Senior Q Gets Better With Age
By Morgan Wotherspoon
It has been another busy year for Big Boned BBQ. We are a small catering and competition team from Cranston, Rhode Island. We are members of the New England Barbecue Society and are very proud of our Senior Q project year after year. It is by far our best event of the fall. October in New England provides us with beautiful fall days to cook barbecue and I especially look forward to seeing my friends at the Coventry and West Warwick Senior Centers year after year.
This year was not only busy for Big Boned BBQ but also for the Coventry and West Warwick Senior Centers and our events were pushed back a few weeks this year. The Coventry dinner was cooked on October 28th and the West Warwick dinner was cooked on November 4th. These were the most convenient dates for the staff of each location.
My Wife and I sat down with Pat Saballa events coordinator of The Coventry Senior Center to pick out the date and go over the meal. The meal consisted of Pulled Pork and Chicken with Sweet Potato Pecan Pudding, Baked Beans, Coleslaw, and Cornbread. The Dessert was vanilla and chocolate cake. We severed sixty seniors who were very happy. After the food was served I was able to sit and eat with the seniors and take in the whole experience with them. It was a few days before Halloween so they discussed the costumes that they would be wearing that Friday for their annual Halloween Party. One of the Ladies wouldn't spill the beans on what her costume was going to be. I'm sure it was a good one. I also got to spend some time with my old neighbor Bunny from Coventry that I haven't seen since we moved to Cranston. It was nice to talk about our kids and her Grandkids and the memories we had together.
My second event was the West Warwick Senior Center where we held our first Senior Q event several years ago. Manny Murray the director of the West Warwick Senior Center felt pushing the dinner back to November 4th would give him more time to advertise the event. We served 90 seniors a nice barbecue meal of pulled pork, ribs, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, and Texas toast. The dessert was a variety of locally made cakes. This event was also special because it had a country band. The Rhode Island Rednecks provided the entertainment for the evening. I am very blessed to have many friends at the West Warwick Senior Center that look forward to this meal all year. Some even ask if I can cook every month for them. It was nice to sit with them and just relax and enjoy their company. My wife and children also helped out with this event and also took some pictures for me.
The best part of Senior Q is sitting with the seniors and becoming part of their world for the night. They were very nice and sent me a beautiful thank you card and a signed apron. I truly treasure my time spent at the Coventry and West Warwick Senior Centers and encourage anyone interested in doing an event to jump right in, you will truly be blessed by the people you meet.
