I Couldn't Not Do Fried Yard Bird

Ocean temperature: a brisk 60 degrees (to quote the lifeguard's sign)
Beach read: The Late Mr. Shakespeare
Best song heard randomly on the radio: Anchor, Alejandro Escovedo

For the woefully uninformed, today was National Fried Chicken Day and lest you think I have nothing better to do than keep track of such things, please know that I only found out by accident. But once I knew, there was no not celebrating it (I had an ex once who told me I was the queen of the double negatives and there I go proving him right again). The question was how?

The perfect scenario presented itself when Thing 7 spotted a free performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" outdoors on Roanoke Island. Over the years, I've attended more than a few of their performance series, although in the past, it's always been Shakespeare that was being staged. While this was about as far from Shakespeare as possible, it somehow seemed like perfectly appropriate entertainment for a fried chicken feast.

We decided to do it up right, so rather than the standard blanket meal, we brought chairs, a small table and even the Andre Brunel bottle candleholder for a little soundside ambiance. Besides the star of the meal, we had pasta salad, local watermelon, black bean and corn salad and vino. And lots and lots of napkins because we were planning on eating as much fried chicken as possible.

We got several compliments from other attendees about our "elegant" set-up (it was the rickety table and the improvised candleholder that seemed to impress), but our meal was about as down-home as you could get. In honor of my favorite grandmother, I ate both wings first; she always said that the wings had the best-tasting meat and whether that's true or not, it's no concession at all to start small when you're talking about yard bird.

The play was, well, about as Charlie Brown as it gets. The highlight was the Snoopy character, played by a guy who danced and sang like one of the Triangle Players' best showmen and I mean that as a sincere compliment. He made the show for us, providing the best voice, the most sinuous movement and also superb comic timing. The fact that he was playing a beagle may have endeared him to me a tad, but it was mostly his spot-on characterization. Honestly, of all the Peanuts characters, Snoopy is the most fun and definitely the least neurotic anyway.

If National Fried Chicken Day slipped right by you without any acknowledgement, fret not. There's always next year, although there's no guarantee you won't wind up eating your greasy feast in front of even more lackluster entertainment, so be mindful of how best to celebrate.

And don't hesitate to use a double negative to express your positives. I know I don't.