Ideas for stories can come from the strangest places. If you don’t think that’s possible, keep reading.

My sweetheart, Todd, and I had just finished with church one Sunday and drove to Green Bay to enjoy some lunch at Mission BBQ. We discovered this place a few months ago and were immediately attracted to it because its mission of donating some of its proceeds to the U.S. military. Of course, it also helps that the food is really, really good.

Of course, this is getting a little off topic, so let me get back to the matter at hand. At church, there was a fundraiser where some of the members cooked up soups and sold them by the pint or quart. Todd had purchased two containers of soup, one of them being a quart of chicken noodle. It cures what ails you, but it also tags along with unbridled imagination.

We had just finished lunch at Mission BBQ and were waiting at a light adjacent to Lambeau Field. The light turned green, I tapped the gas pedal, and the chicken noodle soup container jerked back in the box Todd had both containers in. His lightning quick reflexes saved the soup from tipping over completely. The incident prompted me to comment: “That was close. We almost had chicken soup on denim,” referring to the jeans Todd was wearing that day.

The line prompted a chuckle from Todd, and oftentimes when that happens, it motivates me to continue along the path. I commented: “It could have been worse. We could have had chicken soup on flannel,” referring to the flannel shirt he wore. Another chuckle, and I was off to the races.”

As we made the turn around Lambeau to get back to the freeway, I said: “Chicken soup in a pasture.” That line confused Todd a little bit, until I pointed out to him that barnyard animals often roam free, so it would not be unusual to see chickens in a pasture, although it might seem a little bizarre to envision a bowl of chicken soup in such a pasture, unless someone was planning an unorthodox picnic.

Of course, I wasn’t nearly finished relocating chicken soup for the day. As we got on the freeway to head to Sturgeon Bay, I uttered: “Chicken soup on a freeway.” That prompted Todd to comment his thoughts that I wanted to see chicken soup spilt all over the road. I further contributed to his confusion by following up with “Chicken soup during a three-way.”

The trip to Sturgeon Bay was fraught with laughter as I considered other variations on a theme. One of them was “Chicken soup in a thimble,” which caused Todd to repeat the line incredulously and question: “Really?” in that high-pitched voice he tends to adopt when he can’t believe what I’ve just done or said. I decided to try another rhyming follow-up: “Chicken soup with a bimbo.”

I swear to God, I could not have predicted that Todd’s response to that would be “I am not a bimbo.”

So it continued. We passed a sign reading “Tornado Road,” which led me to say “Chicken soup in a tornado.” A billboard along the way advertised a wine called “Blueberry Fizz,” and of course, I had to say, “Chicken soup with blueberry fizz.”

One of the lines was “Chicken soup with a tomato soup chaser.” At that point, Todd was convinced I had gone completely mad.

We finally arrived at his parents’ house, and as we were offloading some items and walking them down their steep driveway, I said: “Chicken soup on a hilltop.” My final offering on the chicken soup theme was “Chicken soup with bongo drums.” Don’t ask me to rationalize it or tell you how that came into my head because I can’t.

This might seem like it has nothing to do with writing stories, but I have not finished yet. I did provide some respite for Todd with all the chicken soup lines and, during that time, got to thinking that maybe the chicken soup theme might work for one of the novels I am currently working on.

The novel is the second one that takes place in my hometown of Chino Valley, Arizona. In the chapter I’m currently writing, I have several characters gathered together around a table playing poker. Of course, just writing about them playing hands and making bets would just be boring, so I thought I would get them talking about artists.

In Chino Valley, there’s an organization known as the High Desert Artists that highlight the artists, crafters and other creative minds that exist in northern Arizona. The chicken soup got me to think of a painter that mainly paints pieces with bowls of chicken soup in them, and my characters could offer their commentary on her work.

Immediately, I thought my early line of “Chicken soup in a pasture.” The artist could paint a pasture with cows, horses and chickens roaming around and nestled in a corner would be the bowl of chicken soup.

I also have several other ideas that I didn’t blurt out on the drive to Sturgeon Bay. One is “Chicken soup with burnt toast.” I envisioned the painting would have flames in the background, with a couple of them curled around a piece of charred bread leaning against the bowl of chicken soup.

Another one I thought of was “Chicken soup among poppies.” This would not be as abstract as the burnt toast painting, with the bowl of chicken soup surrounded by a tall field of poppies.

As a nod to the Native American tribes in Arizona, I thought one of the paintings could be “Chicken soup topping frybread,” and then to really add a weird sci-fi vibe, I thought a painting could be titled “Chicken soup from the realm of tomorrow,” featuring space aliens or technology depicted in “The Jetsons” or “Battlestar Galactica.”

I’m still coming up with concept paintings for my characters to talk about, but it’s probably best not to completely show my hand, lest no one feels inclined to read the book, which will be coming out later this year, to see what other far out lunacy I came up with.

I told Todd the idea for the novel, and his mind went to Andy Warhol, the artist made famous for, among other things, his pop art motif of Campbell’s soup cans. Warhol never entered my mind when I started coming up with the chicken soup lines or incorporating some of them into part of the novel, but Todd’s comparison got me thinking about how far-out concepts tend to be the ones that really grab people’s attention.

I wonder what kind of lines Warhol would have come up with for the chicken soup concept.