Grapes With Seeds
Late summer and early fall is such a wonderful time of year for vegetarians. There's a cascade of fruits and vegetables coming into season. Right now grapes are at their peak. They sell for a peso fifty per kilo which works out to about twenty cents US per pound. And they're fantastic.
I grew up on seedless grapes. I didn't even know until I left the US that it was common for grapes to have seeds, had never really thought about how the plant reproduced. At first the tiny seeds frustrated me and I spit them out, but soon I started crunching them. Delicious. Now I don't know if I can go back to seedless grapes. What is wrong with my culture that it supplies us with seedless grapes? Damn late capitalism.
I'm reminded of a story Thomas told me. Thomas was working at a natural foods store in Virginia. An elderly woman walked in and asked, gently, if the grapes on display were seedless. Thomas, always eager to please, answered cheerfully, "Yes ma'am, they sure are." The elderly woman's gentle demeanor turned almost bitter as she said to Thomas, "A grape without seeds is like a man without nuts."
I grew up on seedless grapes. I didn't even know until I left the US that it was common for grapes to have seeds, had never really thought about how the plant reproduced. At first the tiny seeds frustrated me and I spit them out, but soon I started crunching them. Delicious. Now I don't know if I can go back to seedless grapes. What is wrong with my culture that it supplies us with seedless grapes? Damn late capitalism.
I'm reminded of a story Thomas told me. Thomas was working at a natural foods store in Virginia. An elderly woman walked in and asked, gently, if the grapes on display were seedless. Thomas, always eager to please, answered cheerfully, "Yes ma'am, they sure are." The elderly woman's gentle demeanor turned almost bitter as she said to Thomas, "A grape without seeds is like a man without nuts."