TheBanyanTree: Old Apple

[Russ at nogard4cd.com]

It's funny how the mind works at times.  For lunch today I brought 
some fruit.  Just an apple and a banana to get me through the day.  
This is often my lunch so it wasn't unusual at all.  After the banana 
was gone I reached for the apple.  It wasn't a crisp apple, fresh 
from the store.  It had been sitting on the counter at home for some 
time, maybe as much as two weeks, or perhaps even more.  The way 
fruit is in the grocery store anymore it is picked so green it just 
doesn't seem to rot, just ... gets old.  

When I grabbed the apple, I realized it was "different".  Not bad by 
any means, just "different".  The skin was softer and slightly 
wrinkled.  The apple itself was softer, but far from not being good 
to eat.  What grabbed me about this silly apple was the memories that 
seemed to come back to me.  Some were "mine" and others I have no 
idea where they came from.  Memories of childhood and the "root 
cellar" that my grandparents had.  A place where last years carrots 
could still be found in the spring.  All limp and "rubbery" but still 
able to be made into a tasty meal.  A place where last fall's apples 
were to be found.  An unexpected surprise in the form of last years 
fruit.  

This apple wasn't of last years vintage to be sure.  It had only been 
on my hutch counter for a couple weeks, hidden and forgotten.  Of 
course who knows where it came from, or how long ago it was picked.  
It may be much older than I think it is... but it isn't last years 
crop.  Of that at least I'm certain.

I couldn't bring myself to chomp into that apple for a while.  Not 
because it wouldn't taste good, but because simply holding it felt 
good.  Like holding onto something that had been around a while, seen 
a lot of use and still had a lot of use left in it.  It is hard to 
explain.

When I finally started to eat it, it wasn't all juicy, but it instead 
held a flavor that was sweet and firm and yet soft and "dried".  It 
held 
just the faintest hint of "grape" taste too!  It is nearly 100 
degrees F outside, yet my thoughts as I munch on this apple turn to 
the fall days of my childhood.  A time when stolen apples were the 
best apples in the world.  A time when the air was just starting to 
hold a hint of the coming winter.

It amazed me that an old rubbery apple could bring so many memories 
and make me so aware of so many things.  

Russ