Our Rural Roots

Jennifer Campbell, Contributor

A preharvest ritual includes restocking the snack offerings. And, I have one must-have item that probably isn't on your list: truck pretzels.

I don't know when or why it started, but pretzels are a fixture in my truck. If I'm lucky, they're in the original bag or a ziplock plastic bag. But, in an emergency, I'm not too proud to reach between the seats, dig through the cup holder or even check the floorboard for an emergency truck pretzel fix.

I know it's weird, but on the days that don't go as planned -- or the days that do -- pretzels help me deal with the hangry version of myself.

It took years, but my family has finally come to respect the truck pretzel.

One day, my sweet son decided to clean out my truck. It looked fantastic. The trash was gone and the floor vacuumed. It looked like someone else's pickup.

A few days later, we were headed down the road on some farm errand when I absentmindedly reached between the seats.

"Man, I thought there was a pretzel down here."

He just smiled and reminded me that he'd cleaned out my truck.

"You removed the truck pretzels?"

"It wasn't in a bag," he laughed. "It was just a random dirty pretzel."

"Yeah," I replied. "But, it was an emergency truck pretzel."

Life throws all of us long days and curveballs. Sometimes, what keeps us going isn't a breakthrough or a burst of motivation. Sometimes, it's a snack squirreled away, a cold drink in the cooler, a favorite song or a text from someone you love.

Those little things don't seem important until the moment you need them.

Maybe we all need a few truck pretzels in life -- something small that carries us through when we're running on empty or just need something solid to crunch.

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-- Jennifer (Jent) Campbell eats pretzels, writes about agriculture and tends crops and livestock from a seven-generation Indiana family farm. Follow her on Twitter @plowwife. Find her blog Farm Wife Feeds at https://farmwifefeeds.com/…

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