I love fruit. It’s hard to really think of one that I don’t like. A strawberry in its prime is a sweet and wondrous thing, a banana is lovely for its velvet creaminess and grapes make me want to sing with each bite into their plump, juicy goodness.
But an orange is my absolute favorite.
I can’t really remember how old I was when I first tried one. My grandpa would bring huge paper bags of them whenever he came to visit, but based on my mother’s fears that a baby(anyone under 5 years of age) should never be given anything too acidic, I was probably around six.
My mom had a trick back then of peeling oranges with a small knife, she tried to circle the orange with the knife without breaking the motion. If she were successful she held the finished peel up for inspection, a curly ribbon of orange and white in silhouette against the kitchen window. The smell of orange flooded the small room and she continued her work with the knife, because she held the belief that pith was bad for you if you ate it. And when that was finished the orange was cut into neat little naked sections and presented to me on a plate.
Each little piece was a restrained bite of flavor, the juice was held back somehow by those sections. What was there was loved though,and each tiny burst of juice made me hooked.
But that wasn’t my favorite way to eat an orange. I liked to take one in the garden with me when I was a little older. I peeled the orange in jagged chunks that I threw under the rose bushes. I broke the orange into segments with my hands and gleefully popped each one into my mouth. Or I never broke the orange into segments at all, I bit into the whole thing with a savage abandon and imagined it was what biting the sun would be like. There in the garden I didn’t have to worry that juice was running down my fingers onto my arms, I shook the juice off onto the grass I wiped the stickiness of my fingers off on the legs of my jeans. I could always wash up later with the hose before I went inside again. There in the sunshine and the openness of our garden I was freer then I was indoors. I was happy and I still associate oranges with happiness. That was my favorite way to eat an orange.
It still is.
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This post was inspired my the RemembeRED writing prompt from the Red Dress Club. The prompt was:
“to describe your favorite fruit or vegetable: the first time you tasted it, where it came from, where you were, what memories it brings.”
March 15, 2011 at 1:58 pm -
I love this line! “I bit into the whole thing with a savage abandon and imagined it was what biting the sun would be like.”
March 15, 2011 at 3:27 pm -
That was my favorite line too! I could totally see your face in the orange with juice all over your face! TRDC
Kris recently posted..Tomatoes eleven ways
March 15, 2011 at 3:31 pm -
I love eating oranges straight off our tree. I hope they too will eat them with “savage abandon!”
Jennie B recently posted..Only in Florida
March 15, 2011 at 3:44 pm -
“imagined it was what biting the sun would be like” YES! I’ve heard of eating a tomato like an apple and couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Now an orange like an apple? That sounds glorious. An event in itself.
I live in Florida. I love walking into the backyard and plucking the oranges and grapefruit from the tree and slicing it open. Yum!!!
Pamela Gold recently posted..Keepith The Doctor Away
March 15, 2011 at 5:58 pm -
Yes, the “curly ribbon of orange”… one of those magic things only mother’s can do!
Love the post and the memories it stirred!
Queen Momma recently posted..Um- Excuse me Are you going to finish that
March 16, 2011 at 5:53 pm -
I still can’t do it! But I try, it’s fun to try even if I end up laughing at my failed attempts.
March 15, 2011 at 6:02 pm -
Oranges are so delicious and colorful – and I so wish I could peel one with a knife and be all cool like that!
Megan (Best of Fates) recently posted..Pierce Me- Baby
March 15, 2011 at 6:08 pm -
I love this description “little naked sections.” A great piece. I too love oranges, although I didn’t fall in love with them until I was a grown woman. Heavens knows why. You did a great job with this.
March 15, 2011 at 6:14 pm -
You certainly captured your favorite fruit and provided a vivid and delicious picture for your readers. Oranges do taste a bit like sunshine, don’t they?
Very nice post!
March 15, 2011 at 6:52 pm -
This post absolutely SCREAMS of summertime! I love the freedom, the wild abandon and I really love (and crave) that smell. Great job!
March 15, 2011 at 8:27 pm -
I loved how you threw it under the bushes and that it still is happiness!!!!…:)JP
JP recently posted..Theyll Be Back!
March 15, 2011 at 10:52 pm -
I’ve had your post up on my computer all day. I think I’ve enjoyed repeatedly looking at your title & pic before I even started reading (it’s rainy here and I was in need of some sunshine!). I also think I need to borrow you or your mom…I can’t stand peeling oranges. And while I love the smell, I bow to the peel and get California clementines (aka Cuties) instead! :>
March 16, 2011 at 5:47 pm -
Thank you, & I love cuties! I’m hoping y’all get some sunshine really soon.
March 15, 2011 at 11:29 pm -
a savage abandon and imagined it was what biting the sun would be like.
Love that line.
Jack recently posted..The Write Words Not Written
March 16, 2011 at 12:48 am -
so yummy! I love the smell of oranges and the taste they have only right off the bush. mmmhmmm.
March 16, 2011 at 12:53 am -
Fabulous!! Loved, loved, loved the line…reckelss abandon…like biting into the sun!! Love it!
Great job, writing buddy!!
Kelly recently posted..My Freshly Picked Apple
March 16, 2011 at 2:43 am -
That is a great line. Funny how we all have our own ways of eating things, especially fruit, and how we often carry that with us from childhood. This made me want summer
MamaRobinJ recently posted..Fledgling Friday Link-Up- March 11 edition
March 16, 2011 at 3:04 am -
Big fat happy sighs. To be a kid again, not concerned with being sticky or juice running down my arms.
And I think your title is going to stick with me. Thank you!
March 16, 2011 at 3:11 am -
Perfect description of an orange. I love the taste and smell of them. I’ll have to try that peel trick.
Beautifully written.
Renee recently posted..Flavors of Summers Past
March 16, 2011 at 4:13 am -
I want an orange now. Thankfully, there’s a full bowl two feet away.
Great post!
Mandyland recently posted..The Fall of the Blueberry
March 16, 2011 at 5:52 pm -
Thank you all for your wonderful comments! Y’all made me feel okay about picking an orange versus something more exotic. I had to do it though, it’s my absolute favorite fruit.
(And I LOVE almost all fruits.)
TRDC rocks!
March 16, 2011 at 6:12 pm -
My MIL does that curly ribbon with apples.
I’ve never tried it with oranges. I’m more of a tear into them, peel ‘em and eat! I loved your post. Your memory is so sweet. I especially loved the sticky hands on your jeans, and the hose. The hose is a great part of my childhood memories, too!
Andrea recently posted..PYHO- She wants to be like me
March 16, 2011 at 8:02 pm -
My mom tries to do that with everything because she’s pretty skilled with a knife…plus she’s a total show off.
March 18, 2011 at 4:44 am -
Oh, girl…that was so beautifully wonderful.
Alexandra recently posted..Beautifully Bilingual – Your Child Talking Guest Post
March 18, 2011 at 10:06 pm -
My favorite fruit would have to be a mango!!!!! Well idk I think the mango and the pineapple are pretty close when it comes to my favorite:)