http://twistedsifter.com/2014/11/anthem-arizona-veterans-memorial/

   WOWZERONI! I never heard about this, either! Thanks so much, Haul Party!

   It all began exactly 30-1/2 years ago this week, in June of 1984 - and it began with the very same delicious cookie recipe above that Joyce shared with us above.

          My Cousin, Cheryl (White Wilson - James Blair HS / John Marshall HS - '64 - of VA) mentioned it in the 11/25/14 Newsletter:

"And we shall have chocolate slop the rest of our days."

   But the moment for explanations had not arrived.

   As our story begins,           our #6 son, Dale (Harty - Hillsboro HS, IL / American School, IL - '02 - of CA) was exactly six months  old, and barely having his first few tastes of solid food, and        our only daughter, Adrienne (Harty - Hillsboro HS, IL / American School, IL - of NC) was not yet born, so their contributions to the story do not apply to these origins. It started with the five older boys, who at this time ranged in age from 13 to four years of age.

   They developed an inordinate fondness (and let me say now, that that's a gross understatement of the truth) for these cookies. They wanted some every day. Every single day. They wanted never to be without access to its goodness. It was determined that it would be far more efficacious that rather than wasting time dropping the mixture into cookie shapes and letting them form atop waxed paper, the precious gooeyness simply be divided into bowls where it could be nursed for hours by the lucky recipients.

   With such a system, one can readily imagine that the stock of ingredients might be depleted be it could be replenished, and that's exactly what happened.

   The first to vanish was the oatmeal, but we found that granola made an excellent substitute, and added extra nutrition.

   Next to go - and before the oatmeal was restocked - was the sugar. They opted to use brown sugar. This was less successful, because not only was it even too sweet for these little darlings (let alone their junkie parents), it altered the flavor substantially. They ate it anyway.

   Very soon thereafter, the cocoa was gone, too. Hmmm. We had in our pantry a strange chocolate substance from which could be made either hot cocoa or chocolate pudding, but it was in no wise a substitute for baking cocoa. I thought surely this would put an end to this summer insanity, but in that I did err. I assured the five boys that to simultaneously substitute three ingredients in a seven-ingredient recipe was to court disaster, but my logic fell on deaf ears. Thinking that experience is often the best teacher, I let them proceed with their experiment, which they did with great gusto.

   When the moment of tasting arrived,            our #1 son, Lewis (Harty - Hillsboro HS, MO / Hillsboro HS, IL - '89 - of IL) took a big bite, made a horrified face, and uttered the words which took an honored and immortal place in our family's lexicon, "These aren't cookies! This is just Chocolate... SLOP!"

   One would think the story would end here, that this experience would forever quench their desire for this delicacy. One would be wrong. They simply vowed never to attempt it unless they had all of the REAL ingredients handy. The Chocolate Slop name stuck, and bowls remained the preferred method of distribution.

   Seven years passed.        Our #4 son, Joshua (Harty - Hillsboro HS, IL - '95 - of IL), was now 14, and well on his way to his present height of 6"7". He is so fond of Chocolate Slop, he wrote a song which he would sing whenever he thought the time had arrived to make another batch. It had few words, but they were fraught with meaning and the tune was compelling:

 ♫♪ Choco-late Slop, Slop, Slop! ♫♪ 
Choco-late Slop, Slop, Slop!
Da-de-dah, da-de-dah-dah,
Choco-late Slop, Slop, Slop!

   Rather than nag someone (such as ME) to make it, he would sing the Chocolate Slop song in a deep voice or simply play it on the piano, which could be more readily heard throughout the house. After he bought a bass guitar, that was even more effective, as he could hover over me smiling and play the now familiar chords until I submitted because I was too sore from laughing to resist any longer.

   We can all still sing that song. We all still love Chocolate Slop on occasion. In fact, Paul made Adrienne and me a batch on Tuesday. Thanks, Haul Party!

Saltine Cracker Surprise