THE OTHER MAGICAL FRUIT

My buddy, Tom Keith, who produces and directs all of our video work here at Soundstrategies, has said, more than once, “Fruit is magic, just plain magic”. 

“Yeah, right”, has been my response to most those outbursts.

But then I started thinking about it.  It was kind of magical back in North Carolina when we kids would wander into the woods.   How it got there, I have no idea, but we found a persimmon tree in there, and each fall, we waited for that tree to give up its fruit. Picking the fruit off the tree and then eating it was just plain fun.

Thinking about that experience now seems to make Tom’s declarations quite accurate.  It IS magical.  Just think, many of us can simply wander out in our yards and find something to eat, right off the tree or the bush or the vine or whatever you are blessed (or cursed) with on your property.

I say cursed, because I have blackberries growing all over my property, and those prickly vines don’t care where they go.  And if you watch out for the thorns, you can pick several bucketsful of the sweetest tasting stuff this side of Jelly Bellies.  I tried to give old Blue, my dog, a taste once, but he just spit it out in favor of sniffing the deer droppings.  No taste, that boy, none at all.

Speaking of the deer, they come around right about now and go after the pears on a couple of my trees. One of the pear trees grew randomly, but I have a couple of trees that were once part of the orchards that dot the hills around my house.  When Blue and I walk down to get the morning paper, you can tell the deer have been by because of the number of pears on the ground half eaten.

I also have some peach trees, too, and I look forward to the day (very soon, I think) when I’ll be able to pick them and bring them into the office.  Before I pruned the tree, I thought they were apricots.  But a good pruning brought forth a healthier, larger crop, so I can now clearly identify what they are.

But in keeping with Tom’s idea that fruit is magical, the best way to enjoy fruit like that and really think of it as magic is not to work the tree, bush, vine or whatever.   That’s the magic.  Not doing anything, and still enjoying it.

We have pomegranates growing on a tree or two outside the office.  Each pomegranate is supposed to have 613 seeds, exactly, matching the number of laws in the Hebrew Bible.  And the top (or bottom, I guess) looks like the Star of David when pulled open.  Well, I guess it kind of does.  As far as the number of seeds contained in the pomegranate…I will accept that at face value, because I’m sure not going to count them.

So the next time you’re out in the country and have the chance to pick an apple, or some berries or whatever may present itself to you, enjoy it and enjoy the magic that is fruit.