We had a couple fat bullfrogs in our goldfish pond, and I had been tossing them mealworms for snacks. I was buying mealworms from an outfit called Fluker Farms and saw that they also sold live crickets. No doubt that my frogs would like a couple fat, juicy crickets for snacks, so I ordered a box of 100 from Fluker. They arrived in two days and were secured in a heavy corrugated box with wire … [Read more...]

There is Man’s Work and there is Woman’s Work. Woman’s Work includes things like dusting furniture, doing laundry, addressing Christmas cards, remembering birthdays, shopping for grandchildren, cooking Thanksgiving Dinner and shoe shopping. Man’s work includes chores such as changing the oil in cars by yourself, climbing on roofs to clean the gutters, replacing the insides of leaking commodes, … [Read more...]

I was sitting on the dock at our rental cottage off the Elizabeth River and life was good. I had a cigar in one hand a tall glass of Buffalo Trace Bourbon in the other. I also had a fishing pole baited with fresh shrimp leaning against the rail of the dock. Then I caught a spot, then a croaker. As I said, life is good. Leaning back in my chair I watched the gulls in their aerial ballets and … [Read more...]

We have a new Fire Pit. My old one literally fell apart. The top fell off from a combination of rust and out-of-control blazes. I haven’t fired the new one up yet. Too hot. But September will soon bring cool weather and I am ready to start some fires. I come from a long line of pyromaniacs. One of my earliest ancestors, Grog Brewer, was a Southern Neanderthal. It is written on some cave walls … [Read more...]

If there is anything better than a basket of hot, crispy French Fries seasoned with lots of salt and drenched with ketchup, I haven’t come across it yet. French Fries are about the tastiest things you can put in your mouth. Trouble is, that basket of French Fries has about the same number of calories as a bowl full of lard, and those calories can do unmentionable things to your … [Read more...]

I’d like to meet him someday – the Strawberry Packer, a man of immense skills. The Strawberry Packer is the one in charge of distribution, to make sure that the strawberries are properly sorted in each 16-ounce container. If every strawberry in the carton was perfectly ripe and juicy, then customers would come to expect that and would surely end up disappointed. But the Strawberry Packer … [Read more...]

Nancy walked by my bare feet recently and stared in disbelief. “You need a pedicure,’ she said. “Not me,” I countered. “I’m a football-watching kind of guy.” “No, really, you’ll like it. Go to Happy Nails just down the street and ask for a basic pedicure.” Actually, the idea somewhat appealed to me since cutting my toenails recently has required a supreme effort. I am forced to crouch in positions … [Read more...]

A birthday disaster was narrowly averted at the Brewer residence. Let me explain. Nancy’s birthday is upcoming, and I have been visiting Mr. Amazon’s fine website on multiple occasions to secure presents she hopefully will use and enjoy. For the last week or so, the gifts have been arriving regularly on the front porch. When Amazon ships a present – already in a sturdy box – I usually … [Read more...]

It was the summer of 1973 and we had made close friends with Donald and Janice Ramirez from church. We ate at each other’s house, went out to eat together and had kids about the same age. It was destined to be a great friendship. They had even asked us to watch over their house in Woodbrook while they spent a week with family back in New Orleans. “I’d be delighted to feed the fish and the cats … [Read more...]

There is a land not-so-far away where as many men wear straw hats and suspenders as do those with baseball caps and cargo shorts. It’s a place where the clip-clop along the back roads of farming country is heard from graceful horses pulling the buggies of Amish gentlemen. It’s a land where the sweet aroma of Apple Pies cooling on a windowsill float in the air - where the spring earth is plowed … [Read more...]