We Need a Boy

One of the joys of springtime is grilling outdoors. The smell of meat cooking on the grill can make my mouth water. Ribs, chicken, burgers, it doesn’t matter all smell great to me.

This past Friday I invited a friend over to grill out with me at my apartment. It was a beautiful night. Perfect for grilling out. She brought the burgers and I supplied the salad. We each had our drink of choice in hand; red wine for me and beer for her.

Shortly after she arrived I headed out onto my balcony to start up the gas grill. I opened the propane tank, turned the knob on the grill to the on position and clicked the igniter button. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened. I checked the connection from the grill to the tank. It was tight. I tried again and nothing happened. I closed the valve on the tank and opened it again. I pushed the igniter one more time. Nothing happened.

At this point my friend stepped in, she tried a few times and was also unsuccessful. She asked “Are you sure you have gas in the tank?” “Yes,” I replied “or at least I think I do.” I wondered to myself, wasn’t I hearing or smelling something coming out of the tank?

I tried to pick up the tank. It was heavy – perhaps it wasn’t empty. I recalled that when I first bought it the tank had seemed heavy to me. Hmmm. I tried to lessen my frustration and lighten the mood by joking that I wished a boy were around to help. I explained that a male friend had put the grill together last summer for me and that I wished he were there to help.

I undid the tank and dragged it from the balcony through my third floor apartment to the elevator and out to my friend’s truck. She and I hopped in and headed to the Petro Station.

I paid for my tank to be refilled and a male cashier came out to fill it up. He placed it on the scale and immediately called out to me. “Uh, ma’am it appears that you tank is almost completely full.” Ugh, I thought to myself. With laughter in my voice I explained our escapade. As he refunded my money he suggested that I buy a lighter, as perhaps the igniter was simply broken.

Pulling into my apartment complex my friend and I noticed a young man working in a garage and I joked that we could ask him to help us carry the tank back up and get it on the grill. As I walked to the back of the truck she asked “Do you think we should go ask him for help?” “Sure, but you get to do the flirting and the asking,” I answered.

My neighbor was kind enough to help us out. He carried it up to my balcony and even connected it back to the grill. After the tank was reconnected I turned the know and placed the lighter down into the grill. This time something happened. The grill started up without a problem. Yeah! I thanked my neighbor for his help and my friend handed him two beers for the road.

Lesson Learned: I guess sometimes you just need to have a boy around.