stories shared. The clean-up went fast but we again left the kitchen cleaner than we found it and said our good-byes until the next time. What a pleasure it is to spend time with so many good men. Please come join us one of the four times (Feburary, May, August and November) we will serve in 2024.
