...the first hamburger of the barbeque season. Even though it was raining a little, we managed to kick off barbeque season this evening.

Ever since winter's back was broken sometime around the first of February, the talk at the weekly family gatherings has inevitably turned to longing for the summer barbeque.

This is a family tradition from ever since I can remember. Dad around the bbq fanning the flames or flipping the burgers (remember those flat round grills on a tripod?) and me and my friends running around barefoot in the backyard as the smell of cooking hamburgers wafted through the neighborhood. Those lazy days of summer that seem to last forever when you're a kid but flash by when you're older.

Then a decade or so later there was the big round "ball-b-que"; a red sphere with a half-dome lid supported on a flared column stand. Very cool. And later still a brief foray into the miniature world of the tabletop Hibachi and finally the big square bbq - still charcoal burning, but with enough surface area to now accommodate for kids and spouses, the newer members of our family. And now its the grandchild that's running around barefoot in the backyard as we adults kick back on the deck, beer in hand and burgers on the grill and just hang out with family. Everyone is so busy - it's really the only time we all get together to catch up and plan for stuff.

We continue this tradition now in Dad's memory and we even used that same old square bbq until last year when we got Mom the new propane one. An era was over but the tradition remains. And the burgers, cooked outside over flame, still taste just as good.