After I was dumped out at the airport, I wheeled my suitcase inside that contained the ham, praying it wouldn’t weigh more than the 50-pound allowed limit. I figured I’d be okay since I always bring more back than I take; and the ham weighed about 10 pounds. It was shoulder- to-shoulder in the busy airport as I walked to the customer desk to check in my suitcase and get my ticket.
I’ve always been told that if they announce your name over the intercom, it isn’t a good sign. So I held my breath as my suitcase went through the scanner without any beeping notifications. I breathed a sigh of relief as I loaded the plane, knowing that my ham had made it on the plane, too. Now, if it just stayed frozen until I got back to Tulsa, I’d be in the clear.
About two and half hours later, I landed and walked to the carousel to pick up my suitcase. Since I fly often, I’ve gotten to know a couple of the young men who help with luggage at the airport. When Evan saw me, he said, “Hi, Miss Amie! What did you bring back from Chicago this time? Did you hit any good sales?”
I gave him a grin because he remembered me needing assistance from the last two times; and that’s only because my suitcase was stuffed to the limit with my Goodwill purchases.
That’s when I confessed to him that I’d brought back less items because I had to make room for a ham. “Ham? You brought back an entire ham in your luggage?” He laughed.
“Well, not an entire ham, just a section,” I said. “I wasn’t about to let my daughter throw it away. I thought I raised her better than that, but she’s been in the city for a while now. We all know that leftover ham is good and will be even better in a pot of beans.”
Evan got a good laugh and asked how I got through TSA with the ham.
“I guess they didn’t notice,” I said. “And they didn’t ask, do I didn’t tell them.”
I made it to my vehicle and put the radio on Latino Christmas music because it was still on my mind from my Uber ride. I pulled off the Vian exit about an hour or so later and unloaded my treasured ham. It was still frozen, so I put half in the refrigerator and half in the freezer.
Over the next week, I had ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, ham and sweet potatoes, well, you get the idea. I was living high on the hog (so to speak)! The last of the first bag went into some baked beans, so none of it was wasted. The other bag is still in my freezer for when I decide to cook a pot of brown beans.
With Christmas on the way, I decided to take it a step farther. I’m going to leave Santa a ham sandwich instead of cookies and milk. The man needs some protein if he’s going to make all of his stops on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas to all of our readers!
