Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 23, 2010
I Swear ...
Melon-choly Monday
Vic Fleming
It’s late Monday. I’m past deadline for today’s paper. I have two columns half-written, neither of which cries out to be finished. And I have just eaten some of the best watermelon of the season.
My dad always said the best melons could not be found until after the 4th of July. He was not always right, but on melons he was an expert! He loved watermelon.
The one that I just ate from has been in the fridge for two days. It was ice cold and lightly salted. The PB&J that I ate with it provided a near-perfect accompaniment. Each bite of the sandwich made me thirsty. The melon’s pink pulp quenched my thirst. Its incomparable combination of sweetness and taste made me smile.
Some scholars date the
watermelon back 2,000 years before the Common Era. However, it’s not mentioned by ancient writers or seen in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Watermelon seeds, though, were found in King Tut’s tomb.
By 1000, China had melons in great quantities. To this day, China is No. 1 in world watermelon production. By the 13th century, watermelon had found its way to Europe. By 1615, the word watermelon had entered the dictionary.
The melon seems to have invaded North America by the mid-1600s. It had taken root in Massachusetts by 1660. Native Americans had watermelon in Florida before 1700.
Watermelons contain about 6 percent sugar and 92 percent water by weight. They contain vitamin C and beta carotene. Farmers in 44 states grow watermelons commercially. There are some 1,200 varieties of watermelon. Some weigh as little as a pound. Some weigh over 200 pounds.
Watermelons rely on pollination from bees in order to grow. Normally, one beehive per acre of fruit is called for. Seedless hybrids (that’s what I had earlier today) have sterile pollen. Thus, varieties with viable pollen must be planted with them. Pollination is more important in producing seedless melons. Thus, when mixing the two varieties, you need three hives per acre.
Melon played a key role in an episode of the TV series “Run for Your Life.” Ben Gazzara plays Paul Bryan, a successful San Francisco lawyer. When Bryan learns he has only a year or two to live, he takes to the highway. Wanting to get the most out of his remaining days, he travels a lot. He runs with bums and socialites and never tells anyone of his condition.
Gazzara was nominated for two Emmys and three Golden Globes. Elia Kazan once said he was one of the three best actors in the world.
But I digress.
I’m the only person in the world who reflects on that episode of NBC’s 1965-68 drama. I Googled “Gazzara,” “Run for Your Life” and “Watermelon.” I got only 29 hits, none of which led me to a summary of the show. IMDB lists the titles and casts of all 86 episodes. But the plots are not summarized. Even if they were, I wouldn’t take the time to scan for this episode. So, you’ll have to trust my memory.
In this one episode, Bryan and another guy have no money. It is late at night and they are hungry, thirsty and tired. They climb a fence, violating a “No Trespassing” sign. They feed their faces full of melon and fall asleep. The owner of the melon field wakes them with a rifle. He threatens to have them arrested and put in jail for a year.
Bryan says something like, “A year in jail? No way,” and he starts to walk off. The rough-and-tumble owner cocks the gun and threatens to shoot him. Bryan pauses, looks the dude in the eye and shakes his head. “What’d these set you back?” he asks, “twenty ... thirty cents?”
Dramatic pause.
“If you’d shoot a man over a quarter, then you’ll just have to do it.”
Bryan and his buddy walk off into the night.
Vic Fleming is a district court judge in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he also teaches at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Contact him at vicfleming@att.net.
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