Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 8
MILL CREEK STORIES
Inventing Hangry
How a man who loved food got through the month of March.
A
By MOLLY DUGGER BRENNAN | Illustration by JOSEPH MACKARETH
h, spring. So full of promise. The world comes
back to life, shrugging off winter's gray, blossoming into colors, pastel at first, then deepening into brilliant daffodil yellow and hyacinth
blues. Spring lifts everyone's spirits, everyone
that is but my Dad.
In our house, March was a month spent reading in your room. March was the month for tiptoeing
through the house. March was the month that my homework was always completed, early even. Mama caught up
on every chore and did all her sewing. If it was possible to
become invisible, March was the month to do it.
You see, after the abundance of Thanksgiving, the
largesse of Christmas, and the boxes of Valentine's Day
chocolates, Daddy would start his diet on the 1st of
March for the yearly Virginia State Police weigh-in. He
invented the concept of "hangry," that combination of
hungry and angry resulting in a level of irritability that
was simply not possible on a full, satisfied stomach. God
help you if you were speeding in our tiny town during
March. Even just a whiff over the speed limit would be a
ticketable offense.
8
BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
My dad enjoyed food. He lived for meals. He adored a
good, old-fashioned meat-and-three restaurant. He's been
known to order two pieces of pie when he couldn't decide between different flavors. So trust me when I say my
Daddy loved to eat.
When he was in school, his mama got up early every
morning so she could put hot, homemade biscuits on the
table for breakfast. It's rumored that his high school football britches had a waist of 54 inches. I've seen old team
photos. That's a believable number.
I know he had to slim down when he was drafted into
the Army. I don't know how they did it, but I am sure that
whatever method they used, it honed a killer instinct. I've
seen an old photo of him at a café in Paris while on leave.
He looked so happy. The small table is filled, mounded
up really, with pastries. So I guess his dealing with dessert
indecision by ordering multiples started early.
Anyway, in March Daddy would do his own grocery
shopping. Just two items were on the shopping list. He
bought cans of salmon and boxes of saltine crackers. For
every meal; breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he opened a can
of salmon and a sleeve of saltines. Every day all day long,
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Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 10
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 12
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 43
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Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - 66
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2019 - Cover4
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