Tag Archives: Africa

Soupy

Ready for a piping hot bowl of peanut butter soup?

No need to adjust your monocle, Mr. Peanut. I said soup.

My taxi driver in Fort Worth is a big fan. I had never heard of it. But he hails from Ghana, where peanut butter soup is a staple, and I grew up in Kentucky, where chicken noodle is king.

The concoction is surprising un-exotic — just a mixture of veggies, chicken broth and the all-important scoop of peanut butter.

Add some jelly, and it would be more American. And less healthy.

Which might be the same thing.

All roads lead home

We all know it’s a small world.  The song says so.

But sometimes the universe puts a big ol’ exclamation point on it.

I flew home to New York City late Saturday after a trip to Chicago and got in the cab, prepared to doze during the drive home.

My cabbie had a different idea.

You see, he was a talker.  He asked about my trip, what I did for a living, where my hometown was.  Since I’m a talker, I reluctantly abandoned the nap and chatted with him instead.

(He had a French accent, so it wasn’t a hardship.)

Turns out my NYC cab driver, who hails from a French colony in Africa, attended Southern Illinois University and had a roommate from Paducah, Kentucky — a stone’s throw from my own hometown.

Coincidence?  Sure…but what a fun one!