When Life Gives You Lemons
When Life Gives You Lemons
At an auction in England a 285 year old lemon sold for just over $1,800.00. The lemon was found in a cabinet (which sold for about $75.00) and was inscribed with these words, “Given by Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739 to Miss E Baxter”. The best guess is that the lemon was from India and brought back as a gift. So, now we let our imaginations fly. Did Miss Baxter so cherish this thoughtful gift that she saved it like a fine piece of jewelry? Did Miss Baxter think Mr. Franchini was a little fruity for engraving a lemon and thinking it was a special gift? Did she throw it in the back of the cabinet to be forgotten? Did love make this lemon eternal? How does a lemon last 285 outside of refrigeration? Is the buyer going to give this lemon to his beloved on this Valentine’s Day? Will his beloved cherish it, trash it, or make lemonade?
It does make one think. Well, it made one person think. What would it be like to live in a day when a lemon was seen as that special? I have heard of children getting oranges in their stockings at Christmas. I never read if the children were overwhelmed with joy or what Miss Baxter thought. We just hear that a lemon or an orange was so super special that they were gifts but did the children groan when they received them at Christmas? That thought really does appeal to me. Not the groaning, but giving my grandchildren an orange is appealing, but what appeals to me is a simpler life. But Solomon warns me about thinking that way, “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’”. I believe that what we call “simpler” they might say was “harder”. I also think of how bored Mr. Franchini must have been on the boat ride back home that he would take the time to carve this lemon? “Let’s see, I have carved all the whale tusks, what else is there to carve? Ah, the lemon. I shall make it a love letter to my beloved”. I wonder when he gave it to her if he thought to himself that this seemed like a better idea on the boat?
Choose to take some time to imagine this bit of trivia any way you like. It is my gift to you of a few minutes of free distraction from life. I have had some fun with it. As part of my investment portfolio I have carved three oranges. One for each of my children. I have hidden them in the back of an unused cabinet. I figure that by the time they clean out the cabinet the oranges might be worth a few bucks. Hey, better than some of the stocks I have.
At an auction in England a 285 year old lemon sold for just over $1,800.00. The lemon was found in a cabinet (which sold for about $75.00) and was inscribed with these words, “Given by Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739 to Miss E Baxter”. The best guess is that the lemon was from India and brought back as a gift. So, now we let our imaginations fly. Did Miss Baxter so cherish this thoughtful gift that she saved it like a fine piece of jewelry? Did Miss Baxter think Mr. Franchini was a little fruity for engraving a lemon and thinking it was a special gift? Did she throw it in the back of the cabinet to be forgotten? Did love make this lemon eternal? How does a lemon last 285 outside of refrigeration? Is the buyer going to give this lemon to his beloved on this Valentine’s Day? Will his beloved cherish it, trash it, or make lemonade?
It does make one think. Well, it made one person think. What would it be like to live in a day when a lemon was seen as that special? I have heard of children getting oranges in their stockings at Christmas. I never read if the children were overwhelmed with joy or what Miss Baxter thought. We just hear that a lemon or an orange was so super special that they were gifts but did the children groan when they received them at Christmas? That thought really does appeal to me. Not the groaning, but giving my grandchildren an orange is appealing, but what appeals to me is a simpler life. But Solomon warns me about thinking that way, “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’”. I believe that what we call “simpler” they might say was “harder”. I also think of how bored Mr. Franchini must have been on the boat ride back home that he would take the time to carve this lemon? “Let’s see, I have carved all the whale tusks, what else is there to carve? Ah, the lemon. I shall make it a love letter to my beloved”. I wonder when he gave it to her if he thought to himself that this seemed like a better idea on the boat?
Choose to take some time to imagine this bit of trivia any way you like. It is my gift to you of a few minutes of free distraction from life. I have had some fun with it. As part of my investment portfolio I have carved three oranges. One for each of my children. I have hidden them in the back of an unused cabinet. I figure that by the time they clean out the cabinet the oranges might be worth a few bucks. Hey, better than some of the stocks I have.
Recent
Archive
2024
2023
December
2022
Categories
no categories
No Comments