Happy Heavenly Birthday

I know it might sound a little crazy, but whenever I buy and cut open a watermelon, it makes me think of my dad.

My family loved watermelon. Fresh. Ripe. Juicy. The smell alone brings back memories of our summertime growing up. From being out of school, to being on vacation; as a child, summer meant freedom, fun, picnics, and backyard cookouts. We didn’t just hang out outside. We loved being outdoors; especially living on an Army base. Playing with friends, riding bikes around the block; even walking to the community swimming pool or the movie theater, with barely a dollar in our pockets, which bought plenty back then.

I don’t know how my mom and dad always knew how to pick the right ones that would make their way to our house, but they almost never brought home a bad one. And being a family of eight, they only bought the long green ones to assure that there would be plenty for everyone to enjoy.

For many years, until we grew into young adulthood, my dad was always the designated cutter of the watermelon. He had a method in how he cut it — trying to make sure that the six pieces he cut for me and my siblings were as close to being exactly the same size to each other to avoid having to deal with us fighting over who had the bigger piece.

One of his other rituals that he did even before cutting it into pieces was to take a wet cloth and wash it off. I remember watching this routine several times and wondering why he would take the time to wash off the outside of a melon when we were going to only be eating the inside. I mean, an apple, a pear, or peach made sense. After all, most of the nutrients were in the skins, so we almost never peeled our fully edible fruit, minus the seeds, of course. But why wipe down the outside of a watermelon?

I was probably in college before it dawn on me (having never taken the time to just ask my dad about it), that the watermelon’s dirty outside didn’t stay on the outside once the knife cuts down and goes inside. Once the knife crosses the barrier of the outside of the melon, and goes inside, then you’re carrying all of that same mud, dust, and other people’s germs, right onto the flesh of the melon as the knife cuts down into it!

So that’s why daddy took the time to wash the outside off before cutting. Makes perfect sense!

Now, every time I buy a watermelon for myself, I always grab the dishcloth, and wipe it off before I cut into it. And when I do, I think of my dad; sometimes in visual flashbacks, seeing him doing the same, with me quietly looking on, in anticipation of getting to eat the treat. And it brings a little smile to my face.

Today, I enjoyed a big piece of watermelon in celebration of what would have been my dad’s 85th birthday! Happy Heavenly Birthday Dad. I’m sure you don’t have to wipe off any of the fruit in heaven!