Let's begin our story in the 90s. There is a restaurant here in Provo called The Brick Oven and it has been the place for all of Casey's birthdays since he was around 8 years old. DEDICATION.
Since Junior High, Casey has taken the habit of writing on the comment cards they leave at the tables that he wants what is fondly known as The Brick Oven Pig, leaving 3-7 comment cards per month. (History of the Pig as far as this writer knows: The Brick Oven Pig was put on the walls in Brick Oven some time in the late 90s and has been a beloved relic of eaters alike since). The comment cards tapered off in college, but every so often, 2 would pop up. In high school, Casey even took his request so far as to ask the General Manager and a meeting was held to discuss the matter. TRUTH.
Skip ahead to when we got married: in an attempt to ease the pain of not having the Brick Oven Pig, I bought Casey a similar pig named Pierre from Williams & Sonoma as a wedding gift and it was love at first sight... but even though he loved/loves Pierre a lot, it just wasn't quite the same.
And now, we get to tonight. Casey's birthday is this Saturday and we had a get together with some of our dear friends to celebrate early. They put us in the Party Room (... we get kinda loud...) and we were laughing and having a jolly old time when Paul the Manager walks in and starts talking to us. He recognized Casey and me because we go to Brick Oven WAY. TOO. MUCH. and started talking to us. Then, the following took place:
Paul: Wait a minute, you're the guy who's wants the pig, right?
Casey: yeah.
Paul: Well, guess what? It's finally for sale and we've been waiting around for the guy who leaves the comment cards about the pig to come in. Do you still want it?
Casey: FEWHAIAFNKJGROEWRQHUFDGASDFNFDGSUHIREFGUHEWO^&*$%!#^&#@!
Casey might have been a little more articulate than that, but I'm sure that's how he felt inside. Anyways, after a few texts to the GM and a small fee, we became the proud owners of The Brick Oven Pig!!!!
It was one of the most surreal and crazy experiences and possibly the best birthday Casey will ever have. After we bought the pig, Paul gave us a personal tour of the Brick Oven kitchen and the basement where they make all the root beer, pizzas, dressings and so forth.
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| Paul, the greatest man alive |
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| look at that happy face :) |
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| The happy family |
It was a truly magical evening, one that will be passed down for generations to come :)
