February 16, 2012: It Might Just be Soup and Sandwich, but Friendship is a State of Grace!

Once a month, I try to get together with a great group of friends and writers where we typically socialize and obsess over our literary babies. It's fun and very helpful. I usually try to provide some sort of tasty refreshment, because obviously I enjoy cooking, the meeting is at mealtime, and the group is very kind to let me experiment with recipes I haven't used before. It is a win-win prospect. However, last night, things went a bit awry...and then they kept going awry! Unfortunately for some poor soul whose name I cannot reveal, they were involved in a massively awful wreck up in Scott County. When the guy called me about the patient, I never expected to go to the OR with them, because I thought it was highly unlikely they would ever make it to U.T. And the helicopters couldn't fly because the weather was bad. But amazingly, clinging onto a thread, the lady spunked out and got here...26 units of blood and 3 hours later, we had a "live one" leaving the operating room. Not sure if she will make it, but thankfully, she is still hanging in tooth and nail at present. With a long row to hoe, but every minute counts.

Covered in blood and sweat with my mask marks in my face, I looked at the clock. 5:50PM. This was NOT a welcome sight, as the writer's group would be at my house in 40 minutes...and I had to use part of it to drive home.

I was tempted to have a total emotional enema or some sort of mental meltdown when it occurred to me that supper or no supper, we would probably all survive. I called Lenny's subshop and ordered 8 turkey subs (my husband thinks this is their best offering) and one veggie sub for Nikki who does nto eat meat. The girl taking the order seems super cheery and doesn't even miss a beat when I ask if I can come get them in 15 minutes. Sure. Come on. They'll be ready. No problem. Whew. I wipe the sweat off my brow and head toward my car. Lucky for me, my friend and fellow writer Nancy was near the sub shop. Major coupe! She will pick up the sandwiches. Even better to have such a great friend.

I get home. I start wheeling and dealing in crackers and cookies and think to myself, "Okay. This is going to turn out just fine after all." Eventually, Toni another friend arrives. I apologize for not having food ready. No worries, she says. We talk about her experiences with Iowa Writers Workshop. Yea, I'm thinking, all is well. Life is good.

Nancy comes in and my joy is complete! Until I look in the bag which seems awfully small and she says, "Is this what you ordered?" I have eight people including a hungry husband coming and what I have is one turkey sub and one veggie sub. That's it. Nada mas.

Wow. What am I going to do?
I start thinking, "Too bad we aren't on the sea of Galilee and Jesus isn't in regular attendance (at least not visibly) at this meeting."

Because if you could feed a "multitude" with five loaves and two fishes, we could probably even give some of these Lenny's subs to the neighbors...and their dogs.
Just like with our writing projects we brain storm. "Cut em in half," says Nancy. We look at the pathetic result. Four sammies. "Cut 'em in fourths," say Toni, displaying an excellent math aptitude I did not know she had. We look. Wow. Really pathetic.
What can I scrounge out of my cupboard? I am really committed to fresh ingredients, so my pantry is mostly flour, sugar, flavorings...basic ingredients not prepared foods. Then I see it in the back. What goes with a sammie? SOUPIE!

I put three cans of SIMILAR soups into a pot. VOILA! Dinner is served.

Now I have to say, in terms of taste and content, this was not the best food I ever served at a writer's meeting and definitely was a downshift in quality. But as far as the writer's were concerned, it was just right. They ate their food and continued on with the meeting as usual. One of them even told me how good the soup was.

So it was a great meal, because it reiterated something I already know. Your friends will cut you some slack. They will go get sandwiches. They will eat soup from a can. And friendship is a state of grace.

ENJOY!