Go For It

“We should just quit,” said Sean.

Barry and Rick looked at him with sadness in their eyes.

They were in Sean’s mother’s basement, surrounded by hundreds of empty soup cans – Bean with Bacon Soup cans, Beef Broth cans, Beef Consommé cans, Beef Noodle Soup cans, Beef with Vegetables and Barley soup cans, Beefy Mushroom Soup cans, Broccoli Cheese Soup cans, Cheddar Cheese Soup cans, Chicken & Dumplings Soup cans, Chicken & Stars Soup cans, Chicken Alphabet Soup cans, Chicken Broth Soup cans, Chicken Gumbo Soup cans, Chicken Mushroom Barley Soup cans, Chicken Noodle Soup cans, Chicken Rice Soup cans, Chicken Vegetable Soup cans, Chicken Won Ton Soup cans, Cream of Asparagus Soup cans, Cream of Broccoli Soup cans, Cream of Celery Soup cans, Cream of Chicken Soup cans, Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup cans, Cream of Mushroom Soup cans, Cream of Mushroom soup with Herbs cans, Cream of Onion Soup cans, Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup cans, French Onion Soup cans, Golden Mushroom Soup cans, Green Pea Soup cans, Lentil Soup cans, Manhattan Clam Chowder cans, Minestrone Soup cans, New England Clam Chowder cans, Oyster Stew cans, Pepper Pot Soup cans, Scotch Broth Soup cans, Split Pea with Ham & Bacon Soup cans, Tomato Bisque cans, Tomato Soup cans, Vegetable Beef Soup cans, and Lobster Bisque cans.

“We have to win,” said Rick.  “We have to be the ones to find the mystery can and win a ride in a NASCAR^TM stock car and a one year supply of soup.”

“We have to,” Barry agreed.

“Have to,” said Sean.

“Have,” said Rick.

“To,” said Barry.

“Have to,” said Sean.  “This is greatest undertaking we have ever undertaken.  If we don’t succeed then someone else will.  Someone else who isn’t us.  And that someone else will be riding in that NASCAR^TM stock car, and eating that year’s supply of soup, and every day we will wake up and be ashamed of ourselves, because the undertaking we undertook took a toll on us which we could not overtake.  And I, for one, can’t live that way.”

“But do we really have to eat all the soup in every can?” said Rick.  “Can’t we just open the cans, dump them out, and check to see if the winning piece is inside?”

“Oh, yeah, great idea,” said Sean.  “Let’s waste all this soup and then just let it sit out and go bad and we’ll never even eat it and then we’ll throw it away and then just dump it out on the ground or something.  Great idea, really great.”

Rick knew when he was beaten.

He picked up his spoon and started to eat a can of Chicken N’ Stars^TM in slow motion.

“We could have at least cooked it,” he said.

“Coulda, woulda, shoulda,” said Sean, and then he got the flu really bad and had to go to the hospital.  And while he was lying in his hospital bed Rick and Barry looked at each other and said “Now THAT’S ironic!” and then they all hugged and then a nurse brought in some Jell-O.  Some Jell-O soup.