Cookouts, July Fourth go hand-in-hand

Hello, everyone, I’m back with another Cecil’s World in Print adventure. I promise to add a little excitement and fun to help you get your week started.

I’m just returning to work after being off for the Fourth of July. My son Jeff and his family were here for an entire week and we had a ball. How many of you grilled out for the Fourth? Well, if you did not cook out, how many of you went to the beach or the lake for a little fun and relaxation? Whatever you did, I am sure you indulged in a lot of food and fun. The Fourth of July is considered to be one of, if not the, biggest family cookout days for the entire year.

In my neighborhood, there were a number of cookouts and I was invited to most of them. I’m talking mouth-watering ribs, big juicy steaks and, of course, the usual burgers and hot dogs. I try and make the rounds in my neighborhood and speak to everyone who invited me to a cookout. Wait a minute, I know you are thinking that I do this only to get something to eat. My feelings are hurt. I cannot believe you think I would stoop that low. That’s not entirely true, but I did get a lot to eat.

Here is something for you to think about the next time you are invited to a cookout: remember, it is nice that your friends and neighbors think enough of you to invite you to a cookout or backyard get-together. A lot of times, we are too tired after we have worked all day and we send our regrets. There are a lot of times I would like to do that, but I start thinking, if this was my cookout and a lot of my friends didn’t come, I would be hurt. So think about the next time you get an invite to a get-together, don’t sent your regrets. Take time to go, even if it’s for just a few minutes. Here is another way to look at an invitation to a cookout: you receive a free meal and your wife does not have to cook. That alone will get me to go. Maybe I’ll see you at the next neighborhood cookout.

Now I am sure a lot of you are already looking forward to the next holiday so you can have another three-day weekend. Well, you have to wait until Labor Day, Sept. 1, less than two months away. I am going to leave you with one of 12 things you do not say to a highway patrol trooper when he stops you: “Aren’t you the guy from the Village People?”

I’ll see you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.