June 9 – “Fruit Trek”

Sigh.  Back into the swing of things.  Chris and I went for a walk around the neighborhood yesterday.  About two miles.  Other than my aches and pains from my various ongoing maladies, the walk was easier than the Terrible Teva 2.5 hike we took on vacation.  For one thing, I was wearing tennis shoes rather than Tevas.  And for another, the path was totally flat, not uphill over stones and tree roots.  But it was really humid.  Gotta get used to that again, I guess. 

We also went on a fruit trek.  Ever been on one of those?  When we went to WalMart the day before to replenish our supplies, their selection of fruit was, to be nice, poor.  It was finally time to look for another source.  And that is kind of like choosing to move to a new city.  You have to scope it out first.  Talk to some people (we have done that.  Narrowed the list to two, if you don’t count the all-time winner, HEB.  We don’t have one on the Island, and you know we’re not driving into Texas just to get some fruit.  That meant it’s between Randall’s and Kroger). 

So yesterday we decided to try Randall’s.  The difference in the store atmosphere is, of course, immediately noticeable.  Much smaller.  Way slower pace of the people inside.  Temperature is kept really cold, though.  Chris always notices that, so she brings a sweater.  Great pharmacy.  They get to know their customers, at least by the various maladies they come to seek relief for.  We have just never consciously gone to the produce department with an eye for specifics.  This time the cupboard was bare.  We needed every fruit known to man (well, every one that we might actually eat.  There are some strange looking, and tasting fruit out there).  We came out with bananas, grapes, oranges, a cantalope, a red bell pepper (is that a fruit?), and strawberries.  We passed right by the watermelon, though.  Really surprised me, given that it is Chris’ favorite among the fruit food group (right up there with strawberries).  And to top it all off, they started carrying chocolate milk.  Not that one percent water kind, either.  Real, whole-milk, chocolate milk.  Yum. 

We still may try Kroger’s at a future date, but it’s on the seawall and full of tourists and has a weird parking lot, and worst of all, it’s east of 61^st Street.  I vote Randall’s.  After all, I’m just a small town guy at heart.

Psalms 33:18-19 says, “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.”

Father, thank you that things like fruit are easily available to us.  You did a good work when you created those things and made them edible.  Tasty, too.  Amen.