tangerine tree

This morning as I took our dog, Harley for a walk, I noticed one of the women who does cleaning services for a neighbor walk toward my apartment. She was an older woman perhaps in her late 60's carrying a small plastic bag which held what seemed to be rags, a large brush of some sorts, and a smaller bag which I later found out was her lunch.

I have seen this woman a few times and each time we pass one another we nod. She is one of those people I seldom think of or remember until our paths happen to cross.

The home next to my building has many fruited trees planted and this time of year the one with the most fruit ready to harvest is a tangerine tree. The orange round fruit shines bright and with winter beckoning bringing so much drab and grey it is a pleasure to view this huge mound of orange.

I had begun the walking of the dog and she had begun I supposed her journey to the home she was about to clean. Today's morning dog walk was briefer than usual and so Harley and I headed back to the entrance to my apartment quicker than expected. As we headed home I notice the lady who cleans other people's homes standing by the tangerine tree and in her hand was a metal hanger stretched and elongated. The lady could not have been taller then 5'4" and she was standing on her toes reaching rather high with the elongated hangar in her hand trying to pry lose some of the lower hanging tangerines.

She must have assumed that my walking the dog would be a bit longer as when I returned to enter my building she looked at me dropping the hangar and she said I wasn't doing anything.

I said those look like juicy tangerines, and I said last week my partner and I actually got a step stool so we could reach the tangerines and they taste delicious. She looked at me with a curious eye, hesitated a few seconds and said, well I was trying to reach just one of them. She said in a quiet voice, there are so many I thought that no one would miss just one.

I asked if I could help her reach just one and all I received was a short smile and a nod of the head. I picked up her elongated hangar, and being a tall 5'7" also stood on my toes and thank God was able to pry a few tangerines loose.

I handed her the three tangerines and as she reached to take them she took only one. She looked at me and said please take these two, all I need is one for my lunch. But there are so many I added take two more. She reluctantly took all three and then said, I have seen this tree and wondered what will the people who own this tree do with all these extra tangerines, do you think they are even aware of just how many may go to waste if they don't pick them all? She then said to me, I suppose for some people too many is not a problem at all.

She then took the three tangerines placed them in her bag, thanked me for my assistance and walked to her home ready to begin her job.

I then stopped, stared at the tree, the bounty of fruit was huge with so many tangerines ripe and ready to be plucked and picked. And then I thought, it is amazing that in this world there are some who never have to worry about too many, and then there are some who want just one. And then I thought why is that and how fair is that?

It is New Year Eve Day here in LA, a time when many of us are making resolutions, rewinding the events of the past year, and anticipating or wishing for good news for the upcoming year. And a time when many of us have found ourselves to have less then we ever had, fewer choices and chances then we remember, and wanting just one so we can make it to the next day when all we want is one more.

I looked at that tangerine tree with its abundance of fruit and did wonder why is there so much for some, almost too much and why is it so hard to share?

I wish for my friends and family on the eve of a new year that we all have enough, and when we do we find the passion and purpose to share what we have with those we face as friends, foe or family.

What a fine problem if all we had to worry about was too much.

Happy New Year!