Do you know what this post was supposed to be about?  My new apple CSA, and our first pick-up, and how much I loved it.  Do you know what this post is going to be about?  The patriarchy.

I drove to the pick up and I was all jazzed, and I said hi to the nice lady at the register and was all jazzed, and I spelled my last name, and she thought it started with the wrong letter because people always do, but then I spelled it again and I was still pretty jazzed.  And then it turned out my name wasn’t on the list.  Which is weird, because I wrote a check, and I called to confirm that the check made it to the people, and the check was deposited, and I’ve been getting the CSA emails.  So, you know, my name should be on the list.  But it’s not.

And then I notice that my husband’s name is on the list.

Which is interesting, because I didn’t realize that Dave signed up for the apple CSA, too.  I mean, he likes apples, but two full shares of apples is a lot.  It would have been good for him to tell me he signed up, because maybe he needs me to pick up his share today, too, and I don’t know how I’m going to cook all those apples this week. 

Except, maybe they took my check, with my signature, and my name on the little paper, and my email address, and somehow decided that of the two names on the check, it is my husband’s that should be on the list. 

So we’re clear, Dave and I do not have the same name, we are not the same person, and his name is not a stand-in for mine.  I get that we’re in Maine now, and people are nice here.  But you know what?  I’m not from Maine.  I am not afraid to be the Really Angry Feminist Lady.  And Out on a Limb CSA better be prepared for that if my name is not on that damn list next pickup.

And I am going to be PISSED if this interferes with enjoying my Maiden Blush apples.

It’s a very special travel edition of vrai-lean-uh, in which I praise the mighty apple. 

Here are the benefits of the travel apple:

1. You can put it in your purse as you’re leaving the house without having to deal with packaging.  No ziplock baggy.  No container that you’re then going to have to schlep around empty for a week.  No napkin even that’s going to get crunched in the corner of your purse and then slowly shred itself until you find tiny tiny pieces of soft paper on your keys every time you take them out.  Just the apple.  In the purse.  This helps when you have a morning flight and need to not be doing anything that requires a lot of thought as you’re trying to get yourself out the door.

2. Apples aren’t going to make you all parched like peanuts are.

3. They’re filling.

4.  They won’t make you feel greasy and airport-y when you’re done eating.  Traveling is kind of a mine field, eating-wise.  If you pack an apple, you know you have at least one healthy thing to consume.

5. It’s pretty non-smelly, which is nice for the people around you on a plane.

6. It’s not going to get smashed in your purse like a banana might.

7. No one’s going to take your apple away from you because it’s too liquid.

8. If you don’t end up needing the apple while you’re traveling, you can have it the next morning for breakfast.  Also convenient!

9. This is sort of a corollary to #1, but they don’t require specialized equipment.  Like a fork.  Or a spoon.  Finding a fork in an airport terminal is not always as easy as you want it to be.

10. Look how jazzed my brother and I are about apples!  We’re super excited!  That’s the kind of excitement you want when you’re traveling, which is otherwise pretty bleak and involves a fair number of indignities.