Errors are Unacceptable When it Comes to Barbecue

I know this may be hard to believe, but we’re humans here at The Chronicle, and thus prone to making mistakes. Recently, I wrote a story on the essentials of barbecue that was published with a few errors about distinguishing the origins of styles (I mixed up the cities by mistake). I’d made the corrections before publication, it just didn’t make it onto the page before print.
Now, most of you might have waived the mistake off, if you caught it at all.
“She’s just a kid, she doesn’t know anything barbecue.”
You’d be wrong.
I’ve been living with my father, Jeff ‘The BBQ Guy’ Simons for the entirety of my 19 years. One does not simply get through that without knowing a rather lot about this subtle art and hearing all The Stories countless times. There’s a lot of pressure to get things absolutely right when it comes to this particular topic.
So, needless to say, when I saw that the article had been published in error, I nearly had a heart attack: “Should I even bother going home tonight? Where will I live after making this dire mistake? Should I even bother continuing to exist?”
And then it hit me:
I might know a lot about barbecue, but it’s my father who’s the master. It’s never been my thing, so it’s conceivable that I could make some mistakes. Like I said, I’m human! It’s OK to mess up occasionally.
And it’s not like I’m a stranger to having mistakes published, because let’s be honest, I can really mess up sometimes, but it’s never hit me like that before.
I’ve always really respected my father’s opinion, and I’ve tried to be a good daughter. (Yes, this involves a lot of hours pulling pork shoulders.) Some of my writing that I’m most proud of is a part of his recipe booklet. But heaven forbid I get the origins of different BBQ Styles mixed up!
But hey, at least I tried. I wrote about the precious art of barbecue, Dad, aren’t you proud of me?
I’m still apprehensive of returning home tonight though.