A Good Plum

Let’s face it, some fruits are a bit of a crap shoot. You seldom go wrong with apples, bananas and oranges. And I can’t say I’ve ever met a watermelon I didn’t like. But in my opinion, the best fruit varieties are the ones that offer the prospect of a little gamble. Some people can’t stand grapefruit. Perhaps that’s because they stumbled upon a few less than stellar ones to start. With a little persistence you’ll discover that one out of a dozen grapefruits is a magnificent treat. Peaches are hit or miss. Same goes for pears and pineapples to some extent. But by and large, even spotty fruits tend to have a fairly wide margin of error.

But plums offer the greatest thrill. A plum can be a bitter miserable experience. It can be a soaking wet, bland affair. It can even be an awkwardly stiff sensation coupled with a flavor that could be described as unflavored pickle. But every so often, you take a plum in hand, pierce the rubbery skin and hit the jackpot. I would go so far as to say there is no such thing as a good plum. There are only disappointing plums and great plums. When you’re lucky enough to catch one, it can brighten your entire day. A mix of great flavor and beautiful color and the cleanest, smallest most adorable remnant of trash the fruit world has to offer. It almost makes the sticker seem cumbersome.

I just had a good one. It was like finding and unopened Christmas present with my name on it. And it’s put a mildly sticky veneer of contentment on a previously crummy feeling day. It makes me want to send off a salutation of: “... goodbye for now. May your next plum be a good one.”