Death and Hamloaf

My best friend's mom died on Sunday. He's a stoic dude, but this has hit him hard. He's not used to emotional situations or dealing with emotional people. Right now he's the adult who has to comfort his father and his wife and keep his kids entertained or quiet. As for me, I don't handle death and funerals very well. I fully expect to be a blubbering fool come Thursday, but I will try not to be more upset than the relatives.

My buddy's mom was a pretty cool lady. We used to driver he car around in high school. We called it the duct tape mommy mobile. I'm sure she had her reservations about me in high school. I wasn't a sporto and I had long hair and a big coat. I wore an earring to the house once and the parents were just sure I was a commie. Yet they never really cracked on me like some other people's parents.

I dropped off a coffee cake yesterday because here in the Midwest, bringing food over to the house of the bereaved is what we do. It's what makes us Iowans. We don't express emotion well, but we can bake bread, hams and casseroles like crazy. I think Wednesday I will bake a hamloaf or a cheeseburger pie to take over.

When my grandfather died, my uncle Kenny and I split a hamloaf. It ... was ... awesome! A hamloaf is basically a meatloaf made with ground ham and pork. It tastes like heaven and makes your grief go bye-bye. A cheeseburger pie is a basically ground hamburger with onions and chili sauce baked in a pie shell covered with cheese and maybe pickles. That also rocks.

I hate funerals but I acknowledge that there is a responsibility here that I will do my best to fulfill to my friend and his father.