Fruit Smörgåsbord

I was fortunate enough to be a child of the 60's. Forget about free love, drugs or Woodstock - I am referring to free fruit!

My family rented a house in a lower middle class suburb where the streets had an open, friendly feel. The walls seperating each home were either very low or non-existant. The streets were busy with children cycling, playing ball games or simply running chores.

One daily chore would be to walk to the corner cafe to buy a freshly baked hot loaf of bread. It was during these strolls that one came to know the location of every fruit tree on the block. The choice was delightful; peaches, apricots, cherries, figs and even prickly pears. The only worry one had was that someone else would get to a piece of fruit that you had been eyeing for the past week or two waiting for it to ripen.

Global warming was unknown. The weather patterns were constant and the fruit was plentiful and pesticide free.

Today fruit trees have been relegated to orchards and the fruit itself to supermarket shelves. Gardens are landscaped, aesthetically pleasing and the trees are sculpted.


There is a lot to be said for the 60's , climbing up into the dark branches of an old apricot tree and quietly savouring its fruit.