FISHFRY

Down in southside Virginia today, my father's attendants prepared a Memorial Day fishfry lunch for his friends, neighbors, and other helpers. Fish caught yesterday and in the deep fry today, cornbread, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, seven layer salad, strawberry cake, sweet tea of course ... and more. It almost had me shouting FISHFRY which brings to mind...

In the distant past there was an acquaintance one summer who whenever excited, generally drinking and having a big time, would randomly start shouting out the word "Fishfry...Fishfry", sort of a Tourettes like reaction it seemed at the time. This past is so distant that I have no memory of face or name, presumably being in the same state, but I do remember that his geographical state was in the South, east Tennesee or the Florida panhandle come to mind. "Fishfry...Fishfry", when it happened, could get a party crowd revved up but I have no idea if he got such a reaction in private. In possible fact, or history, this may have originated on the gulf coast where a certain type of storm's waves would throw thousands of fish up on the beach flapping and vulnerable and everyone in the vicinity would start yelling fishfry...fishfry, people would rush down and the fires would be set. No time to make cole slaw. I don't know if this is true.

With that partial memory out of the way, this event deserved such a shout---bass, catfish, bream, and porgy, whole or fillet, eat till you drop. It was hot out there today and I was afraid some folks would. Everyone held on, and as the lunch moved to a finish that fishfry spirit led to laughter, handshakes, pats on the back, and a quick search for air conditioning.