ONE FOR FUN The Ladies of the Staunton-Augusta County Rescue Squad station, Staunton,Virginia included the following "recipe" in their Cook Book dated 1986. I like it.
E L E P H A N T S O U P
1 elephant 2 rabbits (Optional)
salt and pepper
Cut elephant into bite-size pieces. This should take about two months. Add enough gravy water to cover. Cook over kerosene fire for about four weeks at 465-degrees. This will serve 3,800 people. If more guests are expected, two rabbits may be added, but do his only if necessary, as some people do not like it when they find hare in their soup.
I like dumb items of this nature. A bit of homey humor can relieve some of the pressure of everyday life. Actually I enjoy this sort of thing more than the standard "jokes" of our era. Far too much of the humor in our lives - jokes, stories, so-called comedy and sit-coms on TV and in the fund of funny stuff here on the Web , is narrow right now. Far too much of the humor on all of these, and other media including book publications, seem to be based in the premise that unless the content involves sex in some way - it cannot possibly be "funny." Present-day humor of TV - especially those video-taped funny-things, dwell far too often dangerously dumb actions, human and an animal misery. ..about as funny as a big brown.
The fund-raising Cook Book I'm talking about has a page or two at the back of the collection featuring off-beat recipes such as this one. Most of them deal with more mundane subjects such as "Recipe For a Happy Home", "A Happy New Year"..." Preserved Children." and that sort of thing. "Elephant Soup" struck me as a novelty among them.
We all need some foolishness in our lives. That, to me, is a part of being happy. Some of the most unhappy people I have ever known have been those who take every moment of every day seriously and work intently to keep it from being brighten up by a linguistic and mental change of pace. Being happy can often be a matter of seeing how ridiculous we appear as we do some of the things we do.
And, only you can decide if it makes you feel better. I'd say it is worth a try.
Our attitude toward other people around us need not be changed radically to a "Chucklin' Charlie" sort of person. Nothing is more deadly than forced comedy, but it does make life easier to see some of the lighter elements which go to make up our daily lives.
A.L.M. April 26, 2005 [c462wds]
