Thursday, February 19, 2009

Free, free! Trip to Mars . . .

Dear You,

Yes, some of the nicest things in life are free. On a walk with a grandchild the other day we spotted a poodle across the street and called out to its owner to admire it. Her response: "Would you like some grapefruit?"

Interesting how things happen -- you admire a dog and you wind up toting a plastic bag full of grapefruit back to your house. Set aside the idea that the fruit looked nothing like that pretty stuff you find in the supermarket. This came from the tree in the woman's side yard, it was of differing sizes, and it was dirty. I repeat: it was free. I didn't even ask the woman's name, and two days later I wouldn't be able to point out her house, even if I wanted to return the favor somehow. It was just one of those "random acts . . ."

Most of it is gone now -- I have a little machine that makes turning citrus into juice pretty easy. The haul became over a half-gallon of grapefruit juice, and the grandchildren made short work of it.

Years ago, my Uncle Paul had a little place in St. Petersburg, and on his daily walk past a Lutheran church cemetery, picked up some drops to carry back home. He'd received permission from the rector to do so, and he always had fresh-squeezed "Lutheran Grapfruit Juice" (as he called it) in the fridge. Now I know how much pleasure it gave him.

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