I learned this morning, much to my amusement, that today is National Nut Day. I simply could not be more entertained by the idea that our nation has a day dedicated to nuts. Since there are so many of them running around out there, it seems only fitting that a whole day should be devoted to them, and that we should honor what is, for most foreign observers, the obvious characteristic most in evidence when contemplating Americans generally. And since the whole world, or at least our little part of it, seems to have gone completely nuts lately, it seems only right that we should dedicate a day to it.
Oh, wait. Apparently they are not referring to personalities, but to the actual item, the fruit of the tree. How embarrassing. And I had so many ways I could entertain myself with the whole idea.
On the other hand, there are many things that nuts have in common with the people who bear that same moniker. For one thing, they come in all shapes and sizes and nationalities, just like Americans. Isn't that multi-cultural of them? That should make them a trendy food, in addition to spendy, which is why I don't buy them very often any more.
From the ballpark to the comic strips to the Presidency, peanuts are America's nut. They have a place in the anthem of America's game, along with cracker jack, which, incidentally, also contains peanuts.
Jimmy Carter, a former POTUS who is kind of a peace nut, grows them on his farm. Isn't it quaint when the very rich call their Malibu mansions "beach houses," and their peanut farms, well, farms? Sort of makes you feel like they are one of us, doesn't it? Except for the fame, and the money, and the 25 people swirling around them at all times telling them everything they do is wonderful, they are just like anyone else, really.
George W. Bush, our current POTUS, is a bit of a nut for baseball, it seems, since he owned the Texas Rangers at one point. Or owned part of them, anyway. I wonder which part he owned? I'm guessing it was right field, myself.
Peanuts can be found in the meal shared by more people across this country every day than any other - the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanut oil is used for frying the most tasty Asian food, because it doesn't scorch at high heats. There are plain and peanut M&M's, too. Although apparently they are both peanut, because the plain ones have peanuts in them, even though are called plain. Do you suppose that is why they melt in your mouth and not in your hand?
Charles Schultz is the only true cartoonist I have ever admired, (I don't count Walt Disney in that, because he was something else again entirely, although he did get his start in Kansas City, so perhaps I am a good luck charm in the future for animated or cartoon drawing people, I don't know.) His characters spoke to me personally, like they did to many people, I suppose.
They were always down to earth, similar to real people I knew, and I related well to them. Perhaps it's because he grew up in Minnesota - a thing you never seem to outgrow. Unlike the accent, which is unmistakable, but apparently does fade after 20 years away. I think the values and ideals we learned growing up there were frozen into us, always present, like permafrost. So while we don't grow peanuts in Minnesota, Peanuts was certainly Minnesota grown, and there were roots of the north star to be found in the strip until the very end.
Although it is my first, and only, choice in comic strips, peanuts are not the nut of choice for me. Too salty, and not enough pizazz. Unless we are talking salted nut rolls, in which case, they are just right, and I'll eat the bag, thank you.
There are a lot of other nutty issues that we should address here as well. Starting with the Brazil nut. I don't know anyone from Brazil, so I am not sure if they have a national past time, or if it involves their very own named nut.
I don't even know if Brazil nuts actually travel from there to here before they take the low road on into my stomach. The only person I ever heard of that actually lived there was the mother of another nut, Sarah, Duchess of York, who ran away from home with her horse trainer and moved to Brazil. Or was it Paraguay? Oh wait. It was Argentina. Never let it be said that I cannot keep up with current past events. Oh never mind.
I would like to go to Brazil and see if the real Brazil nuts taste any different in person, but that's probably out of the question.... I would probably just be disappointed anyway, since they probably call them something totally different, and they don't even eat them down there.
My son was supposed to go on tour to Brazil with his college symphony band this upcoming spring break. Although he doesn't like nuts, despite being one, so the opportunity would have been wasted on him, obviously. So it is just as well that it has gotten postponed, [read cancelled,] due to the economic setbacks we have all unfortunately experienced. I am pretty disappointed for him, of course, because it would have been a[nutter] trip of a lifetime.
I would feel worse, but he has already experienced one of those in band, having gone to New Zealand, Australia and the Fiji Islands his freshman year. But anything for my kids, is my motto. That is the self-sacrificing kind of mother I am. And if he happened to bring home some packages of nuts for me, well, I can't help it if my son is generous, right? Although I don't recall any special gifts for me upon his return from the South Pacific, now that I think about it. So never mind on that little sympathy ride. I don't feel so bad now.
Chestnuts are not generally found roasting over open fires these days, because you would probably get yourself a citation for it if you tried. You can't shake a stick without getting cited or sued any more, it seems, so open fire would probably be out of the question. But I wouldn't really know how to roast one, anyway. In the shell? Out of the shell? Too many decisions. I'll just buy them in a bag at Price Chopper and be done with it.
There are pistachio nuts. Is there anything more fulfilling than popping one of those little green pieces of divinity into your mouth? I don't know why they named a candy divinity, which actually doesn't taste all that good, when they have pistachios, which actually are divine, laying around out there waiting to be eaten. They are slightly spicy, and have a flavor all their own, sort of like my daughter. Now that I am poor, I don't buy pistachios any more, because they are too expensive, but I miss them.
When we were in Hawaii a few years ago, macadamia nuts were everywhere, and in everything. It was a stressful trip for me, because I have a macadamia nut allergy, it appears. I eat one, and instant migraine ensues, along with stuffed up nose, hives, and lots of eye watering and sneezing, just for good measure. But, being me, of course I did feel I had to try them. I like to be fair. Which is what I thought of them. Fair.
I think walnuts, while sort of the workhorse of the nut world, are pretty mundane. Same old, same old. Although they go very nicely in a particular salad at Panera with raspberry vinaigrette. I can think of a few people who remind me of salad - not much substance, and they leave you hungry again in an hour, but they look good when presented to you all nice and organized on a plate. I won't name any names. I am a nice person, and if I don't have anything good to say, I don't say it. Well, unless I'm teasing, of course. And then I am willing to name one name, but he already knows who he is, so I won't go into it.
On this national day of nutty celebrations, I would say step out of your shell and look around. There is a whole world of mixed nuts out there, and you never know who you will run into!
