Skip to main content

Crackers in Your Soup

Podcast - Crackers in Your Soup . . .  



It’s lunchtime. I’m seated at the kitchen table cogitating over a bowl of steaming chunky vegetable soup with black beans. Funny how a jingle from a commercial can transport you back. That song you heard was from the 1960s Campbell’s soup commercials.


On this cool cloudy afternoon, soup just sounds good, “And it’s so good for you.” Without giving it a thought apparently, I mosey to the pantry and rummage for the crackers. Then back to the table, open the box, pull out three crackers, and crumble them closed fist into my soup.


I'm curious, have you ever stopped to ponder why we add pulverized chunks of crackers to soup? Stick around and we will uncover this mystery of my delectable dish.


Maybe it’s not really a mystery, but a habit that developed when we were young. I vividly remember my mother painstakingly twisting that manual can opener to crack open a can of soup. (Today I was able to just flip a tab and pop the top).


Then the crackers would appear on the table. I was just following Dad’s lead. Three crackers per bowl, no more, no less. We always sat together as a family to eat dinner (we called it supper). In the 1960s that just the way it was. Dinner time was family time. TV was out of the question. “No - you’re not eating in the living room. You don’t want to spill on Mom’s carpet.”


But why crackers? No one ever explained that to me, of course I never really asked. Anyway, here's my theory.


First of all the soup is hot. If you’re really cold and hungry from shoveling snow off the walkways in winter and try to shove a large spoonful into your mouth - it's like eating hot magma. Instant reaction - yow, plop, spitting the soup back into the bowl. Did Mom see that?


Second, if you were served the meatless Campbell’s soup, there wasn’t much to it, mostly water. So the crackers would add substance to the hot watery flavor. Also the crackers served as a heat sink, dissipating the heat. When you gobbled up the soup it, “warms the way for the rest of the meal.” Oops, sounds too much like the commercial.


What about chili you ask? Well, that’s another story altogether.


Crackers and chili just don't go together. Chili requires fresh chopped carrots and a little milk. Where did that come from? Who knows. Of course, we all have quirky eating habits.


Anyway, upon reflection, yes, I'll admit it's luxury having the time to contemplate something as simple as crackers in your soup.


Please excuse me while I enjoy my lunch.


This is Patrick Ball, thanks for listening. See you in the next episode . . .

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Mom Was Right

In this episode: Mom Was Right (Again!) . . . Remember that old saying, "Mom knows best?" Well, this week, it resonated profoundly. I vividly recall my mother's steadfast remedy for the common cold, which was ingrained in my 1960s childhood: "Rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids, and take aspirin to reduce pain and fever." . . . Or now that I think about it, this may have been a Bayer aspirin commercial–Simple . . . Fast-forward to the age of AI and endless medical information at our fingertips, and guess what? Not much has changed. Yet, somehow, this week, Lori and I were blindsided by a cold—the first in over five years. My incredulous "How could this be?" quickly morphed into a dawning realization. Our company's annual meeting, a melting pot of colleagues from Illinois, Texas, Vietnam, Colorado, Northern California, and the Central Valley, was a veritable petri dish of germs. And, oh, the germs found me! Getting sick, especially after a long str...

Whispers of Spring

In this episode, Whispers of Spring . . . Spring has a way of sneaking in when you’re not looking. One day, you’re shaking off the last chill of winter, and the next, you realize the light has shifted, stretching shadows just a little longer. It didn’t make a big fuss about it—no dramatic entrance, no trumpets—just a quiet unfolding, like an old dog settling into a sunny spot on the porch. Last week, Daylight Saving Time kicked in, which meant we all fumbled with our clocks, grumbled a bit, and then, like frogs taken aback by a warm rain, leapt forward into longer evenings. The sun now lingers, in no rush to set, hanging in the sky like a tossed coin that refuses to fall. With the extra daylight, we find ourselves drawn outside once again, migrating to the back patio like folks are drawn to a warm campfire. The lawn chairs are right where we left them, waiting like old friends. The air hums with wind chimes, their tuned cylinders catching the breeze and weaving together something that...

Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It?

In this episode: Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It? (And a Little Baseball Nonsense) Welcome, fellow baseball aficionados and purveyors of the peculiar, to a very special, dare we say unpredictable, issue of On the Fly! Today, the air is thick with . . . well, probably just regular air, but a specific mischievous something is buzzing around. Can you feel it? Does that tingling sensation make you double-check your shoelaces and suspiciously eye any unusual packages? Yes, dear readers, it’s April 1st! A day steeped in mystery, shrouded in playful deception, and frankly, a day where you shouldn't believe anything you read (except maybe this . . .maybe). But before we descend into a whirlwind of whimsical falsehoods (don’t worry, we’ll mostly keep it light!), let’s take a quick, slightly wobbly, historical flight through the origins of this most unreliable of holidays. Whispers from the annals suggest a few intriguing possibilities for why we dedicate this particula...

At 92–Don's Digital Daydream

Listen to the audio here. In a world of his own–lives, ole' Doctor Don, Not one world, but three, 'til the setting of the sun! There’s his Blog-World , so bright, with words all a-whirl, And Book-World , with stories of boy and girl! Then, Day-World , where legs didn't leap, didn't run, Just shuffled and creaked 'til each day is done. But his brain, oh, his mind, it’s zippy and keen, A most curious fellow that ever was seen! At ninety and two, with a twinkle so bright, He met Chatty and said, "What a strange delight!" This box with the answers, so quick and so bold, Of theology and stories, new truths to unfold!" "Integrity, relationships, where do they fit? This thing makes me wonder, bit by bit!" He ponders and pokes with laughter and a grin, "Til POOF! he has gone to a world from within! A world made of words, a fantastical place, Where limits of the body, left not a trace! He Soares, and he zooms, with a thought and a rhyme, Trans...