On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 13:10:06 -0500, "jfrost"
wrote:

Recently I have been feeling very much like the ant in the
"Ant & the Grasshopper" story. In the past, I have picked loads
of Bell Peppers, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, & salad tomatoes
out of the garden and gave it away in plastic grocery bags.
It always irritated me that when i gave away my extra produce
to friends& others, that it wasn't valued as much as it probably
should have been, but they hadn't done hard labor
to produce it so how could i expect them to fully empathize.

snip

I sympathize with your feeling that all your work (and of course that
of Mr. Sun and Jack Bee) isn't greeted with fulsome appreciation. You
need to find a better class of recipients. :-) Sarcasm *isn't* going
to do it. The most obvious suggestion is to find a food bank in your
area. They're generally pretty appreciative. There are many co-op
operations featuring "10lb of fresh produce" per week for a season.
For a price. Sell the stuff on contract. Now that you have baskets and
bows, advertise "fresh vegetable gift baskets" by the roadside or in a
classified ad. Give more to those who at least thank you nicely (I
always ohh and ahh at length, and often return a cooked or processed
item to the supplier).

valued as much as it probably
should have been

Oh, now, let's not get into measuring exactly how others *should*
receive gifts. Gift: "Something that is bestowed voluntarily and
without compensation." If you require a particular response, it's not
a gift. Try giving to poorer people. Believe me, those of us who are
staggered by grocery store signs reading $1.79/lb for green beans,
or(I swear) $1.19 for a single green pepper will fall to the ground
and kiss your feet. If that's what you require.