Brad Olson
TVWBB Platinum Member
This afternoon I got a text from my younger daughter: "Alex and I will be stopping by after dinner. We have a gift for you."
So I'm puzzled. I replied, "It's probably not as nice as this steak."

Hey, it's a pretty nice rib steak! And she wrote back, "It'll go well with that."
So they show up and Alex is carrying something covered with a towel. I was expecting (and hoping for, to be honest, since I was grilling a really nice steak) some beer or maybe a bottle of fancy brandy, but nooo...I get this instead:

It's an early '70s brown Smokey Joe they found at a thrift shop. It's clearly never been used but has a significant defect, although there's no way to tell if it came that way from the factory or if it was the result of assembly at the hands of someone who never should've been allowed near it.


The Obligatory Reading Material pegs this as a '73-74 model.

So for one of the incredibly few times in my life, I was rendered almost speechless. Plus, since they stopped by after *their* dinner I didn't have to share my steak.
So I'm puzzled. I replied, "It's probably not as nice as this steak."

Hey, it's a pretty nice rib steak! And she wrote back, "It'll go well with that."
So they show up and Alex is carrying something covered with a towel. I was expecting (and hoping for, to be honest, since I was grilling a really nice steak) some beer or maybe a bottle of fancy brandy, but nooo...I get this instead:

It's an early '70s brown Smokey Joe they found at a thrift shop. It's clearly never been used but has a significant defect, although there's no way to tell if it came that way from the factory or if it was the result of assembly at the hands of someone who never should've been allowed near it.


The Obligatory Reading Material pegs this as a '73-74 model.

So for one of the incredibly few times in my life, I was rendered almost speechless. Plus, since they stopped by after *their* dinner I didn't have to share my steak.

Last edited: