Mark's Mailbag: 90s Country, Steak, and Old Friends

This month our resident advice columnist, Mark Harrod, reflects on the beauty of 90s country, how to cook a steak, and his best friend. 

 Got a question for Mark? Throw it in the pile for next month's issue here.

Mark,

What have you been listening to in the car these days?

Anne

Atlanta, GA

Greetings, Anne. There's a new country station in Nashville—new to me at least—whose program director is giving this town a heavy dose of 90s country and I can't get enough. Tonight, they went back to back to back with Diamond Rio, Randy Travis, and Alan Jackson.

And I went,

I made it clear how much I like 90s country on that preposterously long 90s country playlist podcast I recorded with Lee—In Barnstable, Massachusetts of all places—so, I don't need to detail all that again. If you've got a few hours to kill give that thing a listen.

Also, huge shoutout to the guitar player in the Diamond Rio music video for having a matching pick guard, guitar strap, and vest.

What's the best way to cook a steak?

Jim

Sedona, AZ

That sounds like the set-up to a joke and I'm not falling for it, Jim. The answer to your question is, in a cast iron pan on your stove then, maybe, finished in the oven if the smoke detector starts going off. This method results in the tastiest steak, but has a real downside of your home smelling like the inside of a Waffle House for a while. And I'm not besmirching Waffle House, it's just unsettling to come home from work the next day and think, "Oh yeah, I have leftovers," purely off of that smell. The day before Original Fuzz moved to it's current shop there was sort of a friends-and-family taco night at their old place and I cooked steak in a cast iron pan for the group. I hope they didn't have the security deposit inspection the next morning.

Ever cry at any commercials?

Carl

Amarillo, TX

Well, since you brought it up, I can't recall full-on crying while watching a television commercial, but I've gotten close.

Recently, Orvis released a three minute short film-commercial about a dog named Luck who is getting old and slowing down. It's predominantly a testimonial from Luck's owner about what he has meant to her, and how happy she is to have him. It might make you cry.

Some long-term readers may have noticed the bio at the bottom of Mark's Mailbag changed last Fall. There isn't a reference to me walking a golden retriever named Brad around my neighborhood in there anymore. That's because Brad was diagnosed in September with advanced-stage Lymphoma and had to be put down just a few days after the diagnoses. It was devastating—even more so than I expected it to be. Of course, we know that dogs don't live forever, but it absolutely feels like they have been a part of your entire life at the moment you lose them. Brad definitely made my life better, and I'm so grateful to have had him.

Mark is a former lawyer who lives in Nashville. If you see a guy that looks like a former lawyer in Germantown, feel free to say, "Hi." You can also find him on the internet at basketofchips.com and @cmharrod.