4 Hard Downs: Fish Fry, UNC Doing A Good Thing and Lifeguards

This is a happy post about somethings I have been thrilled about, including contractor paper

I already recapped 4th of July but whew buddy, still recovering.

Because the 4th was a big ordeal, I decided to do things that I actually like. This might be the most positive 4 Hard Downs. Not even going to waste time a big lead up, let’s get into it so go ahead and…SPOT THE BALL

1st Down: Lifeguard Life Is Sweet When It Rains

I was a lifeguard for many years. You are prepared for everything from a bloody knee to a broken neck. But what you root for is poop and lightning. Poop, everyone is out of the pool. You have to get a little grimy but the pool is doing the work. With lightning, you get to get undercover, no one in the pool, most folks leave, and you have your lunch or play cards.

But you’re still on the clock. Money for nothing and chicks for free, in the words of Dire Straits.

Being a lifeguard is hard. You’re in charge of so many little things, like running or if they cut their toe on the deck. Yet, also ready for the cardiac arrest or a moron who dives into the shallow end.

Which is why, for me, when the pool gets shut down for lightning, I appreciate it. Been there as an employee. It is like a teacher getting a snow day. Or an office employee getting remote work instead of having to commute. Technically, you’re still working, but there ain’t much work to do.

At our swim club they break out the ping pong table and enjoy their lunch. As someone who has been there, you can’t beat it. I think about it in terms of “customer service” and in that field the worst part of customer service is the customers. No customers, but still get paid?

Let’s ride.

2nd Down: UNC Making Life Better For Our People

I don’t talk about going to UNC a lot, outside of direct questioning or people trying to big time me with going to Ivy League or Michigan type places. But I did go there.

And this week, after the Supreme Court struck down Affirmative Action, a place I haven’t been thrilled with, decided, “you can fuck off, we are going to take care of our own.”

UNC is not only working to get free tuition to folks with less than $80k household income but going to expand their outreach programs to kids who didn’t even realize UNC was an option.

It probably wouldn’t have helped me much, but it absolutely would have given a lot of my classmates access to a school that was a dream.

3rd Down: Fried Fish Is A Southern Summer Staple

I made a damn video because I loved it so much, and my kid did too:

Whiting. Catfish. Shrimp. I didn’t cook the flounder because I wanted to save that for a fish sandwich this week. I hit up Fishy Fish Market on South Boulevard. Got my fresh fish. They will cook it for you if you want. Me? I like to do it.

The cool thing about the fish market is they are whole fish that they fillet and you can take the heads with you for stock, which is great. So, my kid got to see a whole fish, get scaled, head chopped off and then filleted.

We are a big “meat has a face” family. It is important to me that my kid knows that food doesn’t just come from the store. An animal had to die for this meal to happen and so we must respect it. Even with vegetables, someone had to spend the time, whether it is us, our neighbor who just gave us a gang of green beans, or a farm worker had to toil in the heat to make it happen.

Food is important. The people who create the raw ingredients, animals and humans, need our respect. So this fish fry was a fun way to show her that meat has a face, how we prep and taking care to enjoy it all.

4th Down: Contractor Paper Is A Parent Must

This is contractor paper:

Buy this.

Especially if you’re a parent.

It is cheap and it is durable and it has so many uses.

We use it for paint or chalk projects for multiple kids at a time.

But I also used it to cover my outdoor table and not worry about the grease or flour on the table to make for easy clean up, as you see in the video, or here:

Paper and a mess, for now.

To here:

No paper and no problems

You can use it to corner off paint projects. You can use it to spray paint and not get paint on your driveway or in your house if you are painting an object. It is so convenient and so cheap, just a pro parent tip, get contractor paper and use it.

Going to use it for the low country boil soon. Just pour out the shrimp and potatoes and sausage and corn all on the paper instead of pretending like I get a daily newspaper that isn’t digital.

It goes even further though. I have used the circular saw in doors and just let the paper catch all the waste and be good to go. It is good for kids’ projects. Great for adult projects. Great for dinner and for when your kid has a bunch of friends over and they all want to pain and color but you don’t want them fucking up the hardwoods.

See, I can be a positive beacon of light. I just like to complain and control things, but that’s part of being happy.

Cheers!!