Strawberries

For most of my life, food, especially fruit,  appeared in season and was grown locally.  Oranges came from Buras in Plaquemines Parish.We drove down in early December to buy a crate. One of them was a treat in the toe of my Christmas stocking.  I knew of cherries, yet never ate an uncanned one until I was a sophomore in high school, and we took our one vacation trip toward the northwest.  The highlight of any year was April and May when strawberries came in season in Tangipahoa Parish.  I don’t like the artificial flavor; however, homemade ice cream, sliced over hot pound cake, and just held by the stem for a delicious nibbling while red juice dribbles on your chin is akin to the ambrosia of a heavenly meal.

The season was coming on when we drove out of town (not difficult to do) and saw workers in the field bending over green plants, turning back leaves to find the red ripe berries.  One had to have light hands and a good eye.  Ripening stops when they are picked and they are fragile to ship, so a perfect careful choice was necessary for each berry.  Workers took their field baskets to the sorting sheds where another group carefully divided by size and ripeness. Those worthy to be sold to commercial buyers were packed in a crate, sixteen pints in two layers.  Less than their best went to be sold at a roadside stand.

In Hammond ,through the month, auctions were held in the Log Cabin, a structure near the railroad station.  A farmer would declare how many crates he had ready for shipping. Stores and distributers would make bids with the auctioneer fanning the price until a gavel ended that lot.  Daddy taught sons of farmers, so he would drive out, lean on a fence, make a deal and bring home a crate from that morning’s picking. When I taught in the northern part of the state, Daddy would put a crate on the last train and call me to be at the station at daybreak.  The redolent smell of ripeness filled the space between the clerk’s hands and mine.

The heart shape of the berry adds to its attractiveness.  Chocolate covered strawberries are as good as roses for Valentine’s Day. A Cherokee legend matching Adam and Eve says the couple quarreled, and the woman angrily walked out.  The man could not catch up.  To slow the woman down, the Great Spirit had berries grow along her path. Because she stopped to pick and eat, the man could catch up.  Her anger forgotten, they returned to their home where they lived out their days in peace, happiness, and love. With year around availability, all sorts of good things can happen.

And God said, “I have given every green plant for food…..and behold, it was very good.”

Genesis 1: 30 – 31