the peach

i came home from school at 15 to every cabinet hanging open and the garbage bags filling up.

the cocoa puffs, gone. the pasta. anything in a jar. anything with a printed expiration date — expired on sight.

what's happening? why are we throwing everything away? i was ready to go to war.

but instead of arguing, my parents handed me a peach, probably my least favorite fruit.

first bite, my mouth burned with flavor.

it was organic and in season. turns out nature ran thousands of experiments to produce a product that animals could not resist.

everyone acts like eating healthy means you trade flavor for longevity. doesn't have to be zero sum. (except the wallet, definitely not zero 😬)

i wanted to tell everyone.

but i learned the only thing that works is handing them a peach.

been launching stone fruit out of a cannon ever since.