Stemless
"That will be $9.75." The farmer said.
I fumbled with a five and some singles. "There should be ten here." I said, handing over the money.
I looked around, disappointed. Where are all the farmers?
I started to scowl.
Despite the scowl on my face, a brave little girl asked "What are these?"
I looked over to where she was pointing and then back to her curious eyes.
"Those are cherries...These are all cherries." I said pointing.
Both the little girl and her mother rang out a collective oh. It was a curious moment of wonder and enlightenment, and I was witness to it.
But it only made me scowl more.
I took the quarter from the farmer and left.
I thought about how pathetic the tables looked. Just two farms in attendance. The fruits and vegetables strained under late afternoon heat. I wondered again why they had changed the market from Saturday mornings to Thursday evenings.
I wondered why the little girl couldn't recognize a cherry. Was it because they were stemless?
A little girl that doesn't recognize a cherry, stem or not, is very surprising. How can this be?
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of a sad little farmers market we visited in Rhode Island. It was all crafts and candles and such. There was only one stand with a few small containers of cherry tomatoes. Luckily, the tomatoes were fabulous.
Hmmm, I read somewhere that small children in Britain have no idea what various fruit look like because they are used to seeing them already cut and into small ready-to-eat containers.
ReplyDeleteIt is very surprising she couldn't recognize the cherries. It is sad actually.
I want some of those apricots :)
The market was a big part of your Saturday routine--here's hoping the Thursday market improves.
ReplyDeleteWhat is even more surprising is that her mum didn't seem to know either. I hope they bought some to try. I hope the market improves too.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so sad. Both the lack of recognition of a basic summer fruit and the changing of your market day. Two years ago in Vancouver they changed the venue of the Wednesday afternoon market (but mercifully left the Saturday market alone) which caused an initial decline in attendance. But soon all the vendors were there and the shoppers returned to vote with their daily dollar for the things that matter... I feel sure this will happen at your market too. It has to.
ReplyDeleteawww boo. my market is on wednesdays and i know how weird it is to have a mid-day market routine... i literally get to work late every wednesday.
ReplyDeleteHopefully that market will get more producers selling their harvest as we move into summer.
ReplyDeletesadly it's not just the kids who don't recognize fruits and veggies.
your photographs are stunning. I could just about pluck a cherry from the screen!