Fish Fry

A friend of mine had a fish fry Tuesday night.  The oil has to be kept at just the right temp and it has to be kept clean or the fish will taste burned even if cooked properly.  What we in South Georgia call tater logs are a great potato compliment to the fried catfish.  It is a riff on fish and chips that is so popular with the Brits.  Cole slaw has always been a welcome side to any fried dish.  And good hush puppies are an art.

But that is not the joy of a fish fry.  I remember being a kid and being LOUDLY chastised by my mother for running and playing with friends of mine and coming within 300 yards of the rapidly boiling oil.  I remember sitting on the tailgate of my pick up with my dad on the steps of our house watching catfish dance in the oil and talking and laughing about things new to me and ancient to him.  The fellowship of the cooking matched the companionship of the meal.  I miss the idea of a good fish fry.

My friend and his family sat around the pot tonight laughing and talking about his father.  Friends and former neighbors brought pictures of his dad that my friend had never seen in 41 years of life.  Like all of us, he found it hard to imagine that his father had existed before that time he let his dad hold him in the hospital following his own entry to this world.   That younger man gave way to a progessively older man that was more and more infirm and yet remained the epitome of MAN.

Over several beers I once told another friend that I was not half the man my father was.  He agreed with me by saying, "None of us are" and looking at me like I was stupid.  My friend Paul and I have not sat around and had a fish fry before, but we have shared beers and a church pew (on separate occasions of course) and talked about how our fathers tried to shape us into men.  We laughed more than once over the things they had warned us about that we had blundered into any way.

Paul's dad passed away suddenly on Saturday.  They bury him on Thursday.  They had a fish fry Tuesday night.  The catfish were crispy and the tater logs were hot and the cole slaw was cool.  And a family loved and laughed together.  Wish I had been there.

Love you guys.  Praying for you guys.  Planning on a fish fry this Saturday.  All of ya are invited.