OCTOBER 10, THURSDAY

12 BONES

My son Tom discovered that the sheet rock in his first floor was damp on Wednesday evening. So to prevent the wetness from climbing his wall and to stop the spread of mold up the dry chalky water absorbing flat sheet rock used to form the walls of his basement rooms he worked late into the evening cutting the bottom two feet of sheet rock and tossing it out the back door. He worked furiously until noon when he quit and showered and I drove him to the airport for a long weekend with Kathy his wife, and Caroline, his daughter, in Boston.

This was my first visit to South Asheville which receives its water from a different water source and where the restaurants were open. In Asheville they cannot open without water. On the way back from the airport I stopped at 12 Bones, a famous Asheville barbecue restaurant, frequented by Barack Obama when President on his visits to Asheville. I splurged and bought 12 bones, 12 pork ribs slathered in barbecue sauce with delicious Southern collard greens and sweet corn pudding. Twelve bones was much too much, but I had been dreaming about them even in Colombia and this was my first restaurant meal after my trip to Bogota. I gorged myself. But I could only eat three with the vegetables and was eating the other nine all of the next day and into the day after. I drove home completely satisfied where I met Susie who spent two nights in Asheville.