6.04.2009

Two Dreams In One Place

I was greeted to the Larchmont Farmer’s Market by a dozen small dogs of different ages, all looking for someone to love them. Some were full grown and others had the distinctive, sleepy look of a baby on their tiny, fuzzy faces. One little, black dachshund jumped up and down against his wire enclosure. Wagging his tail delightedly, he seemed equally impressed by every person who passed by. “Which one of you lucky people gets to take me home?” he seemed to say. Wishing I could have the honor, but knowing I can’t, I tickled a fluffy puppy’s head falling asleep in the arms of a child standing next to me, and forced myself to move on toward the rest of the market.

“Ok. So, there are certain people we go to for each thing we want to get. This guy here has the best lettuce”, Kendall said to me at the first stand. She was acting as my guide to this particular farmer’s market since it was the first time I’d been to it and she had gone many times before. After selecting the plumpest head of lettuce and a moderate sized red onion we strolled along, getting bright red tomatoes on the vine from one guy and dimpled, juicy oranges from another. We worked our way through the covered booths, picking the best of what we wanted along the way.

Passing by one stand, we stopped to taste the different types of homemade hummus that vendor was selling. There was sun dried tomato and basil hummus, artichoke hummus, spicy red pepper hummus, and a few others with crispy, light pita chips for us to dip with. While the sun dried tomato and basil one was truly fabulous, I decided on the artichoke because that’s the kind of mood I was in. I threw in some fresh, whole wheat pita and started to look forward to my lunch the next day.

Even though this was one of the smaller farmer’s markets I had been to, the whole place buzzed with activity, conversation, and fresh smells that perked up your senses and made you feel awake and energized. Adding to the pleasant aroma and general pleasant feeling of the day were the flower stands at both ends of the market. As I looked at the colorful array of options, I pictured myself walking back to the car, arms full of giant, golden sunflowers and deep purple irises (wrapped in brown paper like you see in the movies, of course) to be arranged in a big, clear vase, displayed on the mosaic table in the kitchen, and enjoyed all day long. I quickly remembered that I am rarely home and when I am it is usually dark outside. Those gorgeous flowers would be wasted on the cats. So, resignedly, I filed my flower buying dreams away in the back of my mind with my dreams of owning a dog, in a folder called “3-5 Years From Now”.

The entire excursion was short, about fifteen minutes, but I have yet to be disappointed by an outdoor market full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers and this one was no exception.

1 comment:

  1. This is interesting because in your previous post, you mention that you want a dog someday. I guess your dreams are not wasting any time.

    :)

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