Wine is the best part of the meal

Decided to cook for Tio and Consuelo one night. A way to help out and say thanks. Also a way to inject something other than ham into our diets.

Grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon. Uh, not such a hot idea. The stores are closed on Sunday so it's a battle royale trying to get food. I get a couple items and need to find fish at another store.

I pop in this one fish store I had seen, but find out everything is frozen. It's all in little square compartments that you can reach in and pick up your desired solidified fish. While I watch people do this, the sound it makes is similar to building blocks. Instead of kids and legos - it's adults with frozen fish.

Head up to another grocery store and decide to get some filets. As I wait in line, the fish counter is pure entertainment and amazing. A woman grabs the fish some man selects, hauls it up on a block and takes a cleaver to its head. After it gets brushed aside, she peels away it's skin and keeps working on it for him. Once it's all in good shape, she grabs a garden hose and sprays off the block. They don't have this kind of service in Publix.

When I get home, the family is mulling about outside and I decide it's time to cook. As soon as I do, they all start piling in one at a time to check out what I'm doing. I'm not used to having an audience and begin to get cooking stage fright.

Time for some wine!

I slam a glass or so to get going and also to help me answer any questions they have. They have plenty. Questioning by at least two or three people at the same time and it's about food which makes it even more intense. It kinda scares the crap out of me. Consuelo likes that I'm drinking while working and I give her a little cheers motion. Gotta love drunk cooking. But I'm just joining in - everyone is already ahead of me.

Tio pops in and says "I was not aware that you were a good cook". I tell him in English "You haven't tasted it yet!". I cooked a couple fish filets in wine, butter, garlic, green onion accompanied by sauteed spinach and tomatoes.

The fish and I go glass for glass of wine. It's got to be about as drunk off it's ass as I am. I take the remaining fish stock in the pan and add a little more wine and butter to create a sauce for the pasta. They both like it to my relief.

Been torn a bit about leaving for side trips. I get reassurance from Consuelo when she tells me that one day spent in A Coruna or Santander is plenty. I guess I sense the end is near and want to see things but also soak up as much time in Piedras as I can. I know all of what I've experienced won't be fully grasped until I return to the states, so my job for the next month is to absorb as much as possible.

Evening dinners are the best because Tio is very talkative and not shy with his opinions.

Last night, we get to talking about a relative of ours, Anita. "She was an extraordinary person." Tio says and he's right. She had a sense of humor like you wouldn't believe and was always living it up. Dancing, smiling, singing, laughing - she certainly made an impression.

As I walk around town I notice people sitting on their decks like she did with her family in St. Louis. On any given Sunday you would find everyone at her house as she was constantly receiving visitors. Just like her mom, Mary, who happened to be born in this house as Tio points out the room to me.

After a long battle with cancer, Anita passed away. Even through treatments she still kept her sense of humor. For her birthday, someone gave her a colostomy Barbie which she proudly showed. The altered Barbie had a tiny clear bag attached to it filled with little brownie poo balls. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen and Anita just howled saying how accurate they got it.

Tio has Anita's last message on his answering machine. He tells me she called out to him to tell him she was dying. I tear up a bit. I don't know if it's hearing a person so full of life announce their own death or the fact that Tio tells me he won't erase it from his machine.

Extraordinary people are hard to come by. When we find them, we need to appreciate them while they're here.