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THE NOBLE PEAR

A Pear Tree Challenge

By Pam Sievert-RussomannoPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 10 min read
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Asian Pears

REGARDING PEARS

People don’t always know what they’re eating. We grow up being fed whatever it is our parents think will keep us alive, based on Gerber foods and baby books. And of course, as babies, we also determine what we’ll actually eat once exposed to solid food, by either spitting it out or simply refusing to open our mouths.

There are those health nuts who make their own baby food from organics, praying that their kids will never eat Cheetos, M&M’s or processed meats. This lasts until grade school when the pressure mounts as their children see other kids eating junk and have to choose their future path. Stay the course with Mom’s health craze, or secretly trade carrots for Skittles.

Growing up in New Jersey, Peter was raised by the one and only Italian mother alive who followed the teachings of Adelle Davis and Carlton Fredericks, early advocates for improved health through better nutrition. Consequently, dry granola with raisins for breakfast was standard, zero sugar, zero whole milk. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches would appear in his lunchbox, while his buddies were eating Italian submarines sandwiches full of nitrate meats and processed cheese.

Peter and his four siblings were grateful when their father would step in and prepare a full-on Italian feast, inclusive of thick gravy, pasta, sausages, ground meats, and every Italian delicacy known to man. This parental battle of diametrically opposed viewpoints on what they should eat resolved itself when they all became adults.

Two of the kids went the direction of the mother. One went the way of the father. And the remaining two played odds against the middle. This was where Peter landed. Limit the sugar, no processed foods, but for the love of God, eat well seasoned and delicious food!

The summer after his high school graduation presented him with the opportunity to work at a local pear farm, just east of Trenton in Hamilton Township. He figured pears were healthy, pears were tasty, probably Mom approved, so what could be better? Having been blessed with mechanical abilities and with years of experience working on cars with his brother, he applied to be the mechanic on site, working on their farm equipment. After one meeting, Peter was hired, and he was glad to make some money over the summer while he figured out his next steps.

The owners were Jung and Hana Chin from Korea, and they had mastered the art of growing Asian pears, bringing their expertise to America and settling in the northeast. Their innovative farming techniques were likely the reason they had succeeded to become one of the primary growers and exporters of Asian pears worldwide.

The most obvious was an arch-trellis system where the pears were trained to grow into long arched tunnels, which protected the fruit from high winds, allowing for more sunlight into the center of the tree. This made the fruit stronger and sweeter, increasing the crop yields, and extending the trees productive life.

Peter was fascinated with what he was learning and found himself doing more than just mechanical work. Fixing the trellises, monitoring the trenches around the trees to make sure water wasn’t pooling around the roots, and generally assisting with whatever was happening each and every day. It was sometimes hard to understand the broken English of his Korean bosses, but thankfully their son Daniel had grown up in America and helped interpret for him. The education he received was phenomenal, not just about the farm, but the history and mystery surrounding the pear.

Daniel suggested they take a break and brought him to a dining hall adjacent to an onsite bungalow. “Pete, we are family here. We cook and provide lunch every day for our workers, so you are most welcome to enjoy this too!”

While Peter devoured his plate of Korean food, Daniel continued his storytelling. “You know, pears have a rich history, not just in Asia, but from ancient times. In the Odyssey, Homer called pears ‘the gift of Gods’, so we know that pears were found in Greece and around the Middle East. Pears have different significances as well. In Korea, they represent grace and nobility. In Japan, they are said to ward off evil. And in China, they are thought to bring prosperity and immortality!”

Peter shook his head. “Wow, who knew? Human characteristics assigned to fruit! In America we don’t do that, but we do use adjectives. Like, this pear is juicy and delicious! But we would never say that a pear represents joy, or kindness. Not to say that other cultures are wrong, it’s just odd that a pear would be able to grant someone eternal life!”

Daniel laughed. “Yes, we understand that Americans are pragmatic, but it’s really just folklore for most of us. And since I am Korean by ancestry, but now a citizen of the great USA, I have both fantasy and reality in front of me every day!”

HARVESTING PEARS

The summer months flew by and the calendar flipped to August. It was decision making time. Peter knew that staying for the harvest was key. Once that was over, he wasn’t sure what he would do. He was still living at home, and that was quickly getting old, let alone the growing anxiety about life after pears.

There was the possibility of working with his brother-in-law for the New Jersey State Police as a mechanic over their fleet. Working with people he knew, doing what he was naturally good at, along with great money and good benefits. It shouldn’t have been a hard decision, but for some reason it was.

As the harvest approached, the Chin family opened their farm to the public, allowing guest to participate in picking their own pears, for a small entrance fee and low cost per bushel for the pears. Tractor rides were available to take people with their wooden bushel baskets to specified locations where the fruit would be ready for picking.

Peter was glad to be in charge of driving the tractor but wasn’t as keen on having to educate anyone on how to pick pears. The PA speaker system was intimidating to him as he was NOT interested in drawing attention to himself, but he tried to make the best of it.

“Ok you pear pickers, here’s the scoop. Pears bruise easily, so be gentle. If you press near the stem and it’s soft, that means they’re ready to eat. They do ripen off the tree too so find pears that have a nice, blushed skin but are still firm and slightly under-ripe, so you can keep them at home in a paper bag for about a week.”

When they arrived at the visitors orchard Peter handed out dish towels for the guests to insert into their baskets to keep the fruit from rolling around. “Best to make sure you don’t toss the pears into your baskets people, instead gently place them on the towels and treat them kindly! Be careful if you’re the one climbing ladders and watch out for one another. You have one hour so let’s get to it.”

The hour passed slowly, and as the temperature rose the guests were getting anxious to get back to the bungalow and free lunch that was promised to them. Peter did a headcount and realized that he was missing one person. He drove everyone back to the main entrance and returned to the orchard to find the missing pear picker.

He called out on the PA system and drove up and down the rows of trees, hoping the lone wanderer would be found quickly. And there seated in the rough grass under one of the pear trees was a woman, with a book and a pen in hand. Stopping the truck, he walked over, surprised that she was completely ignoring him.

“Excuse me? I don’t mean to interrupt but the tour is ending, and I need to take you back to join the other guests.”

She slowly looked up at him. “Ok, I’m just finishing my notes. I journal all my experiences so I won’t forget. My name is Jill, nice to meet you.”

He held out his hand to help her up. “Peter, nice to meet you as well. Where’s your basket of pears?”

She reached behind the tree and pulled the basket over to her. It had only 9 pears in it. “That’s the most I can carry.”

Peter could see that she was very pretty but seemed extremely fragile. He guessed she was around his age, but it was hard to tell. He took her basket and gestured toward the truck. “Come on, let’s get you back.” Jill took measured steps and nearly collapsed on the seat when she reached the truck.

“Are you okay? I can see that you’re not feeling well. What can I do to help you?”

“Can you cure cancer? That would help. But for today, I just wanted to have this experience, and I’ll be fine once I’ve rested. My friends are waiting for me, so it’s all okay now.”

Peter was stunned. He had no idea how to respond and drove her back in silence. When they arrived, Jill thanked him, and turned to leave.

Peter found his voice. “Wait, Jill, don’t leave yet. Let me get your pears and walk you to your car.”

It was Jill’s turn to be surprised. She raised one eyebrow and smiled. “Ok Peter, you can do that for me.” As they reached her vehicle, she opened her notebook and scribbled her phone number down. “I live in Trenton, so if you’re up to it, give me a call. You never know when a girl will need more pears!”

Watching her leave, Peter felt a tug on his heart, knowing that he would indeed see her again.

LIFE SAVING FOOD

The harvest was done, and Peter said his goodbyes to the Chin family, with an open invitation to join them anytime, as well as a promise of a lifetime supply of pears. He took the job with the NJ State Police, and never looked back.

Peter eventually connected with Jill, met her family, and learned about her circumstances. She had developed Hodgkin Lymphoma during her senior year of high school and had completed her chemo and radiation treatments. Remission was her new normal, with close monitoring by her doctors and parents.

He also discovered that she was a prolific writer, and her journals were filled with stories of her young life. She wrote of the pain and fear she felt, but also with hope and enthusiasm for whatever lay ahead. Her courage in the face of cancer spoke volumes, and Peter found himself unable to picture his life without her.

He made it his mission to learn everything he could about specific nutrition that would help a cancer patient survive. Broccoli, red grapes, beef steak tomatoes, purple cabbage, pomegranate, peppers and garlic. He convinced her that all of these foods had cancer killing properties and used both his mother’s nutrition and his father’s seasonings to create dishes that Jill ate with gusto.

Her cancer never returned. They married and raised their two daughters in a spacious home near New Cape May, where life was filled with small town charm, and Jill found inspiration for the many stories that poured out of her.

Every August they found their way to the Chin Farm, and picked beautiful pears, with the girls begging that they re-tell the story of how Daddy met Mommy under a pear tree and fell in love.

“I could not tell you if I loved you the first moment I saw you, or if it was the second or third or fourth. But I remember the first moment I looked at you walking to ward me and realized that somehow the rest of the world seemed to vanish when I was with you.”

― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

immediate family
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About the Creator

Pam Sievert-Russomanno

Career Broadcast Advertising Executive.

Wife, Mother, and dog lover.

Published author of (1) Christmas Novella. Taking time to reinvest in my writing while juggling life in Los Angeles.

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