At the Stonestown Farmers Market this morning, my friend Jude & I met a really nice vendor who sold nuts, produce, and a slew of pumpkins. He has some really unique varieties such as the ones pictured here (click on the photo to enlarge it and see the amazing texture), and on the back of his truck he had the most perfect Cinderella pumpkin for sale.
When I went to buy it, we discovered that it had a big puncture wound on the bottom. We were sad, and the vendor was visibly upset. Think about what it took to grow a gorgeous pumpkin, harvest it, load it in the truck, drive it all of the way to San Francisco, and create an appealing display. Only to have its side stabbed by some unknown culprit - and have it destined to be a cheap sale item only to be used for cooking that day or be thrown away. All of that effort, and probably not a cent earned. And this is a business in which every dollar counts, so those kinds of mistakes are not to be taken lightly.
I found another, nearly as nice pumpkin right away and he felt so bad that he cut me a deal - I think I paid about $6.00 which is nothing. I was feeling slightly disappointed driving home, but when I took a good look at the pumpkin that I got, I realized just how pretty it was, and having bought it from someone who we made a connection with made it that much better. Without that punctured pumpkin, I probably wouldn't have thought as much about what it took to get it there, and now I have a real appreciation of where it came from. Look at how lovely it is - can't you just envision Cinderella dressed up for the ball with her mice-turned-horses and rats-turned-coachmen?
