The Grillmaster

I have a colleague who let me know late last year that he

is

the

Grillmaster.

I have a passing acquaintance with cooking and outdoor cooking myself, and so we have bonded over rub recipes and wood chip choices. Some weeks ago, he brought in the last shreds of a pork shoulder he had smoked, and it was delicious. "I have an idea," he told me then. "We should have a team lunch. A potluck. I'll bring the barbecue and the rest of y'all can bring the sides."

As team leader, I put it on the agenda for our next meeting, and soon it was settled. Our lunch had to be on a Monday to allow the Grillmaster to work his magic over the weekend, and looking at our calendar, our first free Monday was

today!

That's how there came to be a Southern picnic spread out on tables we pushed together in my classroom. Heirloom apple sauce, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, iced tea, lemonade, and homemade three berry pie accompanied a pulled pork shoulder and barbecue spare ribs.

We invited several colleagues to join us for our feast, and they enjoyed the food for sure, but our assistant principal put it best when she sat down at our table wit a full plate. "It's a good day to be a Dolphin!"