Coming up Triple Cherries

I’m not a big gambler. I never knew when to hold em’ or when to fold em’ and if I walked away I wouldn’t know where to go, or if I should saunter or skip or something. My first trip to Vegas was only two years ago. I wore a banana suit for most of the time (really, you can see me here), which meant I wasn’t exactly a high roller. I did get to dance in front of the Bellagio fountains with my Banana friend Beth Lisick. However, before that trip, I had been in a casino exactly zero times. Such gambling sayings like, “It’s coming up cherries” or “He made it by spades,” have always been lost on me (why did he have excess shovels anyway?)

Cherries seem to occupy many gambling references and lore. I learned from the Internets (a series of tubes that connect us—in case you didn’t know) that one-armed bandits in the late 1800s had two symbols that both represented potential financial freedom that vied for top popularity: liberty bells and cherries. Cherries are one of those fruits that are delicate and can be hit or miss by season. So I guess the idea of hitting the jackpot was like finding a bountiful haul of delicious cherries. Something that happened infrequently but that you remembered for the rest of your life. Here at The FruitGuys, we are excited to see cherries popping up in all regions of the country now. I’m going to take a gamble here and hope that inspiration hits me and my ode to Cherries comes up aces.

Cherry, you are my fruit treat.
Red and round and firm and sweet
there is not another I love to eat.
Cherry, you are so merry
when I pop you in my mouth, I feel less wary of the scary garden fairy that taunts my dreams with memories of warm fresh-picked summer blackberries.
Cherry, you’re a delight to carry
When chased up a hill by a vicious badger named Larry
I find nutritious fill when I stop to tarry
And tie your stems together into a sharp foil for a dodge and parry.
Oh, Cherry. You are my sanctuary.

Meet your inner fruit and find out exactly what’s in your box by region, go to our home page and click on In the Mix.

Enjoy and be fruitful! – Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com