Viewpoints
Berry pickers beware...
By Crystal Skille
September 21, 2007
Friday AM
Remembering the old sourdough code of ethics: One shall not touch
another person's goods left along the trail.
Each year I greet the month of September with anticipation and
excitment as I welcome my favorite berry picking season. My days
are pleasantly spent collecting red and blue huckleberries along
the trails of my favorite spots around Ketchikan. I take great
pride in my goal at making enough jam for the coming year and
pleanty for holiday gifts.
The other day while out picking
berries I was taken back by the actions of another. I was left
feeling hurt, angry and confused, as if an ancient nerve within
me had been wounded.
I had filled my first bag of
berries and had gently layed them down along the trail side and
happily went to go gather more. I thought they would be safe.
I thought my sweet little bag of berries would be there waiting
for me to return and take them home...I was wrong.
To my suprise and horror a
man walking along the trail took it upon himself to pick up my
berries (assuming they were a bag of forgotten trash??...I can
not comprehend) and scatter them about the trail as if he was
releasing some caged animals. What was he thinking??!!
I fell down to knees in the rain and dog poop and desperately
tried to salvage all the berries I could before my dog gobbled
them up. I found myself pondering the good old sourdough code
"one shall not touch another person's goods left along the
trail". This was considered the worst crime imaginable back
in those days and I wish it still held true today.
You don't mess with a woman's
berries!
So to all of you berry pickers out there...as you lay down your
prescious hard earned bag containing the wonderous fruits of
your labor along the side of a trail...beware. You might want
to hide them a little.
Crystal Skille
Ketchikan, AK
About: " A berry picking
enthuiest"
Received September 18, 2007
- Published September 21, 2007
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