Afterwords

I can't have that whole apple, but I really don't want it, or need it either. Apples make my throat itch when I eat them raw. Eat the skin too and my gums itch. I never tried to eat the seeds, but I hear they are not good for me.

I used to do a great story for groups of people where I was Johnny Appleseed. Afterwords, children's groups often made applesauce. I like applesauce. One of my good friends made it with me from apples on her own trees on the day we met in person. I love apple crisp, many people made it for my son's wedding from his grandmother's recipe.

As a child I had a choice. Caramel apples were a rare and awesome treat, but when I ate them I tended to just eat the caramel off. If I ate the apple too, the treat lasted longer, but I paid for it later by having what I now know are allergic reactions. No one ever believed me if I told them that. They just assumed I didn't want to eat the apple and after a while I quit telling anyone. I didn't even know it was an allergic reaction back then. I just thought something was wrong with me. Same way with raw carrots and celery, watermelon, cantaloupe, and many other melons. No one knows why I sometimes have bad reactions to these things and they are not always the same bad reaction. Sometimes I can even eat raw apples and carrots and celery, but not the others. I used to eat them anyway so I wouldn't offend people, but the last time I ate watermelon my mouth, both inside and out, was covered in layers of blisters.

Raw food is supposed to be good for us. It isn't all good for me. I don't know why, but I do know it. The rest of life is like this too. Some things just sit better with some people than others. Intelligence and tolerance need to go hand in hand in a world that claims to have both, but tends to have them in direct relationship to to their areas of familiarity.

Just use one of those fancy little cutters that carve an apple into eight little slices and let me nibble on one. I'll let you know if I can eat anymore. If I can't, that is just more for you!