https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437998

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Olive Trees

Oldest NYC Grandson – 02/01/23

…and he was just about to say that he has always had an affinity with olive trees, but that was not quite right.  No, it was more he had memories of olive trees from when he was a young boy, but before he knew of olive trees, though they were always around, he already knew of olives and how he relished them and would eat as many as he was able to get away with, as it seemed that was his usual approach to any food he liked when he was very young – maybe because he could only have his “share” of food which always seemed scarce, or maybe because all the foods he really liked were scarce, or…well, maybe so many possibilities.  And as he now moved within the shade of the olive trees – which now seemed much smaller than the towering trees he remembered when he was four, five & six – he realized that he first must have had, been given, olives with the pits still in them which he gobbled, at least the three or four he managed to stuff into his little mouth – interesting to realize, understand, that this was, is, the only mouth he has ever had – and with his little mouth stuffed with olives he would chew and chew – carefully – feeling the pits, chewing the flesh off the seeds – why did he think of the fruit as “flesh” – and he would swallow, but not the pits, and after a while taking the pits out of his mouth and inspecting them to nibble off anything remaining before putting the seeds back in his mouth before spitting them as far away as he could if outside, or on to a plate if sitting at a picnic table, for olives always seemed to be a special food for special occasions.  And then, at some point when he was still young, there appeared – low & behold!  – olives without the seeds inside – pitted olives – and this was wonderful and great – except still he could only eat his “share”, because it seemed the olives were still scarce.