-Isms: Views on life in rural America

Katie Lee, a cookbook author, cooked up the perfect essence of summer when she said, “If summer had one defining scent, it’d definitely be the smell of barbecue.”

Oh, so true.

Summertime takes me back to days gone by, recreating visions of Dad grilling steak or pork chops on a charcoal grill in the backyard. The waft of barbecue reminds me of burgers on the grill and neighborhood get-togethers.

And, since I’m writing this three days before my favorite holiday, I’m craving a juicy, stuffed burger, hot off the Traeger, on the Fourth of July.

It’s possible I wouldn’t have given much thought to ba...