I've been on the other side of that - almost.

When my sister went on vacation earlier this summer, she told me to pick any
ripe tomatoes I found. (I was handling the mail, banking, payroll, and
emergencies for her three businesses for two weeks, so it wasn't as though I
was freeloading.) So my kids and I diligently picked the ripe tomatoes every
day when we went to get her mail. We shared them with my mom and in-laws so
that the tomatoes wouldn't go to waste.

What she didn't tell me was that she had *also* told one of her employees
that he could pick any ripe tomatoes he found. I didn't learn that until
yesterday when I met him face-to-face for the first time and he said,

"So, YOU'RE the tomato thief! I was out there every day looking for ripe
tomatoes, and I never found a single one!"

I explained that my sister had never told me she'd told anyone else to pick
the tomatoes, or I'd have left some.

I don't think he's too annoyed about it. I hope not, since he's building me
a new privacy fence and replacing some damaged siding (thanks Hurricane
Dennis!), and I want him to do a good job. So, I'm being really nice to him,
too. "Can I get you anything to drink? Look, my grapes are ripe - if you'd
like some, take all you want." :-)

Laura


"Penelope Periwinkle" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 08:30:03 -0700, "The Ranger"
wrote:
he knew you well enough to think you wouldn't mind.

fruit poaching

No, no such luck. I caught another this morning, an older lady that I've
never seen walk through the neighborhood. She was also _a lot_ more
brazen, refusing to back down when I asked if she was going to leave any
of the greener fruit to ripen. She sneered a tsk at me and turned her
back... 'Til I turned the hose on her. I don't think she'll be using my
portion of the sidewalk anytime soon.

snort! Way to go! I used the hose on a couple of extra persistent
Jehovah's Witnesses once, but I've never had to hose down the
neighbors.

I do sympathize, it's amazing how manners and civilized behavior are
chucked right out when people think they're getting something for
free. I used to plant some ornamental peppers near the street, but, as
you saw, people would snatch off half of a branch just to get at the
pepper. If they'd asked, I would have shared those and more of the
ones from the main garden, I always have plenty.

When I went on vacation last year, I told my friends to please help
themselves to whatever peppers and tomatoes came ripe while I was
gone. I got home to find the peppers stripped of everything but the
smallest, unripe peppers. The tomato plants *were* stripped, nary a
green tomato left, much less anything that might be getting ready to
turn. I asked around and figured out which person had done that, and
gently explained that perhaps she'd been a bit greedy. She thought it
was funny, and said that she had to get while the getting was good,
because once I was home I'd be eating the peppers and tomatoes.
Well, yeah, it's my garden. She asked me when I was going on vacation
this year, and got rather huffy when I told her she wasn't welcome to
pick this year.


Penelope