HOUSTON — Ed Oliver shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be sitting at a sticky picnic table outside Burns Original BBQ in late June, down the street from where he used to ride horses as a child, staring down a heaping plate of ribs, chicken, green beans and rice as industrial fans do their best to cool the humid air.
And sure, he probably shouldn't have walked next door to order a bag of fries from Burns Burger Shack while he waited. And he could have left his dog at home when he took off for lunch.