Wayne Gray

I give a mean backrub. 😈

Instant coffee on meat doesn't taste like coffee once cooked. It adds a bitter dimension that's hard to find another way. Salt, fat, acid, heat, bitterness. Those are the pillars of flavor, and I try to use as many as possible when cooking.

Exactly! mmm good.

There's a technique where icing is applied to a still-warm cake, expressly because it will melt into the cake itself. Then it's iced again. I imagine something similar happened. Just... on a more... impressive? scale.

Medium rare or medium for me. One reason is a simple physical limitation of my throat. Yes, I'm a gay man who has problems swallowing meat. And when put that way, it just sounds sad and funny. Mostly funny... lol But I genuinely enjoy the flavor/texture of medium. A nicely grilled ribeye? There's nothing like it. Though, again... I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the steaks that came out of the oven. Wild stuff.

Ohhh... oh, that'd be bad. Awww. I bet there was a sad boy in the house that day. Maybe more than one! Luckily, mine turned out surprisingly good. It really was luck, though. Well... and my nose. "Those are some meaty-smelling potatoes..."

I can't even eat meat cooked well-done. It's too tough and dry, and my esophagus is constricted. So I literally can't eat it. Finding them medium? A miracle. And damn, the flavor of that rub exploded in that slow roast. It was one of the best things I've made in a long time. Figures it'd have been by accident. hahaha.

Picture this... It's a stunning Sunday afternoon in Eureka. Wayne has prepped three expensive but great-looking steaks. He's planning to grill, you see, and take advantage of the glorious sun. Along with that, he tosses three foil-wrapped potatoes into the oven, awaiting the hour of their ultimate fate. Wayne happily preps everything. The steaks are seasoned with instant coffee, sea salt, and coconut rub (for sweetness). He sets them aside and prepares portobellos to grill with the steaks. With everything prepped, and with an hour before he needs to grill, he relaxes in his room. Playing a video game. About ten minutes in, he goes to the kitchen and turns on the oven. The potatoes will need more cook time, after all. Forty-five minutes go by... and things are smelling great. He notices with a happy sniff that the potatoes must be pretty far along. But... there's something a little odd. Since it's time to grill anyway, he leaves his room. "What smells... meaty?" He frowns and looks for the steaks he'd left on the counter. "Where are my... oh no. NO." He opens the oven. There... on the ceramic plate he'd prepped them on, his three steaks bubbled and sizzled in 350 degrees, and had for the last 45 minutes. "NO!" He hurries to get them out of the oven. Standing there, he stares down at a $50 accident. The husband had put them in the oven to avoid flies, and Wayne didn't know that until FAR too late. As fate would have it, those steaks were absolutely a perfect medium. Not char-grilled, but literally a perfect medium. So... we ate them pretty happily. There were a couple of good lessons: One. With a balanced rub, baked steak can taste great. Two. Check the oven.

Just back from the bar. I'm a little drunk. A little happy. A little amused. Overall, not a bad start to a three-day weekend here in the US. Happy Friday, all.

These guys are KILLIN' it. Low-cost production, high-quality sound.

We have a spider that lives in the bathroom window. She is a big, healthy girl. I know this because she's had numerous little suitors try to woo her. She must be hard to get, because she made meals out of all of those unlucky hopefuls. And like tim's, she must be eating well, even outside of casual cannibalism. And since she isn't crawling anywhere, she can stay. Any spider that does try crawling around quickly finds out we have two house panthers. Both happen to enjoy little protein snacks that provide a bit of entertainment before they eat them. 🕸️

And that is both good and bad. There are some TERRIBLE GS out there. LOL

Welcome. If someone can get a GS position, they're essentially set for life. I've had friends go from the military to GS positions, triple their pay for the same job, deal with much less strife, and be able to grow a beard. So. Win-win-win.

Government Service. You're essentially another service line in the military. But without all the BS.

Benefits are huge. In our county, we offer the highest wages for phlebotomists. That is, with the exception of the VA. The VA hires phlebotomists as contractors with zero benefits. People that leave us for them soon realize how important paid time off, medical coverage, etc are. So if you can land a spot with good benefits, do it. It's worth between $10-20K a year, depending on how comprehensive the benefits are. Then, as soon as you're able, apply for a GS position.

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the work. This one was awfully fun to write, and I’m happy it resonated with people. 🤠

Thank you for making us laugh, Mister Curry. Your work is the mark by which other cult classics are measured. And I think you'd have it no other way.🫦

Fly high, Dolly. Thank you for putting into words what many of us felt but simply didn't have the tools to say. 💚🎶

Thank you, Parker. This one was really fun to write. And yeah, emotional at times, too. I appreciate the time you spent on it.

Thanks for reading and for the comment, Jeffrey. A comment on every chapter isn't necessary. I appreciate however many I get. I enjoyed this one. I'm glad you did, too. 🤠

Because the bank already owned the farm. The debt was no longer owed by Flemming Ranch; it was foreclosed on. At that point, there are a few things the bank can do, and one of those things is an auction. And that's what they did. Once the auction was announced, the bank could not then take offers for the farm. They had committed to the auction. This is an extremely common practice as farms and ranches fail. You can see it repeatedly over the last two decades if you peruse Midwest agricultural news.

Thank you for the great comment and for reading the story. Yes. No doubt about the winner, is there? I think the entire Nasser crew is friends for life with Mister Taggert after what he pulled. By all means, take some of my other stories for a spin. I'm proud of Guarded, though it has some mechanical issues. But Ash and Ember is probably one of the best things I've done. If you do decide to read, I hope you find something you enjoy. Hopefully I'll see you next time.

Oh, you read it start to finish with no waiting between postings? Lucky. Because we had a few "cliffhangery" moments in this one. Evil, I know. I think this is one of the "tightest" stories I've written. I had the big plot points, and shifted them around until they made sense. THEN I started writing. Usually I begin to write because a scene comes to me. And I build a story around that scene. This one was far more intentional. And it seemed to work out pretty well. But the best plots fall flat without good characters. I like Ash and Taggert. I like the rest of the crew, too. It's hard not to root for them. And yes, the tornado scene in The Middle. When Taggert just couldn't hold it inside any more. That was a keystone moment in the story. You called it, too. Taggert was not happy that he kissed Ash in that moment. But... he also couldn't help himself. It was an overwhelming instant, and he just couldn't help it. Sometimes that's how things are, even in the real world. Thanks for the great comment and for reading the tale. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And we'll have to see about that Epilogue. 🤠

Well, I mentioned this earlier, but I tried writing an epilogue. But it just wasn't working... so I may revisit it down the line. Till then, thanks for reading and for the comments.

Thank you! I greatly appreciate the nice comment. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. It was fun writing it.