Everyday, in every way, you have necessities of life.
I'm no different.
So today, just like you, I went to the supermarket.
I need food.
Food. Another necessity of life.
After all, we all need food.
Some can claim to go without food, but
no one really does. Some of us just eat less than others.
Some can even go without eating for long periods of time,
without even knowing they're hungry.
These people will even say they get more food
when they aren't even thinking about food,
when they don't need food.
Food, it is a necessity.
But not all foods are. You can have different food.
A bad tasting food, is still food.
And some would say, when you're hungry
all food is good, regardless of taste, or wants, or likes.
Well, I like strawberries.
Yes, strawberries.
Strawberry fields forever, the Beatles sang.
Of course, I don't need fields. I need one.
One strawberry.
A few days ago, there had been a storm.
All the shelves were... Well, they weren't bare...
Just... Sorta light.
That went for strawberries.
There weren't many strawberries.
They weren't even on crates!
See, I'm not allowed to eat normal, crated strawberries like everyone else.
I have a special diet. I can only have organic strawberries.
And, it just so happens, the food store where I go is organic.
They just pile their strawberries (like all their fruit),
right there on the shelf!
And there, in the small pile of strawberries, was the one.
The one strawberry, I had to have.
Yes, this strawberry WAS a necessity.
I could tell, this was the tastiest strawberry ever!
It had the whole package.
This strawberry was just the right size.
It was just the right shape.
It was the right color.
It was the most beautiful strawberry I had ever seen.
All the other strawberries were pale. Too big, to small, to mushy.
There was NO other strawberry like this one in the pile.
I was MEANT to eat this strawberry... Or so I thought.
Just then, there came another shopper. He was taller than me.
He was nicer looking than me. And, from looking at his clothes,
I could tell, he had more money than me. He grabbed that strawberry before I had a chance.
"Hey," I said... "What are you doing with that strawberry? That strawberry was mine!"
This other shopper, he looked at me.
He didn't look long. I could tell, I was of little significance to him.
Just before he spun around to leave with my strawberry, he glanced back and talked:
"I"m sorry to tell you, this strawberry is not for you. This strawberry... well... you see,
I've watched it grow.
I live in a house, next door to the farm. And every day, I watched that the farmer grow that strawberry.
I watched it's progress. That strawberry and I, we were friends forever.
And yes, you're right, there's no other like it. But this strawberry? It's already been picked, long ago, and it wasn't picked for you.
He turned away, he took that strawberry, in his bag of organics, and disappeared off into the checkout. I wanted to say something. I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream.
But I could not. All I could do was watch.
I've looked since that day. I've gone back to that organic store many times.
I live in a small town you see, and it's the only organic food store we have.
But alas, there are no more like that strawberry. Growing seasons came and went.
Each year, a new batch of strawberries came in, but none are like the one I saw.
Food. It is a necessity. But for me, so was this strawberry.
And without it, I don't know how I will survive.
There must be another strawberry out there.
And when you find it, won't you send it my way?
