| My friend Harley has always loved southern barbecue | | | | hickory logs that would be carried on the trailer, it |
| and just about anything you could cook on a | | | | had a smoker welded to the side. It was made out |
| barbecue grill. His story is one that celebrates the | | | | of quarter inch steel and had two temperature |
| spirit of a man to get back up when life has knocked | | | | gauges; one on the firebox and the other on the |
| him down. | | | | smoker hood. |
| When I first met him about all we talked about was | | | | The trailer also carried a water tank to cool down |
| barbecue ideas and the best barbecue recipes to use | | | | the fire if it got too hot. The whole unit was ringed in |
| at any given time of year. We also discussed the | | | | silvery chrome, which I though was a little |
| virtues of charcoal grills over electric or gasoline | | | | ostentatious, but he never consulted me before |
| cookers. He was obsessed with anything that had to | | | | buying the grill. |
| do with cooking over a hot smoky fire. | | | | Somewhere along the way, the economy went sour |
| We would see each other from time to time and you | | | | and people all over the country were losing their jobs |
| could always smell the aroma of barbecue smoke on | | | | and livelihood; so did Harley. After the initial shock had |
| his body and clothes, with fragrant wisps of | | | | passed and the self-pity had worn thin, he began to |
| whatever kind of meat he had been cooking over | | | | count his blessings and take stock of his assets. |
| the weekend. His ever-patient wife threatened to | | | | Thanksgiving was approaching and he had a list of |
| become a vegetarian due to the amounts of | | | | satisfied customers from his sideline business. He |
| barbecued ribs, barbecued chicken and barbecued | | | | began calling them and suggesting that this year they |
| pork his family had to consume just to keep up with | | | | have smoked turkey or ham instead of the old tired |
| Harley's passion for outdoor cooking. | | | | traditional bird that usually graced their table on that |
| Harley worked in the large offices of various defense | | | | holiday. He also told them to tell their friends and |
| contractors and over the years developed a small | | | | neighbors about his service. |
| barbecue catering service for the companies where | | | | The response was overwhelming. Harley kept that |
| he worked. He simply brought his grills and provided | | | | huge barbecue grill and smoker going for three days |
| meat for celebrations at Memorial Day, the Fourth of | | | | straight as he tried to keep up with the demand for |
| July and Labor Day festivities. | | | | his product. He made it through Thanksgiving and by |
| On weekends I would pass by his house and see it | | | | Christmas was doing it again, but this time with bbq |
| encircled in a halo of smoke. He always had several | | | | beef ribs and briskets, bbq chickens and pork ribs |
| barbecue smokers and grills working in his back yard. | | | | along with a few turkeys and hams. |
| This was in the early days of his passion with | | | | Driving down a street on the wrong side of the |
| barbecue, before he graduated to something bigger | | | | tracks just after Christmas, I saw Harley's marvelous |
| with which to cook. | | | | barbecue machine tied to a sign post near a small |
| When the time came to purchase a new grill, he | | | | empty restaurant. The sign on the door said, "Harley's |
| went to a foreign country, Mississippi, and bought | | | | BBQ Restaurant, Opening Soon!" |
| one on wheels. This was indeed a fabulous piece of | | | | This is a testament to the resiliency of the American |
| craftsmanship, with a new huge barbecue grill welded | | | | working man and a tribute to the power of good |
| to a trailer big enough to hold a bass boat. | | | | southern barbecue. My hat's off to both of them! |
| In addition to the 6 foot firebox that is fueled by | | | | |