Forty or fifty years from now, will my children and grandchildren be reminiscing about days gone by? Will they miss those things that have become an indelible part of their childhood memories? I miss eating juicy, ice cold watermelon at the height of summer. We had to spit out seeds with nearly every bite and had contests to see who could spit their seeds the farthest. Today, most grocery stores carry only the genetically modified, seedless variety of watermelon. Where is the fun in that?
Seedless watermelons lack sweetness. Instead of the bright, orange red pith that we expect to see when we cut them open, we often find fruit that is anemic looking and bitter. Store bought strawberries, tomatoes, and other fruits often disappoint, as well. They may look fine beneath the store’s fluorescent lighting, but taste and texture have been compromised, for size and a long shelf life. If you want to have heirloom watermelon with seeds, growing it yourself may soon be the only option you have. It requires a fairly long growing season though, so those living in 5a or colder gardening zones, may be out of luck.
It wasn’t long ago, while my daughters were still small, their father and uncle cranked out homemade ice cream for our family get-togethers, using my mother-in-law’s family recipe. When the girls got older, we would often head over to the nearest TCBY, for a frozen yogurt, after school. When weather permitted, we rode our bicycles there. Now, just twenty five years later, the TCBY’s have gone the way of the Dolly Madison’s from my own childhood. Things come and things go. All things pass, whether they leave behind a pleasant memory, or one that we choose to forget.
While I was growing up, ice cream was an occasional treat. The trips to get frozen yogurt with my children, was far from an everyday occurrence. That is what made it special. Today, many children are left unsupervised and may consume a full pint of ice cream or an entire package of Oreos in one sitting. Sugar overload for many kids, begins at breakfast, and is the biggest part of every meal that they consume. What can we possibly give them that will create special in their minds, or become a lasting memory?
The traditions of eating watermelon chock full of seeds, and homemade ice cream from a hand cranked wooden tub, have sadly come and gone. More families than ever before are now separated. People move from one place to another for job changes, lower cost of living, or a safer place to raise their children. With change happening so fast in our modern world, will traditions themselves, and possibly even the word tradition, disappear from existence?
