I was blessed to be present at the annual Family Pig Pickin hosted by Kevin and Caryn in their backyard.  It is an annual event.  Family members came from as far as Washington State to attend.  Everyone present was related by blood, by marriage or by the bond of friendship.  The “guest of honor” was the pig.

My respect grows year by year for Kevin’s passion for family solidarity,.  His rotisserie skills at the charcoal roaster are substantial.

A young pig from a local farmer is selected.  Kevin prepares the main course with stuffing of apples, vegetables, garlic and a spice unfamiliar to me.  Then after rising at 4AM the cooking process begins.  We arrived around 3 PM and soon thereafter the ceremony begins.  The roasted pig is lifted from the cooker and carefully placed on the spit over the catch pans.  Then the picking begins.  The meat, slow cooked is tender and falls easily by hand into the pan.   The aroma is indescribable.

Nicki observed that you get that earth aroma that you just do not notice when preparing supermarket pork chops.

With proper decorum Kevin vigorously rings the “dinner bell” expressing welcome to another annual family pit roast, and calling everyone to the serving table.

What a experience of deep satisfaction to enjoy good food with others with whom one is making the journey of life.  At least several new family members

were at their very first pig roast.  The child in me

resonated with the kids at play around us.  I remembered when I was so young, just to be out-of-doors with other kids, was enough to signal a celebration.

A nice feature of the afternoon was the pinata filled

with candy.  The spiderman pinata was hung from a high limb.  It survived a fair number of kids, beginning with the youngest to the older swinging a baseball bat while blind folded.  Finally a direct hit landed on the gyrating pinata. Candy spilled to the grass.  What kid doesn’t love a scramble for treats?