We were hanging out with our niece Caitlin and her boyfriend, Adam, last week. It was a typical January day, cold and blustery, with an occasionally flurry thrown in for good measure. But it was warm inside, and we were having breakfast for supper. This is something we used to do all the time when we Caitlin was little and we were babysitting.
French toast and bacon were on the menu. Caitlin and Adam are vegetarian, so they usually bring along some veggie bacon for me to cook up for them. Personally, I don’t get the point of veggie bacon. It just seems kind of unnatural. But we humor ‘em.
Could have knock me over with a feather, when the kids arrive with some of the real stuff. Apparently,
they’d had a come to Jesus moment and saw the light. And this wasn’t just your basic Oscar Mayer. No, their bacon come from a local farm and was sustainable, organic, I think they knew the pig personally, special bacon.
And you know what? It was delicious! It tasted like how bacon did when I was a kid, and my grandmother bought her bacon from the Dugall farm across the street. They slaughtered their own hogs and smoked the bacon right there. I don’t know if I want a personal relationship with the pig, but I think there’s more special bacon in our future.
Of course, Charlie wrote a poem about it.
Bacon’s Where I Draw the Line
“There’s nothing,” Ida likes to say,
“Like bacon on a snowy day”
You’d freeze your hide to go outside
But bacon has a special way
Of thawing out your winter chills
A humble food that’s got the skill
To cheer, when you begin to hear
It suddenly sizzlin’ on the grill
Some like it crispy, some do not
But either way, it’s better hot
With eggs and toast I like it most
And roasted coffee from the pot
Bacon fat makes killer suet
Easy, anyone can do it
Once it’s hard, hang in the yard
And watch them birdies get down to it!
A vegetarian friend of mine
Says givin’ up all meat is fine
“Exceptin’ one I’ll never shun:
Bacon’s where I draw the line!”
I think Charlie’s on the something. There should be more poems about bacon. If anything deserves it, bacon does.
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Bacon Makes Everything Better