Dogs

Years ago, my grandmother used to make these elaborate meals at Balloon Rally time. I recall that she put together most of it by herself. The highlight was a balloon cake that she would make every year. The cake would serve a dual purpose, as my Dad's birthday always coincides with the balloon rally.

Each year most of us would complain that it was just too much work for my grandmother and eventually she conceded that it was. In later years, Tammie would get chicken barbecues from Stearns in Alfred for Friday and then we would prepare dozens of hot dogs on Saturday. Several years, we went to the Texas Hot Restaurant to get them, but it seemed as though everyone in town had the same idea. As a result, we made the dogs ourselves and just bought some Texas Hot sauce to put on them. Here Tammie and Mike load the dogs onto my grandmother's permanent gas grill.  I was either conveniently hiding or playing a game of wiffleball somewhere.

After the tremendous hot dog feast, it was time to clean up our mess. Tammie always was in the middle of the cleaning up part and would instantly become frustrated as her help slowly dwindled away. I have never been good at grilling dogs, but I always made sure to help pick things up. I was too afraid not to!