Wooly Mammoth on the Grill

As Father's Day rolls around again, the discussion comes to food and I announce that I will grill. Now, on Mother's Day, the goal is to keep mom out of the kitchen -- to keep her from any type of food preparation at all, actually. But, on Father's Day the same does not hold true.

I discussed my intended menu with my wife and she (lovingly) suggests that I don't even need to grill the meat in question, I could cook it in the oven.

Wait a minute! In the oven? It is important for everyone to understand why men choose to cook outdoors on the grill.

Way back when our ancestors were barely surviving, the men would spend the day hunting the food that was essential to the very survival of the clan. They would track beasts all day, plan the perfect attack and then spring into action -- the poor beast was no match for their prowess and their pointed spears.

Now, with supermarkets and butcher shops, what is the modern day man to do? Most men don't spend the day with other guys patiently tracking down the "kill of the day" and grunting with pleasure when it is brought down and divided for all to share. Today, we walk into the market, look at what is ready to cook, pay for it and take it home to put on the grill.

But, it is in that act of starting the fire (alas, the ignition of the propane!) and the sizzling of the meat on the grill, that we feel again, in a small way, that we have provided for the clan. That the children will not go hungry, that our wife will look at us with pride and brag to the other wives about her husband's latest "kill" that was prepared for the family.

Yes, as the smoke rises from the grill, deep inside of me, I feel as if I have survived another harrowing day in this world and we will go to bed with full stomachs and a feeling of contentment in all that has come our way.