Proustian Moments at Farmers Market

French author, Marcel Proust, wrote a twelve volume novel, Remembrance of Things Past. In this novel he is transported from his dull life and connected to pleasures of life as well as forgotten memories because his mother gave him a cup of tea with a madeleine almond cookie.

Working in the food business for many years, and now as a purveyor of fine fruits and vegetables, I am the happy recipient of peoples own Proustian moments.

Yesterday, while at the Windsor Farmers Market, a gentleman came to our booth in search of rhubarb. This is not a usual request. It so happens that at the Ruff Patch, growing right now, is a big green rhubarb plant and a couple of small red rhubarb. I told him about these plants, fully expecting that he would NOT want the mature green kind. Surprise! He does!

He started to tell us a story of summers at Grandma's farm, where he would go out in the field with the rhubarb, taking with him a knife for cutting the rhubarb and a shaker of salt. He would sit on the ground, take the stalk of cut rhubarb, sprinkle it with salt and then suck on the stalk. This, for him, looked like heaven. He was transported to that moment while standing in front of us.

I alternately felt like a voyeur and an honored recipient of his memory. I will share more of these Proustian moments as I receive them. Feel free to post your own!