As for the exploratory committee on the mythical meal of Chicken & Waffles I had heard about countless times, results came up negative. It’s not so much that it sounded good, as that it sounded interesting and potentially good. I had questions about whether or not you used syrup or gravy. I don’t know if I was leaning towards one or the other. Was it a piece of chicken on top of a waffle, a waffle on top of a piece of chicken or a waffle and a chicken, laying side by side? How is the chicken cooked? What’s the shape of the waffle?
I started asking around when we got back to the house. Erin was on board. I was on reconnaissance work to gather some intel. Dutifully I asked Dad earlier in the day what he thought about chicken and waffles. His only thought was that it sounded gross.
“But you like waffles don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And you like chicken, right?”
“Yes.”
“So how can you not be interested in something that combines the two?”
“Easily,” Dad replied.
Some of the dudes that were ball players under Coach Jay knew about chicken & waffles, but only one really suggested trying it. And if I were to try it, I could really only go to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles because that’s the only spot where chicken & waffles were any good. Dylan told me that they lied side by side and one of the players said you use syrup. After reporting back to Erin, she was still very much on board based on what I felt was faith that the result of two things you loved combined had to be good. While normally I too generally believe this, after asking around, I had had a slight change of heart.
Chicken and waffles definitely didn’t sound healthy and as a dude who drinks organic milk now, that was a red flag. And also, I’m not a big fan of fried chicken and according to another one of the players, that’s how the chicken was cooked. Fried chicken gets messy. I don’t do messy.
After asking around, I went back to Dad, inquiring if he had given chicken and waffles anymore thought. He hadn’t. In fact, he had tried to not think about it because it still sounded gross and nothing he wanted a part of. Dad answered the same thing when I asked him probably four or five more times. The last couple of times were just to irritate him.
My trip to Louisiana this past weekend did not include chicken and waffles.
However, my trip to Louisiana did include being able to say goodbye to a great man and re-connecting with family members I don’t get to see that often. Chicken and waffles was a good distraction, but the family time was the real goal. The family needed to band together and get close; we needed to rally. It was a trip of lemons and lemonade, watching the Bruins with cousins, staying in between the lines when coloring, and the joy of going to Wal-Mart that sold both beer and wine.
It was quick, it was fast, it was a hustle.
But it was beautiful and that’s what matters.
Goodnight y’all, we’ll be seeing you next summer. Go Mavs.
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