On a Roll

Imagine my excitement when my ClustrMap displayed little dots of readership extending into the country's interior! Hmm, that's funny...the dots look strikingly similar to my sister's cross country route.

While my sister's state count rises, and other family and friends plan trips to Disney or exotic ports and beaches, our family adventures top out at the purchase of a new grill. Oh, and of course there was the water system install last week. Riveting.

Purchases actually are high drama in our home due to what my friend Tina calls "information constipation". Gregory, ever vigilant, launches into full-on research mode as soon as I mention the word "BUY". Consumer Report has nothing on him, I assure you.

Back in 'aught 5, a poor unsuspecting book salesman came to the door, offering what basically amounted to a souped-up encyclopedia set. The deal was simple - hear the spiel and decide on the spot, no thinking allowed. The poor boy never saw it coming. Gregory launched (nicely, but very confidently) into a pitch of his own about expecting one to make a major purchase without adequate information. He'd need company stats, competitor pricing, customer reviews, free trials! I've never seen a salesman run away before.

The grill problem has been heating up for about a year now. Gregory insisted nothing was wrong with the rusty model we had, despite one flattened plastic wheel (how, by the way, can a plastic wheel go flat???) and another non-existent wheel, which caused alarming instability in an appliance with explosive warnings all over it. The attachment system for the propane tank was also broken, so the tank was propped up with scrap wood, which would jostle loose while trying to maneuver the grill out of the garage without the aid of wheels, causing the tank to fall through the platform and onto the gravel. Once started, the element only had one setting - high. I saw the whole thing as a sure fire hazard. Gregory, meanwhile, was Googling replacement parts. Why get a new grill when we could gut the one we had? He had just gotten new bricks for the thing four years ago, after all. He hadn't gotten his money's worth of of them yet!

With the fear of months of print-outs, spreadsheets and metal weather-testing prominent in my mind, I took a bold step. I went to the store, picked out a grill that was on sale and seemed nice, and bought it, without Gregory.

He took it well. He and Phillip spent an enjoyable evening assembling it in the basement last night, with only one part left over. We plan to roll it out for hamburgers this evening, cooked over a medium flame.

Apparently the boys talked last evening of turning the old grill into a planter. Whether the idea is a result of research into our proposed composting and recycling plan or a remnant from last year's do-it-yourself landscaping investigation, one can't be sure.