Monday, 7/7

Hi, my name is Jim, and I'm a strawberry-holic.

This time of the year, my “addiction” becomes readily apparent. During the just completed Fourth of July weekend I've had strawberries for breakfast on some days, for lunch a couple of those days, and during dinner (or for an evening snack) every single day since, I believe, last Thursday. It's that time of the year, I guess, when my dad will either pick the berries himself or, like this year, have someone pick up a quart or eight.

So maybe I'm not the ONLY strawberry-holic in the family.

I can't explain my addiction to strawberries, other than to say I've had it for as long as I can remember. Unlike my dad, who loves picking any kind of berries, I've only been out gathering strawberries once, and that's when I was a young kid and my parents took me out to pick. I don't believe I did a very good job; in fact, if I remember correctly, I ate more than I actually put in the containers.

Of course, the best part of that story is the fact that after I spent the entire morning eating strawberries instead of picking them, we went out to lunch where the only thing I ordered, if I remember correctly, was a strawberry shake.

What can I say? Even as a kid, I guess I was kind of, uhm, special.

I think the reason I go so gaga for strawberries this time of the year is that they're fresh. They taste like strawberries. You know they've just been ripped from the ground, and they taste that way, unlike some of the packaged strawberries you can get during the winter. I mean, sure, I'll eat those, because they're the only strawberries available, but I know that they're not as good as the strawberries you get in June (or, this year, July). I look forward to them every year, and often find myself binging on them, as I'm doing this year. After all, strawberries have one of the shortest shelf lives of any fruit or vegetable, so it's either use 'em or lose 'em, right?

And I know which side of the eating equation I'd rather be on!

So if you happen to see me in the next week or so and my lips are redder than usual or I have seeds stuck in my teeth, just remember I'm feeding my addiction to strawberries. After all, I need something to fixate on now that the lilacs are gone, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)