Many years ago I worked with an old fellow who seemed to know a lot of people. Well one Monday morning, a guy who worked on our crew came up to him and asked why he didn’t stop and talk a while when he saw him in the supermarket parking lot last Saturday. He said, “You just waved and drove away.” His reply was, “At least I waved to let you know I saw you but, man, I was busy that day.” After the guy left, the old fellow turned to me and said, “Young man, there are two kinds of people that you know: those you wave to across the parking lot and those you’ll walk across the parking lot to shake a hand and give them a big howdy and hello because you know them very well and call them friend. So just you remember that, okay?”
Well, sometimes, when I see supermarket ads saying they know the grower of their fresh produce it makes me wonder, “Just how well do they know them?” Usually the grower is in Mexico, Canada, or some other place thousands of miles away. Are they the wave and drive away or the walk across the parking lot shake a hand kind of know? I mean, most stores have buyers who go out and try to find the best deals for the store. So, to save time they may make orders over the phone, never seeing or touching the produce. And even if they go to the warehouse to look at the produce or maybe visit the growing fields a couple of times a year, how do they really get to know the person or persons they are dealing with when they are so many miles away? How do they get to know their likes and dislikes, their family and friends, their hopes and dreams, and most of all, what do they believe in? Even if they do reach that point, the person often quits, gets fired, laid off or retires from their job and they have to start all over again with a new person. So therefore, the obvious conclusion is that this is just an advertising gimmick to get us, the customer, to think that we are buying fresh produce from someone who is buying from a known friend and trusted source.
Of course the reality is that anything, especially fresh produce that is shipped from very far away, has more than a few handlers moving it. Because of storage and shipping time, the quality is, of course, somewhat suspect. So, as my long-haired hippy buddy Frank used to say, “Man, if you want the best you gotta grow your own or at least get it close to home.”

Here is a simple recipe called Beef Hash. You will need:
1 lb. Ground beef
1 bell pepper chopped
3 or 4 potatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 onions chopped
vegetable oil
Chop the potatoes and start them frying in a large skillet. When the potatoes are cooking good add the ground beef and stir in well. After the ground beef has browned, add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook to desired doneness. Add salt and pepper if you wish.

It takes so little to make us sad…
Just a slighting word or a doubting sneer,
Just a scornful smile on some lips held dear,
And our footsteps lag, through the goal seemed near,
And we lose the courage and hope we had;
So little it takes to make us sad.

It takes so little to make us glad…
Just a cheering clasp of a friendly hand,
Just a word from one who can understand and we finish the task we long had planned,
And we lose the doubt and fear we had;
So little it takes to make us glad.
-Author unknown

And to all of you the very best of tomorrows...