When it comes to tomatoes and melons, please pass the salt

Editor's note: This column originally ran in the Aug. 19, 1999 edition of the Daily Mail.

I am really enjoying the melons and tomatoes fresh from the garden at this time of year. Or course, they are fresh from someone else's garden since we didn't get a garden put out this year. But with generous offerings on the sharing table at church, the Farmer's Market and good neighbors, we usually get many good tastes of my favorites.

One drawback appears, however. I like a little salt on cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes. Lester says it ruins the good taste and, of course, we know that people who are "middle age plus" should avoid salt whenever possible. But it tastes so much better to me with just a little salt.

Over one of our "friendly" conversations about this matter, we remembered a time when servicemen, athletes and others who were working outdoors were routinely supplied with salt tablets to replenish the salt lost by the body through perspiration. It was supposed to be good for you and keep you from becoming light-headed or something.

I never actually took such a tablet, but I remember once when we were visiting the Washington Monument that the ranger in charge gave my niece a tablet because her face got so red when she raced our son down all flights of stairs. She had a ruddy complexion anyway and we weren't concerned about her appearance, but it did alarm the ranger. I'm not sure if she actually took the tablet or not, but I know we all lined up for drinks at the drinking fountain which was probably much more important.

So I wonder if any tests have been made to see if those who did take salt tablets back in those days have a higher incidence of high blood pressure or strokes.

One use of salt I cherished as a child was to put salt on a little chip of ice or the big block of ice in the icebox. Or if a piece broke off as Riley Kafer was bringing it into the kitchen from his truck, we kids would scramble for it and cover it with salt from the shaker and suck on it until the ice melted. The rock salt used for making ice cream was another treat, especially if it could be combined with a little of the crushed ice in the freezer.

I saw some rock salt scattered on the ground at a parking lot recently where someone had broken a bag while going to the car. It took all of my will power to keep from picking up a few pieces to take home, wash and enjoy in solitude. I was afraid of what the others might think if they saw me making this collection, so I refrained.

I ate a meal recently with a woman who liberally sprinkled salt over her entire plate of food before she even tasted anything. The plate had a waldorf salad on it which I would assume would not taste good with salt added, but she sprinkled it over everything. Since this person was a little on the heavy side, I wondered abut her blood pressure, but I politely made no comment on her use of salt.

The Bible speaks warmly about the virtues of salt, so I am in good company when I admit to my preference for a little on my vegetables. We put salt blocks in the fields for livestock or deer to lick, and my father used to keep me busy in the evenings trying to put salt on the wild rabbits' tails s they hopped around the fringes of our lawn. I honestly believed him when he said if I put some on the tail I would be able to catch the rabbit. Of course I never got close enough to put it on the tail, but possible if I had I could have been successful. He also used this suggestion when robins would hop nearby. I spent many evenings with a saltshaker in my hand until my mother took pity on me and straightened out my thinking.

It sounds as if I were pretty dumb as a child, but you have to remember my father was an authority on everything, so if he said it, it was so. I have since learned he wasn't always correct, and I learned fairly early that he loved to tease, so I gradually learned to distinguish when it was the truth.

My blood pressure is very good, thankfully, and I do not like the liberal use of pepper some have started using to replace the salt. Onions and garlic don't agree with me, so for seasoning I stick to my one favorite -- salt. And as long as Morton's little girl with the umbrella keeps proving that when it rains it pours, I will continue to sprinkle some each day.