Regional Ribs, Regional Hope - Ribs are Like Hope
When I started out writing about ribs and hope, I thought I knew a thing or two about both. After all, why in the world would I start something that I didn’t know anything about. Come to find out, I really didn’t know all that much about either one.
I thought I had a handle on ribs: the types, cuts, rubs, cooking, wrapping, sauces, side dishes. But the more I researched, the more I read, the more I’ve come to understand how little I actually know or understand.
For example, I thought there were only two or three different regional styles of ribs. Boy was I wrong! Here’s a “short” list of the distinctive styles I’ve discovered.
Memphis
Kansas City
St. Louis
Central Texas
East Texas
Western North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
California’s Central Coast
Chicago
Kentucky
Hawaii
And if I were a betting man, I bet you that I could find more if I tried.
When something is important, people put a lot of time, energy, resource, and yes even money into it. It’s obvious to me that a lot of people are VERY serious about their ribs. And having all these different styles of ribs is just another indication of how significant it is to them.
Did you know there are different kinds of hope? Because our English word has lots of potentially different meanings (1) there can be confusion and disagreements about it. Here is my unofficial list of three different kinds of hope.
Distant Hope – a way-out-there desire for something to happen, no matter how remote the possibility. Example: I hope I win the lottery.
Daily Hope – the normal, run-of-the-mill kind of hope. Example: I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.
Definite Hope – not a hope so, but a hope definite: a hope that will not fade, fail, or fluctuate.
This is what I call Ultimate Hope. And there are precious few hopes that qualify as Ultimate Hope (2).
Don’t be distracted or discouraged by the many kinds of hope. Don't waste your limited time and energy on the Distant hope. And don't spend much time on Daily hope. But put everything you've got into Definite hope. The only kind of hope that will not disappoint, discourage, or disown you.
It is well worth the wait, well worth the journey, well worth the effort
(1) Sometimes referred to as its “lexical range.”
(2) https://www.nationaldayofhope.net/ultimate-hope