Published piece

There I was standing right in front of my favorite food place. Buffalo Wild Wings is also  known as BW3's. Or at least that's what my dad and I call it So we went inside asa waitress seated us at an outdoor table. It was very fun looking at the menu because the wings menu was the best.

I have always loved spending time with my dad. My dad is really fun. We always do really fun stuff. We go to Michigan State football games in East Lansing. We go bowling at Thunderbird Lanes. One time, I was at a tailgate for MSU football before the MSU-Purdue game. I knew MSU was going to win. I was playing touch football with my dad, my brother Drew, who was in 4th grade, and Wes, my hyper four year old little brother. Wes reminds me of me when I was his age. 

I went out for a pass. I looked up and saw my dad waving for me to go deep. I know a lot of pass routes, so I decided to do the old stop and go route. I ran ten yards down the grass right next to the chemistry building on MSU’s campus. They have a really big field where a lot of people tailgate. 

I looked up and saw my dad waving the ball. I knew he was going to go deep to me. I run fast, and my brother Drew was covering me. I saw the ball coming, and knew I had to somehow reach around Drew to snag this ball. My dad threw a perfect spiral. I could see the white stripes of the ball contrast with the solid green flying toward me. I thought, “Just jump! Jump, jump. Jump over his head and catch it.”

I reached up with both hands and had my index fingers connected in a pyramid shape.  the ball landed perfectly in the sweet spot between my palms. I had it! Drew collapsed at my feet and desperately lunged for my ankles, but he couldn’t catch me. Wes was the only guy between me and a touchdown. The end zone was marked by two identical green bushes. I was sprinting toward the end zone, but couldn’t resist the urge to mock my brothers. I held the ball behind me like Marshawn Lynch from the Seattle Seahawks. I lifted my left foot in the air and held the ball behind me as I glided into the end zone untouched.

My dad immediately came running to the end zone and right then we knew what to do. I motioned to him my tapping my shoulder and it was side bump time. We both jumped up in the air at the same time and bumped sides. My dad is 6’1” tall, and about 195 pounds. He almost knocked me over. “Let’s go!” my dad said.

I couldn’t resist the urge to mock my brothers again. I dusted off each off my shoulders in a gesture that meant, “You can’t touch me.”

Sometimes these memories come back to me when I am at different places with my dad. What I like best about being with my dad is that he always has a smile on his face, which puts a smile on my face as well. He helps me calm down by rubbing my back when I’m upset or mad and tells me, “It’s okay, Jake.”

 There were all sorts of flavors and seasonings and the menu at BW3’s went from "Smiling" to "Sizzling" to "Burning" and finally "Blazing". My dad said that he had eaten Blazing and it was very spicy.  He ate 6 blazing wings before. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked him as a joke,

"Were you drunk when you were eating the wings? I mean, because they are really hot!!!" I thought he must have gone crazy to eat them.

He laughed and said "No, but when I was eating, the Blazing wings were so hot they tasted horrible!!"

I think my dad is blazing. A blazing, amazing dad.