Maximum comfort weather in Minnesota today. Warm but not tropical—a little above eighty, low humidity. Summer has mellowed, like a drunk at a party who’s passed through the stage where he’s telling everybody what he really thinks of them, looking for a fight, and is now sitting quietly in a flower bed, saying, “Man, I love you guys. You guys are so great.”
Summer has lost its edge. The days are kind.
But I’m not taken in. I’m not fooled. I hear, in the background, the voice of Mother Nature (who, as far as I can tell, has much the same character as my own mother) saying, “You like it cooler? I’ll give you cooler. Just wait a couple months.”
Strawberries taste like summer to me. I know a lot of people reserve that distinction for watermelon, but I never liked watermelon.
I never liked raspberries either. One of the chief distinctions between my brother Moloch and me has always been that he likes raspberries while I like strawberries. Recent research indicates that people are born with different numbers of sweet or sour receptors on their tongues. If you have a lot of sweet receptors you’re sensitive to sweet, and will prefer sour. You’ll be a veggie eater. If you have a lot of sour receptors, on the other hand, you’ll prefer sweet. You’ll truly appreciate the wonders of the strawberry, and be forever barred from appreciating the virtues of its raspy cousin.
I buy Driscoll’s, of course. Until they showed up, you had to grow your own to get anything in this country that could come close to the wonders of Norwegian strawberries.
From Front Page Magazine, this review by David Forsmark of the new book Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War.
Here is one of Philbrick’s most valuable points: Despite the priggish image perpetrated by the scoffers — including the first revisionist, novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne — the Pilgrims were adaptable people willing to compromise in order to live in peace despite their strict code and religious outlook.
Now that looks like a worthwhile read.
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your blog and I like strawberries, cherries and vegetables and I do not put sugar on the strawberries as many do.
Thanks for an enjoyable read.
Glad you like the blog. You would appear to have quite a lot of sweet receptors on your tongue. One thing I like about Driscoll’s is that I don’t need sugar with their strawberries.
I agree on Driscoll’s, but I disagree on Forsmark’s critique of Hawthorne. Of course, I prob. don’t have the goods to argue against it.
But I bet you’d agree to 2 associated theses, Phil:
1. That the traditional view of Puritans is unfair to them, and
2. That much of that view derives from Hawthorne’s characterizations of them.
Berries–straw, rasp, blue, black, boysen, June (a.k.a. Saskatoons), etc.–are one of my biggest weaknesses. I love them all. So what does that say about my taste buds?
You’re probably one of the lucky ones, with receptors evenly divided. (I note that I’m talking as if I know something here, which is a leap of fancy.)
1. That the traditional view of Puritans is unfair to them, and
2. That much of that view derives from Hawthorne’s characterizations of them.
I suppose I do from what little I know, but I think if any of us (almost any of us) went back to the Puritans, we would think them strict long before seeing their other virtues. I should prepare some Hawthorne blogging.