Yeah. At least as scary a thought of Jack Nicholson being back is my return. Your luck has run out. My little vacation is over.
I did try to write a post while on my trip. I was able to squeeze in a bit of writing but was too busy sampling regional cuisines to complete a post.
A grandson was graduating in Rockford, Michigan. That’s a suburb of Grand Rapids. It’s claim to fame is as the home of Hush Puppies footwear. He missed Summa Cum Laude by something like 6/100 ths of a point but I’m proud of him and his Magna Cum Laude anyway.
On the way I stopped by Springfield, Illinois to visit my old friend Abraham. Then it was on to Chicago for a few days.
Except for changing planes, I had not really visited Chicago since trips in 1953 and 1959. Did you know they have a skyscraper there named the Sears Tower? Things seem to change as quickly as you can turn around.
I must say Chicago appeared to be about the most livable very large city I can recall. Restaurants seemed to all play jazz or Sinatra, Darin, et al. Even a McDonald’s served jazz with breakfast. It started with New Orleans- and Chicago-style jazz. It did degenerate to New York- and West Coast-styles after a while but that is still a major improvement over most cities.
After graduation we headed for Mackinac Island. The unique thing about the island that everyone knows, other than how the name is misspelt, is that horseless carriages are not permitted. For some reason, riding behind those horses brought Ed to mind. Just kidding. I used that at the Y this morning about another guy that I treasure.
Some readers may remember that the Grand Hotel was the site of the Christopher Reeve / Jane Seymour movie Somewhere In Time. If you haven’t seen it, not to worry. It plays 24/7 on its own cable channel on the island. Just tune in to Channel 19. Another couple of channels are devoted to the history of the Mackinac Straits Bridge. It is an amazing accomplishment.
There is more to do than watch television. I am referring to eating. The island would sink if the visitors didn’t buy so much of their fudge. Disregard those rumors that it is the island’s method for disposal of horse-droppings. One dining establishment had a menu item named “Better than your mother’s meatloaf.” Actually, it was. It wasn’t quite as good as my father’s meatloaf but it was delicious.
I gained nine pounds in less than two weeks, and it wasn’t even Southern cooking. There is a request I would like to make. Ninety percent of Southern eateries and 100 percent of Northern ones should take barbeque off of their menus. They have no idea what barbeque is. One simple filter to eliminate lots of these pretenders is to note whether coleslaw is included. It’s not an option. It’s not a side dish. If it doesn’t come with coleslaw, it isn’t barbeque.
The major barbeques are North Carolina, Tennessee, Jack Daniels, Memphis Wet, Memphis Dry Rub, Kansas City and Texas. The order of preference changes constantly, depending on one’s mood, weight, sobriety, the time of day and the weather.
Another mistake made by wannabe Southern cooks is putting beans in chili. You frequently see something denoted as chili con carne with beans. That’s weird. Con carne is Spanish for, with meat. One cannot have chili con carne without meat. But, putting beans in makes it something else. I sometimes like it with 
beans but acknowledge that it is no longer chili. One needs to attend a chili contest to discover the Real McCoy. The meat can be beef, venison, armadillo or even roadkill with chili peppers but never beans.
Why did you have to get me started on the subject of food?
I’m working to finish the post I started on the road. It may be up by this evening. That is not a threat.
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For a fleeting moment I thought you meant that I came to your mind as you were riding behind those horses because I trained and drove harness race horses in my younger days. I think I’ll choose to continue to delude myself with that belief.