By Don Napier

My wife and I make it a habit to go out on a “‘date” once a month. We try to eat out and go to some kind of entertainment. Sometimes we can accomplish that and not leave Cumberland County and sometimes we go to Cookeville.

Our March trip was to see the Russian Orchestra at the Cumberland County Playhouse, an evening of culture from an outstanding string orchestra. Their appearance in Crossville was part of the Playhouse Concert Series.

The group, founded in 1991, was composed of some of Russia’s finest young string players. About half of the almost 2,000 concerts the orchestra has performed has taken place in Moscow, the rest were played on tours in 24 countries including Europe, North and South America and the Far East.

Before the concert, we decided to eat at Dynasty Asian Cafe and enjoyed one of the tastiest Chinese meals I have ever had in Crossville. They are located at 229 Interstate Drive, #104, they feature Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese dishes.

We decided to order from the appetizer menu, ordering inexpensive sushi, a bobo platter, lettuce wraps (my wife’s favorite), and meat dumplings (my favorite). We also ordered soup, but canceled the order because we just could not eat all the food we had.

Calling all oranges

What has happened to plain old oranges? You know the kind I speak of, juice oranges!  Remember cutting a hole in the top of an orange and sucking out the inside goodness, then opening it up and eating the flesh. I have been looking for a juice orange for three months and, apparently they do not exist. All oranges in the market now are navel oranges and they don’t have a lot of juice nor do they survive the squeezing very well . Don’t get me wrong, they are great and I probably eat five or six a week, but they cannot be juiced.

So after asking around and not getting the answer I sought, I went online and discovered the Valencia Orange I am seeking. The first place I visited online was Harvey’s Groves in Brevard County, Florida. I even registered for a give-a-way of Vaencia Oranges and a juice fountain, part of a promotion they do each March.

Their Indian River Valencia is exactly what I am looking for, along with Tangerines, Grapefruit, Navels, and Honeybells.  On the Florida Fruit Shipper site I found this shipping information.

Seedless Navel Oranges are available in November and December. Flavorful Honeybell Tangelos are available in January. Delicious Temple Oranges ship in February. East-to-peel Honey Tangerines are available, beginning in March. Seedless Ruby Red Grapefruit are available November to May. Juicy Valencia oranges are available to be shipped March to June.

How not to treat apples

Lets just say, “I’ve had all I can take, and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

On a recent shopping trip to one of Crossville’s big name supermarkets, I finally came unwound.  Before I get into that, let me explain to you how I am about my apples. I don’t buy bagged apples. I buy them loose from the bin, examining each one to make sure it does not have any blemishes. I put them in a plastic bag and then put them somewhere safe in the shopping cart, trying to make it to the check-out counter without damaging them.

To say I am very protective is an understatement. I always ask for paper bags when checking out. I have a pick-up truck and plastic bags roll around on the trip home. When packed properly, paper bags will sit up and stay in their place. But they must be packed correctly. I am afraid that leaves out many of the grocery baggers whom I have encountered.

As many of you know who have been reading my articles for a few years, I grew up in a grocery store, owned by my dad and his brother. I started bagging and carrying out groceries when I was a youngster. I know how to properly bag groceries! Usually, I will grab one of the paper sacks and help as I am checking out.

On the day in question, a young teen girl was handling the bagging duties. I usually take my apples and carry them out in my own hands, but I got distracted and didn’t pay any attention. I got to the truck with my four bags of groceries and I grabbed the first bag and something round was on the bottom of the bag and it was very top heavy.

I sat it down in the front seat to examine and found my apples in the bottom of the bag with two half gallon cartons of milk, a quart of coffee creamer and a pound of butter on top of my apples.

I probably went overboard, but I marched back in, back to the check-out counter and waited until they had no customers. I told the two young people, in a nice voice, what they had done. I told them that they had it exactly backwards, that the apples should “always” go on top and be packed with other similar weight items.

I would be fibbing if I said that this was the first time this has ever happened. It happens every time I shop. It just does not always happen to my apples, and will never happen again.

Two days after they did this to my apples, I was in for some grapes (on sale for $1.29). When I got to the truck, the grapes were well on their way to becoming juice, as they were under 10 cans of pineapple (on sale, 10 cans for $10.) I am sure they started out on top but settled into the bottom  because the cans were not stacked, they were just in a pile. Maybe it happens because they are not used to bagging into a paper bag. Most people take their groceries home in plastic bags.

The little girl, who bagged the apples, didn’t seem to be affected by my experience. She did ask if I wanted my money back, and I said no, I just wanted to prevent it from happening again, to me, or anybody else.  I would rather have my bread squashed than my apples. If I am lucky, maybe I can get both!