Mr. Puffy will smoke that for you.
I should explain…
A family moved into the neighborhood about six years ago and quickly wove themselves into the fabric of the village. The mom is delightful, and the dad is an extrovert – very eager to make friends. Whenever someone suggests an outing or get-together, he’s usually the first to respond with “IN!” It’s very endearing. One Christmas we were buying tickets to see Aimee Mann and Ted Leo at the Birchmere and sent out a text to see who wanted tickets. Guess who was “IN!”? The funny thing is that he’s more of a country music fan and had never heard of Aimee Mann, and certainly not Ted Leo. He just loves to be with his peeps.
Anyhoo, I digress…so this guy knew he had made it into the heart of the neighborhood when he discovered he had a nickname: Puffy. So, his last name is Combs, and of course, who’s famous for being a Combs? Sean Combs, aka Puffy. So, Mr. Combs became Puffy. The kids got so used to hearing all the adults refer to him as Puffy, that he became Mr. Puffy. You’d hear kids say, “Mr. Puffy, can Nico come out to play?” or “Mr. Puffy, my dad wants to know if he can borrow your lawn mower.”
Mr. Puffy has gotten himself a smoker, and he’ll smoke your meat for you every Thursday. Just bring your goods to his backyard Thursday afternoon and he’ll work his magic. He’s gotten really good at it. A couple weeks ago, a tiny bit hurt, he asked Chris why he never brings him anything to smoke. What gives? Chris replied that we don’t eat meat, but we’d love for him smoke some fish. It was on. Attention village: there will be fish smoking this Thursday! Another guy took orders for the District Wharf. By 5:00 this afternoon, about $300 worth of fish arrived in Puffy’s backyard. We had a lovely meal of smoked trout and salmon (and my very favorite, which I didn’t let anywhere near that smoker: raw oysters).
Thanks, Mr. Puffy!
My Corner of the Village 