Comedy through the eyes of my son

One day this week, I had to take my car into the shop for a minor repair. On the way, I encountered by son Scott who was driving home from college a little before noon. So I dropped the car off and walked home. Shortly, my wife arrived as well and we decided to eat at Fried's, a family-owned cafe on the northwestern edge of town.

Fried's is known for it's home-made German food, which I don't particularly like...so dad and I each settled for a hamburger and chips.

As usual, I scarfed down my hamburger while dad took his sweet time eating his. Belinda and Scott, likewise, were still heading into their German dishes while my plate was empty.

So it seemed like a good idea to order a slice of pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it.

When it arrived, dad was still about halfway through his meal, so he surprised me when he said, "I want that also."

I asked the waitress, a lady about dad's age but twice as heavy, to also bring him a slice of pecan pie ala mode.

When it arrived, dad stabbed the ice cream with his fork and moved it to his plate. Then he proceeded to finish his meal and ice cream at the same time.

Scott is watching all of this and having a wonderfully good time of laughing, chortling and snickering as he gasped for breath. I, on the other hand, wondered what I'm supposed to do with the $2.75 piece of pie -- minus the ice cream.

"Dad, do you want the pie?"

"No, you can have it," was his reply...to which Scott begins a new round of laughter across the table.

Well, after you've just eaten a hamburger, pie and ice cream, there really isn't room for another piece of pie, especially one as rich as pecan.

Belinda asked for a take-home box. That night, she asked me if I was going to eat the pie sitting in her fridge. You know what? I was still full...of food and Scott's laughter.

But I warmed it up in the microwave, poured some milk (in place of ice cream) on it and devoured the pie.

Still, though, I'm haunted. Did dad really want only the ice cream and he thought the pie was part of the plate? Or did he suddenly realize he was only hungry enough for the ice cream and not the pie?

Nevermind, I guess...the story resolved itself and Scott was entertained once again as he watched his grandfather and father interact over a meal and dessert.

Evaporation

My boys know what I'm writing about just from the headline, but I think I'll tease the rest of the readers a little. You know how fast water turns to vapor and disappears on a hot, arid summer afternoon? Well, that's the way Chex party mix disappears at our house...especially around the holidays. That's why years ago, we began calling it "Evaporation."

Sometime around Thanksgiving, the grocery stores will start selling all varieties of Chex cereal at a discounted price. We generally don't buy the wheat Chex, but we love the rice and corn varieties. A box of Kix is good and you can also add a few Cheerios if you want along with mixed nuts and some pretzels.

I've also worked on perfecting the coating. Basically, mine is melted butter, Worcestershire sauce and some garlic powder. I've also found that cooking it in the microwave for about six minutes and stirring it every two minutes makes a fine batch of quick party mix.

Years ago when we were hooked on "computer golf" as a way to while away the winter hours, we found that party mix and Mountain Dew were just the right condiments for an afternoon of hooks, slices and birdies. The cereal disappeared faster than I could make it.

However, mine pales in comparison to my mother-in-law's. This woman has taken Chex party mix to a new level. And that's where my story actually begins.

I was reminded a couple of weekends ago how good her party mix is. She brought out a big bowl when we came to visit and it wasn't long before it was gone. I think I ate 90 percent of it. Even her pretzels, which I don't really care for, were pretty good.

She sent an empty butter container full of party mix home with us. Now, I thought I would try to ration myself and eat just a little so it would last a couple of days. However, Scott found it and devoured most of it before I could get home from work. Still, the crumbs were tasty.

Now I couldn't really get mad at him because there was a time when my mother-in-law sent a huge gallon jug container full of party mix with us to give to her baby boy -- a huge man -- who lives in Bismarck. Unfortunately, Uncle Miles only got the crumbs that time because my family and I snacked on his party mix on the 210 mile trip from Glendive to Mandan.

There's only more thing I would like to add before I close...the best present I ever got from my mother-in-law for Christmas was the jar of party mix a couple of years ago. It was delicious.

Count your blessings one by one

"Count your blessings...count them one by one." That's how the old song goes and it's very good advice.

One of the blessings that I've taken for granted for too long is having great inlaws. I've known that I was among the lucky ones to have a great mother-in-law and father-in-law for some time, but haven't told them how lucky I am. Tomorrow that changes.

They welcomed me into their family from the first time they met me, and they have never disappointed me. Belinda and I use to go to dances with them at the Elks and the Moose when we were dating. When the dances were done, we would go to their home or to one of their friends' homes and eat breakfast and laugh and talk until the wee hours of the morning.

They were great when we got married, and they helped us move to Mandan two months after our marriage.

My father-in-law ran a body shop in Glendive but took time off from his work to drive a U-Haul truck when we moved in the dead of winter. I told him that this must have been costly for him because he was missing a day or two of work. He told me that for his family, his time was free.

I also remember after my wedding when I asked the priest at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church if he would accept a check for marrying Belinda and me. He said, "No indeed. Leo Doll is one of the most faithful givers we have at our church. I wouldn't consider taking your money for performing a wedding ceremony involving Leo's daughter."

These things made an instant impression upon me.

As grandparents, Leo and Rosaline have also been outstanding. My boys love their Grandma and Grandpa Doll very much. Grandpa Doll loves old cars and I remember Derek wanting to head down to Glendive to drive one of Grandpa's cars in the local parades.

Scott is one who would think the summer was a waste if he didn't get a week to spend with his grandparents.

So, here's to Leo and Rosaline...one of the many blessings God has bestowed upon my family.

Amen.

Building onto our church

This Tuesday, folks from Curtis Construction will be at our church at 6:30 p.m. to talk about some drawings they've made for a new addition to our existing church building and to give us a "soft" estimate of how much it will cost.

This project is badly needed by our church family, many who can no longer navigate down the steps to the basement for fellowship, meals...and more importantly, to use the non-handicap accessible bathrooms. What we would like is an extension on the main floor out to the east that would accommodate new bathrooms, a fellowship hall, a new worker-friendly kitchen, a couple of offices and a library/family room.

Sometimes this task of building seems overwhelming. After all, we are in a recession, and we have a lot of old people who attend our church and they are on fixed incomes. We're not a church with a lot of rich people. We're definitely a "blue-collar" congregation. I think I was beginning to wallow and wonder if an addition were possible.

And then my dad received a letter from his sister Delma this week. Delma and her husband used to live in Linton. She is now widowed and living in Oklahoma where her son Mike is a pastor at an Assembly of God Church. She has another son, Bob, who is also an Assembly of God pastor but currently he is serving time in a Texas prison...and conducting ministries in jail. If you don't believe me, check out this website: www.chiefministries.com.

Anyway, Delma is telling me that Bob, her son in prison, is now building a new halfway house in Houston. "It will be called Chief's House," she writes. "All papers have been filled and approved. Now they are looking for land."

Her son Mike, who is a pastor in Oklahoma said, "I don't understand how Bob's in prison and can build a halfway house?" My Aunt Delma replied, "With God, all things are possible."

She continued in the letter saying, "When Denny and I heard God tell us to build an Assembly of God church in Linton, we didn't have any money. God supplied all of it for four and half years."

Currently, Delma is sending Bibles and writing letters to men who are in prison. She writes that God is providing her with about $600 a month to pay for Bibles.

When I finished reading her letter, I was filled with God's inspiration and can't help but think, "Our church can do it, too."

So thought I would share this with my faithful readers. The photo is of my Aunt Delma and three of her children: daughters Peggy and Shirley and son Mike. The picture was taken in Mike's church. Peggy lives in Mandan and Shirley lives in Jamestown.