Today is National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day. Now, if you ask me, the filling on that pie is decent at best…
…too much tang, not enough sweetness.
The only reason I ever cared about it was because of my gramma and her sisters, the Stier girls from Greensburg, Indiana. They could bake circles around the rest of the Western world. Okay, well at least across the Hoosier State.
Their crusts weren’t just good, they were holy… and they had to be because three out of the nine girls became nuns.
You could drop horse crap in the filling, and if one of those saintly old German ladies made the crust, the pie would be divine.
They knew something about grit. They came up during hard times…
… dust, depression, war. Their father, my great-grandfather was a cutter who worked hard to provide for his large family.
Nothing was wasted, and nothing came easy. They didn’t cut corners, and they sure as hell didn’t complain. Every pie was made from scratch with work-worn hands and quiet strength. That crust? A sermon in flour and lard.
Last night, I missed most of Game Two of the Pacers championship series. An important client with determined urgency pulled me away. I’ve been a Pacer fan since I was a kid and it stung. Bills don’t pay themselves, and a man shows up for what feeds his family, not just what feeds his soul.
Turns out, the Pacers lost and I didn’t miss much of a game. More importantly, I didn’t miss a single bid or offer in the markets. That’s the kind of stat that doesn’t show up in the box score, but it matters just the same.
Grit before gratification.
That’s a lesson you don’t get from books or podcasts. You learn it in the trenches when you are working late instead of watching the game. When you choose duty over desire. When you swallow your frustration and still do the job. An instinct built with integrity passed from one generation to the next.
Maybe, just maybe, a slice of strawberry rhubarb, even if it’s not my favorite, will still taste like home. Reminding me where I came from and who loved me when I was a little boy.
Have a glorious Monday Chalkheads and a strong start to the week.
