Real Cooking

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CHERYL JOST
Legend has it that Diogenes the Cynic searched ancient Greece his entire lifetime looking for one honest man. My husband, Keith, and his brother, Clyde, may have chanced upon the philosopher’s elusive prey, or at least evidence of his existence, in a cornfield just south of Durham.

One day last week, Clyde mentioned to Keith that as he had driven down K-15 Highway he had noticed a new saddle tank still in its plastic wrappings laying next to a tractor that the guys had left parked in one of our fields near Durham.

At the time Keith thought that his brother had probably been mistaken in what he had seen or that, more likely, an implement dealer had made a delivery to the wrong address.

A couple of days later, the brothers drove to Durham to retrieve the tractor and sure enough, there beside the big John Deere was a brand new saddle tank. Still unsure of how the tank came to be there, Keith climbed into the tractor cab and was surprised to find an envelope laying in the seat with this short message written across its front, “Read enclosed note pertaining to tank.”

He opened the envelope and $60 in cash fell into his lap. Here’s what the note said.

“To the owner of the tractor and saddle tanks:

“I experienced pickup trouble while traveling on K-15. I turned off and pulled into your drive. I had to call for help and while waiting-for no reason-I hit your right saddle tank. To my dismay, it was brittle enough and cracked.

“I am replacing it with a new one to match the other side. Enclosed is some money for fittings and labor.

“I am very sorry and trust what I have done will make it right. I live out of the area, so I didn’t know who the tractor belonged to.”

The mystery of the new tank had been solved, but the speculation regarding who-done-it…and how…and why…was about to begin.

Keith was eager to tell the kids and me about finding the tank and the letter.

“I was so surprised,” he said. “That tank was fairly old so it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to think that after being out in the cold weather, it could have cracked all on its own. This spring when we got set to use it, we would have noticed the breakage and would have just chalked it up to part of the working expense.”

Turning to the kids, my husband continued.

“This man went out of his way to be responsible for his actions. We would have never known why the tank had cracked; we would have never suspected anyone had even been near the tractor. He wouldn’t have had to do a thing, but somehow he made arrangements for the tank to be replaced and he even was thoughtful enough to pay us for any other parts that we might need to repair the tank.

“This is the story of an honest man, a decent man, a man to be…”

I interrupted his train of thought with this question, “Why are you so sure our honest person is a man?”

“Because a woman wouldn’t do something as dumb as punch a fertilizer tank,” he replied quickly. “I figure the guy has truck problems, pulls in, makes his call and in frustration gives the tank a whack. It’s cold, the tank is old and before he knows it, he has another problem to deal with. Poor guy.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said. “But, it could have gone something like this. A woman is driving along, and the truck starts to sputter. She pulls in and makes a call to her husband who had told her just that morning that the sound she had been hearing coming from under the pickup’s hood was all in her mind. He hadn’t heard a thing when he drove it last, and he had checked the oil and everything was fine. And now she was stuck in some deserted cornfield with the cold north wind howling waiting for him to come and pick her up.

“When will he ever listen to me?” she shouts to heaven and then, with a burst of pent-up anger mixed with the fuel of adrenaline, she hauls off and hits the tank.

“She hits the tank and breaks it?” my husband asks with a doubtful expression.

“Better the tank than her husband.”

“You have a big imagination.”

Then, turning back to the kids, Keith continued his praise for our honest-I guess we’ve come to a consensus-man.
“I don’t know who this person is, and I don’t need to know. It’s just affirming to be reminded there are honorable people in the world who are still willing to do what’s ethical-to do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”

So, to whoever you are, our honest man…or woman…thank you. You have blessed our family with your acts of accountability. You have given our children a model to follow. And you have made us less cynical about what can be a harsh world. Thank you.

* * *

Last week I had the opportunity to share a few recipes with the Evening MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) organization and this quick and easy soup seemed to be a crowd pleaser. It really hits the spot on these cold and blustery evenings.

Zesty Chicken Soup

1/4 stick butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can of chicken broth

2 soup cans of milk

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 lb. Mexican Velveeta

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and diced

In a large pan, saute onions and carrots in butter until soft but not brown. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Heat, but do not boil; turn heat to medium low and cook, stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

Notes:

Leftover turkey can be substituted for chicken, or you can use two large cans of chicken meat.

Regular Velveeta and half a can of diced chilies can be substituted for Mexican Velveeta.

Low fat soups and lower fat Velveeta work well, too.

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