Helen and I declared these two a tie so we had to use one of our tie-breakers. Since we didn't have the actual weights, we went with the time to unveiling. Helen and mine's official time 'til the last pie was unveiled was 28:48 and Tom came the closest.

I called Tom over the Thanksgiving weekend and we set about getting him his prize. Since Tom lives in Eugene, OR a drop off was out of the question, so it was FedEx to the rescue! Tom chose blackberry for his pie and I set about getting it to him.

Instead of a long drawn out story about how I made the pie and sent it off, I thought it would be more fun to tell the story in pictures. Enjoy!

Then it's time to bake.......

Just sitting back drinking a home brew...

Whoops! Maybe I drank a few too many homebrews....

December 6th, 2001

Hi Kids!

As many of you losers... er, um, fellow LS Fans/Pie Lovers know, I was this year's big stinkin' winner in the AFL Dave's Mom's Thanksgiving Pie Thanksgiving-Pie-Guessing Game.

And oh, let me tell you, what a thrill.

It's been two weeks since my guess of Pumpkin and Lemon Meringue barely won out over Jen's nearly identical guess, but I remember it... like it was...yesterday...

(rubbing chin and looking thoughtfully toward the ceiling)

Thanksgiving 2001 At My In-Laws' House:

Tom: Hey everyone! Great news! I just read on the internet that I've won a contest! I went to this website and guessed which pies Dave Letterman's mom would bake for him this year, and now they're going to send me the pie of my choice!

My In-Laws, for whom the words "Internet," "Letterman," and "Website" might as well be spoken in Farsi, stared blankly at me, then at my wife, who shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. Finally, my wife's 89-year-old grandmother speaks:

"What's the matter? Isn't the pie that I made good enough for you?"

Precious, precious, moments...

Anyway, I found out about my stupendous victory after reading through the posts on AFL a couple of hours before The Show aired here on the West Coast. So, when the pies were unveiled, I was already loopy on the celebratory champagne.

I received an e-mail from Traci that evening, but not before I got several e-mails from some high-ranking members of AFL, asking to remain anonymous, with words of warning:

"Whatever you do, DON'T give Traci your phone number!"

"She's just trying to get your home address! Don't give it to her! You'll be sorry!"

"The last two people who met Traci at a "Pie Drop-Off Location" were NEVER seen AGAIN! BEWARE!"

Serious warnings, for sure, but damn: I do love pie.

Traci and I had a lovely phone conversation. We talked about our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our fears... OK, mostly we talked about food and sports. I also placed my order: Blackberry, with Apple as a back-up selection. Since a drop-off location would have been somewhere in the vicinity of Denver, Traci agreed to Fed-Ex the pie and it arrived on Tuesday.

Damn. what a pie! It arrived still slightly chilled, in perfect, pie-like condition. We just stared at it for a few moments, admiring its pie-riffic appearance. I went out after work and got some ice cream (Briar's Vanilla,
for anyone who's still reading), and we each had a piece of the Blackberry pie in what the French call "a la mode" style, which means, "Pie with mode."

Oh baby, it was berry-licious! Light, flaky crust, firm filling, and just the right mix of tart and sweet. Pie heaven, for sure. Thanks to Traci, James, and Helen for organizing the contest: I'm already in training for next year.

EPILOGUE

There's been a black Chevy Suburban parked across the street for last few days. The vanity plate reads "PIEGODDESS." Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Tom