vegetable
soup
This piece began as
a sketch I did years ago, but the carrot with the sunglasses
and the peas splashing into the soup stuck in my mind. The
other characters developed as the piece grew, along with
an entire back-story which you may read or skip as you like. There
are more coming in the series. The Secret Life of Food series
will continue to explore what goes on in your fridge behind
closed doors.
_____________________________________________
Meanwhile,
here's the scoop on the soup:
Stanley was a skinny, smart carrot-top of
a kid. Back when he was barely a sprout, he got tired of being
stuffed into lockers by the Zucchini brothers. He hired Michael
O'Brien, a.k.a."Spud" as
his bodyguard. Spud was big and brawny and seemed to have eyes
in the back of his head. Lucky for Stanley, he was loyal. With
his help, Stanley made it through the high school blender in
one piece.
Stanley used to be a sensation in Hollywood.
By now he's a has-bean. He still makes the occasional B movie
- horror flicks about irradiated veggies, genetically altered
seeds and the like. He met Cheryl in a trendy
juice bar. She's lean and green with legs that won't quit and
nothing at all going on upstairs. Her main talent is the high-pitched
scream, which she uses to great effect in their latest film, "Grills
Gone Wild." Stanley still tries to look like he just stepped
out of the crisper: he sports perpetual sunglasses and a bad
comb-over. Sheryl has invested in - um - enhancements, but
claims to live the organic lifestyle and spends hours in hydroponic
therapy in a futile effort to stay
fresh and crispy.
Stanley has a tough row to hoe. Lucky
for him, Spud made a mint as a professional wrestler, and usually
slips Stanley a little green when it's needed most.
Spud married Celeste, a hot little Sicilian number with shady
relatives and roots in the Old Country. Spud adores Celeste,
a.k.a Early Girl. He treats her like the cream of the crop.
That's good because if he didn't, Big Daddy Tomato and the
(now-grown) Zucchini brothers would turn him into mashed potatoes.
Instantly.
Spud and Celeste have one little sprout, Sweet
Pea, but they hope someday to have a whole pod. |
