“You don't win friends with potato salad.”

- Homer Simpson

Is there anything to look forward to these days? Well, yes, there is, because friends and neighbors, this is the Memorial Day weekend.

Have you ever wondered why it is that we get so happy about having a three-day weekend? Maybe the cure for the work week is a simple prescription of 24 hours of not being at the office. Just one simple day of not “clocking in.”

Surely we could debate this issue all we want but the secret to enjoying not being at work is to not think about what you “normally” do from 9 to 5.

With that, the thermostat is starting to hover around 80 for more than a day, tan lines are starting to make a pleasurable comeback and, in my humble opinion, that signals that summer has officially begun.

Put the long days of winter out of your mind. For the next few months the only ice you'll be scraping will be for margaritas.

It's also time to get out on the boat and hit the water, (oh, I almost forgot I don't own a boat; good thing I remembered that before I got to the middle of the lake.)

But I do have a grill and I plan on flame-broiling my long weekend away.

Chicken, steak, shrimp; nothing will be safe by the time I get my propane tank refilled and hooked up.

See, I may not be able to cook very well, but I can burn just about anything, and when you grill all you have to do is make sure you burn lines into the meat so people know you tried.

But there are some guidelines I think you should follow if you want to throw a truly remarkable Memorial Day gathering.

First of all, show the hot dog some respect. Go to the store and actually buy “true” hot dog buns.

Don't be the person who just puts the dog on a slice of bread with ketchup and folds it up.

This is not make-your-own-taco night, this is a barbecue for heaven's sake.

Also if you are putting out a big spread make sure you represent all the basic food stuffs for a good cookout, namely potato salad, regular salad, pasta salad and some chips.

Keep in mind, though, that most people are, for the most part, generous.

You'll get friends who offer to bring beer (say yes), others that offer to bring more chips (maybe) or food (NO!) I cannot stress this enough, if someone says that they would be more than happy to bring a dish to pass, and you say yes, then be prepared to come up with a good answer when everyone is asking what the pink and coconut mush is suppose to be. I've never been able to form a proper excuse for this Tupperware-filled marshmallow hate crime.

But no matter what you have on your plate, keep in mind to enjoy your day off.

Auburn native Bradley Molloy's column appears here, each

Sunday, in The Citizen.

He can be reached at lovonian@hotmail.com