On The Fly

In this episode, A Scent of Nostalgia: Old Spice . . .   Empty! Here’s an odd question: Is there a particular scent that instantly transports you back to childhood? For me, it's the unmistakable aroma of Old Spice Aftershave . It was my dad's go-to, or perhaps the only affordable option at Kroger when Mom did the grocery shopping. T his got me thinking; I wonder when Dad started using Old Spice? I distinctly recall the opaque white glass bottle from the 1960s on his shaving shelf. The front featured a sailing ship illustration;  the   " Old Spice "   branding was in red script below it . The bottle's tapered shape narrowed toward the top, culminating in a small aperture secured with a gray stopper. Did you know that Old Spice has a fascinating history? It all started in 1937 when the Shulton Company, founded by William Lightfoot Schultz, introduced a unique fragrance. Interestingly, this original product was meant for women! Inspired by his mother's deligh...

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...