My uncle (and first cousin once removed, love those Alabama relations) spent three days workin' the barbeque for this family reunion. He cooked six shoulders, some sirloins, thirty whole chickens, and another thirty quarter-chickens. They all go in the smoker and then he tends it for three days, never sleeping more than three hours at a time, and pulling out the fire and re-starting it if it gets above a certain temperature. His dedication was worth it, as that barbeque beef just melted in your mouth and tasted like a dream.

My grandmother, like a true southern farmer, can polish off eighteen ears of corn at one meal. However, since she got the "die-uh-beetis", her doctor says she can only have one ear a day. "How are you doing on your corn diet?" my mom asked her. "Oh, just fine," she said, "I'm up to February 2003."