Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I'm in mourning....



It's a sad sad day around the Cox household. No No, not because school starts this week...we're excited for that! Because....you see....back when I was 12, my grandpa (my mom's dad, Paul) and I started a hobby of making beef jerky. Kinda weird, I know. But it was so fun! He bought a dehydrator, and I thought it was super cool. Plus, I love jerky...it's basically the sole reason I quit being a vegetarian after almost 3 years! Anyway, about once every other week or so, I would walk from good ol' Clayton Junior High to my grandpa's house. We'd head to Albertson's, where my grandpa knew all the butchers, and pick out the best meat for the job. Then we'd head back, carefully cut the meat up, marinate fit or 4-6 hours, then cook it for 8-12 more hours. My dear grandpa was an engineer, and a VERY precise man, so, you can imagine the process this was! He would set an alarm for every 2 hours during the night to get up and rotate the jerky so it was equally dehydrated. Wow, it was delicious. Good stuff.


Anyway, there are things you could always count on being in my grandpa's fridge....coke, strawberry fruit roll ups, oreos, and the yellow tub of beef jerky. I got so close to him on these afternoons of jerky making. It was like "our thing" together, and I loved, admired, and respected him so much. He passed away on January 26, 1996. It was, of course, very hard for the whole family. As we were going through his home, we came across the dehydrator. Of course, I took it! I've been making beef jerky since....and I'm sure it drives him nuts because I am definitely NOT the exact science, measure everything, rotate everything type! I toss all the ingredients in, marinate it for a while (sometimes too long...hello salt!), then dry it for a while (again, sometimes too long..who's home for 12 hours at a time?!). More or less, it turns out. Not nearly as good as his work, but, alas, it's good.


And there's the background for you....here's the sad news of why I would be so devastated...that my dehydrator is out of commission. Gone. Not working. Done for. I'm so sad! I whipped out the loyal thing before our Vegas trip to make the classic road trip goodie...and it was unusually noisy, but seemed to be working. Well....12 hours later, no done jerky. So...I had my friend Sarah come check on it later after we had left for the trip...and I think about 3 trips and 18 more hours later, it was mostly done. So, RJ and I made the sad trip out to the garage for the disposal of the dehydrator. Yes, we even took pictures.


Anyway, just thought I'd explain the sadness behind losing my 14 year old Shopko dehydrator....I'm not a mountain man, just a granddaughter who loves and dearly misses her grandfather, even 12 years later.

8 comments:

  1. Ahhhhhh......how sad. :-(

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  2. That is one of the saddest and at the same time sweetest things ever. You HAVE to buy another one so you can at least carry on the tradition in spirit (even if it is updated to keep up with new technology).

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  3. Tears! I've had me some of dem jerky from that there dehydratin thing in my youth!

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  4. Oh my gosh Kates, I needed a good cry today and that one did it for me, especially with John Lennon singing In My Life, in the background! Those were the best times ever- like walking over to his house rain or shine! (Remember when Waldo pulled Nick through the gutter? I love you Kates!

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  5. What a sweet little tribute to your grandpa, the dehydrator, the process, and jerky. I really hope that you fund another machine so that you can continue making your little treat.

    I too love jerky, I don't know if I would be talented enough to make it, but I would surely eat it. I bet that your grandpa is proud just to know how much it means to you.

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  6. Your grandpa would be so proud that you loved it to the end and that you carry on his tradition. What a great story! I never knew that about you....

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  7. Oh sweetie my heart goes out to you. Homemade jerky is a wonderful thing. I too have good memories of cooking some jerky with my grandpa. That is a rad dehydrator so i'm sorry it gave up on you.

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  8. that's probably the cutest/saddest story ever. i want you to continue making jerky and you should bring it to work. speaking of work- i haven't seen you in ages and it mades me sad! i trained 2 new peeps this week and it made me think of you when you trained me not too long ago! hopefully we can all get back on a schedule and i can see you soon!

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