cool season

There are a bunch of guys who sell leather goods and fresh produce outside the French School. One of the most difficult things here for me is having someone walking next to me, trying to sell me green beans or a necklace. I’m not shopping right now, okay? Going to pick kids up is like running a gauntlet past the pushy vendors. Is this the time to sell me a cushion?

I have made a point of not buying anything from these guys. Until a couple of weeks ago when a guy flashed a cauliflower. The only strawberries, broccoli and cauliflower I have seen in five months have been flown in by Air France and sold at the French grocery store at a price that includes jet fuel. Can you believe I got excited about seeing really fresh cauliflower? Well, believe it. So imagine my face when he walked up with a box of strawberries. These are local, and I’m sure they will be gone with the cool weather in a month. I ended up buying two, maybe three pints of strawberries. I berated myself for spending such a ridiculous amount of money on strawberries, for god’s sake; until I got home and ate one. It would have been worth $8 for even one single strawberry.

Then the next day, Peter found peas.