Hi from Gary.

Here’s hoping you’re well and that spring is bursting forth for you where you live like it is here in California. Alla is lovingly involved with establishing a vegetable garden in our backyard. It amazes me what she does for this. I’ll post photos when the results become more evident.

And speaking of vegetables - -

A short time ago while in the vegetable section in the grocery store, Alla asked me “what does this “organic” mean?” So I explained to her about organic fruits and vegetables being grown without chemicals either for growing or to stop bugs, and that they were thus more healthy to eat. That somewhat simplistic answer on my part resulted in her giving me another question and an observation.

Her question was “well if they grow them without adding things, why do they cost so much more - - why are they not less expensive?”. I felt it prudent to not delve into various theories of agricultural economics (a wise choice since I’m a computer and stock market guy, not a farmer). So I took the easy way out and told her “I don’t know”. But in truth, it’s a legitimate question and I still wonder about the real reason.

And then as an observation she stated “all fruits and vegetables in Ukraine are organic”. When she said that it was like a revelation to me because it explained so much about what I had experienced in Ukraine. Often, in her home town of Chernovtsi, we would walk to the “green market” to buy produce for the table. Understand that the “green market” is simply that - - a place to buy greens and other farm goods. Its name has nothing to do with environmentalism or the “green movement”.

And walking through this market you could easily see the tell-tale signs of fruit and vegetables grown organically. You know, organic produce is often slightly smaller and sometimes blemished. And in this market you didn’t see 27 varieties of each veggie. You want tomatoes, you might find 2 varieties, 1 for sauce and 1 for salad. (And they tasted like tomatoes, not watery imitations.) You’d see perhaps 2 varieties of cucumbers, 1 for pickling and 1 for salads. And forget about gigantic, dry, tasteless strawberries. The only kind of strawberries you can get in the Ukrainian “green market” are the average sized, knock your socks off, juicy, delicious ones. Seriously, the best strawberries I ever had in my life I ate in Ukraine.

And it all makes perfect sense too. During the Soviet era, chemical supplements were heavily used. But their use stopped because of lack of money in 1991 after the breakup of the USSR. So what gets grown is what grows best per region at each time of year. And too, lack of money has prevented the development and introduction of numerous hybrid varieties. Farmers work with what works.

So from this 1 simple question about 1 simple word that to me is commonplace, new understandings developed: new understandings about my time in Ukraine as well as about my life in America.  You can expect that when you marry a foreign woman your knowledge and perception of your own culture and society will expand and change because the questions she will ask will cause you to reflect on the real truth of things so that you can provide fair and meaningful answers to her questions.

I suggest you be prepared for, and welcome this opportunity to better understand your own country by teaching about it to someone from afar. And too, look at this as an opportunity to demonstrate your concern for her welfare and ease of adjustment to life in America. Imagine yourself “plopped” down in the middle of Russia or Ukraine. How would you like your questions responded to? Nuff said?

That’s all until next time when I’ll have another interesting word problem to write about.

Until then, may your March winds be breezes, your April showers be sprinkles, and your May flowers be glorious.

Gary.

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