Anticipation

About this time of year in 1977 I wanted watermelon. We lived in Flagstaff, Arizona and I was having a pregnant hankering for a sweet, juicy slice. I got up in the middle of the night and drove to East Flagstaff to the all night market. Of course there was no watermelon. It was the middle of winter! It wasn't watermelon season. I used to get so jazzed at the sight of the season's first asparagus. Those thin green stalks told me Spring was not too far away. Cherries in June, sweet corn and blueberries by August. Summer fruit in Summer, apples in the fall.

Today watermelon is available all year round, as are asparagus. The multinational food conglomerates in Chile and Argentina are growing and shipping produce to us. Nothing is out of season and we never have to wait. Oh look! Blueberries are two pints for five dollars, better buy two. That is how I come to be snacking on my favorite fruit in January. No waiting for Texas (early) or Michigan (late). I marvel at the huge asparagus available all year long. But when anything is available anytime, is it as good without anticipation?

I am not one of those people who mourn the good old days. As my old man used to say, "These are the good old days." I look at little children playing with their parent's tablets and smart phones as they sit in a shopping cart and think that they will always know wireless and touch screens and whatever else is coming down the pike. Cool. But will they ever know the thrill of that first taste of cold watermelon on a hot, hot day? I hope so.