What is it about barbecue?

Is it the fact that you can smell it a block away? Is it the smoke? For some reason, when you hand someone a plate of barbecue, it's like giving them a hug, smile and handshake all at once. Christian Dornhorst and his wife Amanda know this. They live across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, which was recently ravaged by destructive floods. Maybe the flood victims would appreciate a barbecue! First they went to Sam's Club to buy $850 worth of chicken thighs, sausage, hotdogs and brisket. They seasoned the meat, hitched a smoker to their truck and drove to the Celtic Media Center, a shelter for people displaced by the storm.

                                                                                                              Christian Dornhorst
As you can see, only a few people showed up early to wait in line, but Dornhorst served food all day, cooking chicken and sausage on small grills while 108 pounds of brisket sat in the smoker until 7 p.m. The brisket was gone 20 minutes after it was ready! Why? Dornhorst explained that "barbecue brings people together. It gives you time to talk, as the smell fills the air. It's a way to show everyone you are cooking for how much you care about them, and how much they mean to you." The next day, he and his wife returned with an additional $990 worth of grub to serve Army and Air Force personnel and police officers providing disaster relief at the shelter. Dornhorst is an Army veteran.