Skin Deep

Yesterday, the Other Family Human and I were at our occasional pulpit in Ramona, California, where most of our congregants are the kind of bucolic Jews who grow their own vegetables and raise their own chickens. Our generous hosts were in Hawaii, but let us stay at their house anyway. The note they left told us to help ourselves to anything in the kitchen. A big bowl of citrus fruit was on the kitchen table. As I looked at the fruit, I realized that it did not look like the fruit I see at supermarkets in suburban L.A. It was smaller and unevenly colored. If I saw it in a supermarket, I would say, "hmm, the fruit doesn't look too good today". However, knowing that it came from a tree not thirty feet away from the breakfast table where I sat, I unhesitatingly chose a grapefruit. It was delicious; far better than anything I could have found at Ralph's or Von's. How foolish have we become that we must have fruit that looks like a magazine ad, whether or not it tastes good? Reminder to self for new year - buy fruit at farmer's markets or ethnic markets, where the price is right and the fruit is good. Or take advantage of the generosity of our friends in Ramona.