Persimmons

I love the persimmons - I love them for their taste, I love them for the fiery orange color, I love the word "persimmon" - because it sounds exotic and it rolls off your tongue, I love how it tastes differently when it's ripe versus when it's "green," - if you eat it too soon, your mouth feels like you just ingested cotton balls, I love how a lot of people don't know the fruit, and I love introducing them to it. Also love this image from Yes And?

Story and warning

My dad had a persimmon tree growing near his house when he was young which he says was 40 feet tall, but this is also how tall I remember the diving board at the YMCA being when I was little. He would climb to the top of the tree, to where he could swing the tree back and forth while he hung from it. Once he did this for a while he could swing it far enough to reach the ground, when he could get off the tree and watch it swing back with a giant rushing noise. This is an image I will love forever.

We ended up with a Hachiya persimmon tonight. If you eat one of these before it is ripe it will make your mouth numb, briefly.