I was craving some real food today, so I went to the grocery store after Mass. The produce department was just beyond the front doors, and I immediately came upon a big display of one of my favorite fruits, the white peach. I had never even heard of this type of tasty fruit until I saw one of the funniest Seinfeld episodes of all time, where Kramer was going crazy for “mackinaw” peaches from Oregon.
According to Kramer, these were simply the world’s best peaches, and were only available for two weeks a year. Like most people who like peaches, it got me thinking about heading out to get some myself. Except, in usual Seinfeld fashion, there’s no such thing as a “mackinaw” peach. They made it up. But white peaches are fantastic, and I’ve loved them ever since tasting my first several years back.
Where is this all going, you ask? Well, the peaches I got today were pretty lousy. I bought a whole pound of them, thinking that I’d have one or two for dessert each day while I’m on retreat. The thing is, it’s still too early around here for peaches, and I knew it. We’re several weeks away from great local peaches, and I should have waited.
In our world today, we can get just about anything, any time we want. But some things are worth waiting for, so that you can savor them all the more when the proper time finally comes. I used to think it was just little kids that wanted everything NOW. Today, I guess it’s safe to say that we’re partly in the mess we’re in because most everyone took on a kind of NOW mentality. It’s going to take us years to undo the damage.
Lately, I’ve been trying to take a slower approach to things, finally realizing that there’s a time for everything. I messed up today with the peaches, so I haven’t quite learned my lesson. Old habits die hard.
When the right time for white peaches finally comes, you can bet I’ll be buying another pound or two . They are worth waiting for.
