Bug Smacker

We wanted to get away for a quick weekend, so we decided to stay at Pettit Park in Clare, Michigan. We had a very enjoyable weekend while we were here. We were even lucky enough to see the deer that like to come out and nibble on the apples under the tree near our site.

It’s time for RIBS again which brings us to our annual stay at the Bay City State Park. Like every year the park is just filled with mosquitoes. The rain this year doesn’t help matters. They can be quite annoying, but that doesn’t stop us because we’re just here to make a “Run for the Ribs”.

I had picked up 14 advance tickets for friends and family to attend the Labadie Pig Gig with us on Saturday. Wouldn’t you know that Saturday was the day the sky let loose with a torrential downpour. I mean it wasn’t raining “cats and dogs”; it was raining “hippos and elephants”. That was not enough to stop us hardcore Piggy Munchers. We outfitted ourselves with raincoats and umbrellas and headed into the storm. We arrived to discover that even the vendors and competitors hadn’t shown up yet. We were all alone and HUNGRY!

This year the Sawmill Smoke House did not show up at all, so I figured that Aussum Aussie would regain their title for best ribs. I was wrong. A new contender had arrived called Barbecue Company. I believe that even if the Sawmill had shown up that they would have had to bow to the ribs from the Barbecue Company.

The BBQ Company ribs were juicy, succulent and fall off the bone tender. They had an apple wood smoke flavor that penetrated the meat right to the bone. The ribs were grilled in a dry rub and then glazed with two different sauces until they achieve their perfection. 

One more thing that I would like to mention is about the prices. Every year the price for the ribs goes up. This year was no exception. I can understand how this is inevitable but, in a year where money is tight and hardship is abundant, this is not a good time to raise prices. The thing that gets me is that I heard the rib competitors are informed by the event organizers as to the prices that are to set.  One competitor went as far as to state that they weren’t here to get rich, just to compete and serve good food. The organizers of this event need to remember why people attend this event, to eat ribs!  If people can’t afford them then why show up. If things get too out of hand I may be forced to head over to the Tofu Festival.

Bathroom Eyes

Tim R. Enright

Today modern campground bathrooms have eyes everywhere. They have them in the lights, in the faucet, in the soap dispenser, in the blow dryer, in the paper towel dispenser, in the room air freshener and even in the toilet. By now I am sure that you have guessed that what I am referring to is those little sensors on these things that turn them on and off.

I am sure that the intentions are good for the use of these things. Personally I like the fact that I don’t need to touch these things in a public bathroom. I have seen far too many people touch the toilet flush handle, the faucet handle, then the towel dispenser handle without ever bothering to touch the soap dispenser. Thus giving the germs on the toilet handle a ride to the bathroom door handle where others can give them a lift on the way out.

I would assume that the little eyes on these things could save energy as well. I know for a fact that people have a tendency to be able to turn things on much better than they can turn them back off. Every light switch in every room my kids have ever been in and out of is proof of this theory.

The problem that I seem to have is that every one of these eyes that I come into contact with seem to be half blind. I have encountered faucets that do not come on until you turn to walk away from them. And what is it with putting the soap dispenser next to the water faucet? Whenever you want soap you get water and whenever you want water you get soap. If there is more than one sink, the water faucet will not come on until you move to the next one. I always seem to leave with wet hands because the towel dispenser doesn’t like me and either won’t give me any towels or one that is only 1 inch long. All of that time, I am totally in the dark because the light went off 30 seconds after I entered the room.

The little eye that annoys me the most is the one on the toilet. It seems to have some kind of sense of humor. If the facility you happen to be in is nice enough to provide you with one of those paper toilet seat cover dispensers, you might as well forget it. After you carefully place the paper on the toilet seat and turn to use it, the eye will see you move and flush the cover down every time. One time it took me 5 attempts and I am sure I could hear the little eyeball laughing every time. I eventually got the best of it by using a small piece of toilet paper, getting it wet (preferably by not dipping it into the toilet) and sticking it right into his beady little eye!

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