Marines feast on Christmas Eve

Seventy Marines whose security duties kept them from going home for the holidays enjoyed a Christmas Eve feast of Oklahoma barbecue and all the fixings, thanks to two couples with sons in the Marine Corps.

The meat -- 40 pounds of chopped brisket, 40 pounds of pulled pork, 40 pounds of bologna and 15 slabs of ribs -- was shipped from Albert G’s, a popular barbecue restaurant in Tulsa, Okla.

The project was the work of George and Rachel Gibbs of Tulsa and Joyce and Curtis Orrell of Valley Center, Calif. The Gibbses sent the meat from Tulsa, and the Orrells took over from there.

Oklahoma barbecue, George Gibbs explained, is considered the finest in the world, tender and meaty. With shipping costs, the Gibbses spent about $4,500.

“That’s a small price to pay when you consider everything that the Marines do for us,” George Gibbs said.

-- Tony Perry