BBQ: Stemming from the word “barbacoa” in the West Indies. It means to cook meat over an open flame. Therefore, for you sticklers out there, in this article the words “BBQ” and “grilling” are synonymous.

Well, summer is dwindling and everyone can practically hear the snow laughing mischievously as it approaches. It seems that this is about the time when the majority of students tend to wane their outdoor activities as if bracing for winter. STOP IT!

To soak up the final remnants of summer, some girls are going to go lie on the grass and read magazines in short-shorts and tanks just to make their presence known to the males. And the dudes will be out behind Southview and Kuyper playing Ultimate Frisbee with their shirts off – failing to gain an ounce of attention from the women.

You want real community outside? I got three letters for you: BBQ. There is no better way to enjoy the last moments of warmth like being outside while cooking meat over an open flame. Food brings people together – Fact. Meat tastes better when it has been cooked by fire – Fact. And dudes, put your shirts back on because showing the ladies you can BBQ will get you all the attention you can handle – FACT!

With BBQ, you can be close to all your buds without being crowded in a kitchen. You can leave your cooking station to throw the football around or just sit back and kick it. You can eat outside, soaking in the Creation while raging all over that double-patty burger, chicken wings, ribs, or whatever you desire. Doesn’t that sound better than sitting in some cookie-cutter apartment, convincing yourself that those Great Value noodles taste fine with that jarred spaghetti sauce?

What’s beautiful about BBQ is that the simpler it is, the better. All you need is meat, two sides (chips and potato salad) and some drinks and you’ve got yourself a party. Imagine standing at the grill – your altar – armed with a spatula or a pair of tongs, smoke licking your face and causing you to glisten with perspiration in the sun, and realizing that what you are doing at that moment is joining in on the laughter and love between friends united by food, by the sun in the sky, and by the fresh air with the perfume of smoke lingering in your nostrils.

Do it. Seriously. Get ten of your friends together and round up whatever you want to cook. It might sound like I’m joking, but I’m not. If you haven’t experienced the magic that a BBQ party can create, then I truly pity you. And no, the cookouts you’ve had at your parents’ house don’t count. Put on your own cookout with your closest friends. You won’t be disappointed.

If you are serious about having a BBQ and can’t decide what to cook or how to cook it, email me. I have all of my recipes recorded. And they are out of this world.

Ryan Lapadula, Columnist