Bonfires, Bullies, and Baseball

Cinco de Mayo is swiftly approaching, and I don't typically drink mas tequila on a Monday, thus we celebrated it on Wednesday Family night this week.  (And I subbed whiskey for tequila....the Irish like to embrace Hispanic culture as well).  Plus, we had a rare 80 degree sunny day.  So I whipped up some grilled carne asada, mango salsa, and my hubs set up the bonfire.  Porch swing, sweet tea, BBQ, family, friends, and a bonfire----nothing beats it.

Here's my MANGO SALSA RECIPE.  I usually use up various things, but this is what I had for this time round:
one full ripe mango peeled
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a splash of olive oil
a splash of worcheshire
juice of one lime
1/2 of one jalepeno pepper
1 cup diced tomatoes (I used cherry this time, but you can use whatever)
1 cup cilantro
onions would be great--but my sister is weird and loses her appetite if she even smells onions
If you can make the night before--do it, it gets spicier over night.
Also goes fantastic on shrimp or fish tacos

My nephew shared with us a recent event at the high school where he was basically taunted and bullied to "fight after school".  Ugh---are we all irritated yet at all of this bullying?  I am not one to endorse violence, but I do think on some level the main way bullies back off is if they  get a bit scared.  If you act like a honey badger for a hot second, people typically won't mess with you.  My sweet nephew is a gentle giant, and I cringe at the idea of people picking on him because he rarely stands up for himself.  But not this time, no.  My sweet Gentle Giant dropped some profanity and the kids actually apologized!!! No blood drawn, no suspensions, crisis avoided.  Now, I can't in all rationality tell the kids that I see in counseling to drop a couple of F-bombs at their bullies.  Their parents would kills me!  But I can tell them to find that inner rage--and give some sort of guttural, primal, and potentially squatchy yell and say simply "back off and leave me ALONE!!!". 

We  may not be wealthy, extremely talented, or exotically gorgeous---but we know how to throw a ba-bah-coo (Cajun for BBQ).  The men pretend that they are going to the World Series of Softball (it doesn't exist for 30 something men), the kids pretend they are shirtless ninjas attacking the world of garden worms, the teenagers canoodle and laugh, and the women soak up every bit of giggle and smile around them.  Happy and Safe Cinco De Mayo Everyone---"I don't always get bullied, but when I do I call them Butt Sandwiches"---Stay Thirsty My Friends! 

Picture courtesy of Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/pin/128352658101889699/