Beth Morey, Writer + Artist

Not-quite-ripe fruit -- is there anything better? Not to me. I like my pears crispy, my bananas green and somewhat firm. So when I saw ultra-unripe bananas at Costco last week, I couldn't resist (especially at Costco prices!). But as the week passed, the bananas -- which really were too ripe, even for me -- did not seem to ripen at all. On two separate occasions I tried to partake of some potassium goodness, only to be foiled by bananas that I could not even peel, let alone eat. With the second banana, I actually cut the peel away, sure that a deliciously unripe treat awaited beneath. I was wrong. It was sticky and hard and incredibly bitter. So I continue to wait, yearning for the bunch to ripen just a little, and then -- I will devour! Perhaps that is why they are being so devious. They know what an end awaits them in my belly the moment they succumb to the pressing of time and nature.