Tuesday Traditions : Pizza King

This story involves two traditions, the place we eat every time we get near Angola and the rusty old Bethany vans that we always take to team camp. Ever wonder why those smell the way they do (like rotting, maggoty, vomited trash)? Perhaps this story will explain. But first, the history.

My wife and I grew up and started dating in Angola. My parents would only allow us two dates a month when I turned 16 (I wasn't allowed to date at all before 16). It was a good rule, but you can ask me more about that later. Anyways, one of the dates that Courtney and I would always take each month was going to dinner after a basketball or football game at the local Pizza King. So the place holds dear memories for me.

When we started team camp in Angola, I decided to make my good memories become good memories for the team. We began to frequent Pizza King as a dinner location every time we got near to Angola. Not because the pizza is great, although I really like it, just because it is what we do.

One year, we went to play a scrimmage against Angola. After the scrimmage, we hit up Pizza King as we always do. We ate too much, teased too much, watched baseball on the TV, and were probably way too loud for the other patrons pleasure. But Alex Bullard decided he wasn't done with the experience, he wanted to take some home. So, he ordered a 16" pizza to go.

We got back in the rusty old van and headed home. As we did it began to rain, so we closed all the windows. The smell of pizza over took the van and we teased Alex about taking a whole 16" home. Being teenagers, most of the guys were beginning to get hungry again and offered to eat it for him right then. Alex protested, saying he was taking it to his family, or it was for lunch throughout the week, or whatever. He wouldn't give us any. We got back to the school with the van smelling like pizza, and Alex with 16" all to himself.

Except...

He left it in the van. Forgot about it or something. And I forgot to check the van to see if everything was out. It was probably late and I wanted to get home to my wife or something. So the pizza sat in the van... for two weeks.

Two weeks later, the soccer team (ha!), had to use the van to go to a match. What was in there but a rotting, moldy, disgusting 16" pizza, compliments of the tennis team. The smell was so overwhelming that they had to change vehicles, and leave the van sitting with windows open for 3 days. Yum.

And I'm sure that smell never really got out. Hence the reason the vans still smell like they are covered in mold. But we'll still take a van to tennis camp, and we'll still go to Pizza King. Because that's what we do. They give us stories.

(But let's throw the extra pizza away this time.)