Big Dan and Big Dirty Rock the Beef and Beer!

As I have mentioned in previous blog entries I have a Facebook page and the result of this Facebook page has been reconnecting with people that I haven’t seen or heard from in years! One such person has been a fraternity brother of mine named Jazzy. While getting caught up I found out that Jazz and his wife Anna are a big part of Miles for Melanoma of Delaware. It turns out that Anna is a survivor and that one of the co-founders of the organization actually lost her battle with skin cancer.

One of the fundraisers that the organization does every year is they have a Beef and Beer. Lerch and I were supposed to go up together to attend the event but at the last minute he got sick with Bronchitis or Syphilis or something. So I needed a substitute to come off of the bench for Lerch. Replacing Lerch is no easy task… I thought about it for a minute and the only logical choice was Big Dan! Big Dan and I know each other through his brother John (who is a bad ass warrior serving in the USMC in Iraq). Big Dan dwarves Big Dirty! He stands about 6’3 and weighs in around 325lbs. He is a former offensive lineman at nearby University and like Big Dirty he can drink his weight in beer and power through multiple plates of food. At $25.00 a ticket Big Dan and I were sure to have a great time and raise money for a great cause!!! Win/ Win I thought… but as with most things I was not entirely correct about that…

We arrived at the event and got up with Jazz and met his wife and exchanged warm embraces that old friends give each other when too much time has passed between visits. We then made a beeline for the bar. Big Dan beat me there… he moves really quick for a big man but then again he used to be an athlete so I guess he can turn it on/ off as he needs to. Big Dan didn’t have to say a word the bar tender took one look at him and poured him a pitcher. The only question she asked; “Do you need more than one cup?” Dan took a rather long time to answer that and I was beginning to wonder but finally said; “Yes, two please.” We set up camp at the end of table away from a lot of people but with easy access to the food and beer. We clearly had a plan! The event was catered by these guys who live in Newark, DE and compete in BBQ and Chili competitions together. They call themselves Beer Buddies Chili and BBQ. They got into the catering thing I suspect as a means of supporting their cooking habit. They compete in chili cook offs and bbq events. The food was outrageous… Big Dirty loves BBQ and has eaten it all over the country and world. I know great bbq and these guys are on to something! Dan and I devoured huge plates of beef and pulled pork and the slammin’-est baked damn beans I have ever had while pouring large amounts of beer down our throats. Fortunately the live band played loud enough that no one could here the sounds we were making. A cross between a pride of lions devouring an antelope and some sort of Viking feast best describes the noise the two of us were making as we horked down plate after plate! As I sat there sweating over my plate and silently cursing the fact that I didn’t wear something with an elastic waist band these two adorable little girls asked if we wanted to buy tickets for the Chinese auction. Miles for Melanoma had the best prizes available for a Chinese auction I had ever seen. Big Dan and I were an easy sell and we purchased 90 tickets for the auction. As we let the first wave of food settle we drank several more pitchers and came up with a plan for winning what to us was the “Grand Prize” the basket of cheer (a beautiful assortment of booze in a basket). We decided that since most people dump their tickets in at once we would ‘layer’ our tickets by placing them in at different intervals during the night. Like most plans this looked good on paper!

The evening continued with Dan and I drinking and even though I had stopped eating I couldn’t help but to notice every time Big Dan came back to the table with a pitcher of beer or from having dropped our tickets in the basket he had a little pink icing around the corners of his mouth which meant that Big Dan was f*cking some cupcakes up!!! At one point I announced to Dan that we had just finished our 10th pitcher of beer! We clearly were way ahead on the “getting our money’s worth scale.” “Win/Win”; I told Dan! We were having a blast! Talking to old friends and making new ones. Anytime people come together for a good cause and a good time then there is bound to be instant fellowship and the people from Miles for Melanoma have fellowship in spades! We were having such a good time that we easily forgot how this disease has negatively impacted so many wonderful people but we were about to get a reality check in a big way. Every year the event is dedicated to someone who had or has melanoma. Some years it is a survivor and some years it is not… right before the drawing for the Chinese auction the people who run the event (Jazz’s wife included) shared their personal stories with their battle against Melanoma then the person the event is dedicated to is introduced. This years person was not a survivor, he was a victim. This little girl, you know the type probably 21 but looks like she is 16, stands up and addresses the room. As she began to speak and read a letter she had written her father my first thought was; “Oh please don’t do this… don’t read that letter… I am going to end up balling like a hungry infant.” I am a father of two children (a son and a daughter). The thing about having a daughter is they make you want to be a better man. I am listening to this little girl read about her Daddy and all the while I am struggling not to think of my own. It had to have been so hard for that girl but she was a freakin’ trooper! She got through it with strength and dignity and I have no doubt her father would’ve have been proud of her and how she handled that situation. As she finished I thought; “Thank God I only got glassy eyed and didn’t fall to pieces in front of Big Dan!” He would never let me hear the end of it. I look to my left as we stood to give this little girl (Who must be as strong as any 10 men) an ovation and there is Big Dan with tears running down his face and as the little girl walked to her seat she noticed him and gave him a hug. She disappeared behind a wall of Big Dan but I knew she was there because I could see her fingers on his sides (her arms didn’t go all the way around him). She thanked him for being there and he told her how impressed he was with her courage and how the things she shared had touched him. Witnessing that moment was worth the prize of the ticket alone! People giving a shit about other people and sharing feelings and thoughts with strangers are a rare but wonderful thing!

We sat back down and in an effort to not have an awkward moment between us I called him a “big p*ssy” and we both laughed.

Then the moment we were both waiting for… the Chinese auction… we sat quietly waiting for them to get to the basket of cheer… certain that our plan was full proof! They drew for the basket and announced that someone else had won. We weren’t too upset we had already gotten more from the evening than we ever expected. As we were getting up to leave I heard them announce; “Big Dirty… Big Dirty has won item number 23.” WTF?! How is that possible… what is item number 23?! Item number 23 was this huge basket of Whole Foods from the Natural Food Store in Newark. It seems that when you consume 10 pitchers of beer it is easy to put your tickets in the wrong basket! DAMN!!! So Big Dan and Big Dirty left as better men with a basket of healthy food under our arm!

If you would like to get involved with a great group of people who are working together to fight Melanoma please contact Miles For Melanoma of Delaware miles4meanomade@gmail.com . Visit their website at  www.miles4melanomade.org to find out more about the organization. The next event is a 5K at the Wilmington Waterfront! Big Dan and I aren’t as excited about this as we were the beef and beer but decided we would give it shot because you never know what you might learn!!!

Also, if you want more information on the Beer Buddies Chili and BBQ go to http://beerbuddiesbbq.com They are a fun group of guys who can cook their assess off!!!

Tags: Anna, baked beans, beef, Beef and Beer, Beer Buddies Chili and BBQ, Big Dan, big dirty, FaceBook, Jazz, Jazzy, Lerch, Miles for Melanoma of Delaware, pulled pork, reconnecting