About the year 1915 or 1916 a steamship from Central America was making its way up the east coast of the U.S. bound for Boston, Massachusetts with a shipment of bananas, lots of bananas. Part way through their journey the ship lost its refrigeration. The bananas began to ripen as the temperature in the ship's hold increased. By the time the ship arrived in Boston the bananas were ripe and the buyer refused shipment. What do you do with a shipment of ripe bananas? You give them away of course, least the ship become an unwanted garbage scow. Enter my grandfather.....not wanting to pass up an opportunity for free food, took a whole stalk. A BIG stalk of bananas. Home he went to be greeted by my surprised grandmother and cheering children, including my father. For the next two weeks bananas were featured on the Sullivan menu in just about every form imaginable. By the end of the whole experience no one wanted to say the word banana for a very, very long time. Jerry
During the Depression, my dear friend's father ran a general store in a small upstate NY town. He extended credit and took things in trade. One farmer ran up a considerable bill because he had a large family. When the harvest came in, he arrived to settle up with a wagonload of--cabbage! My friend to this day cannot stand the sight, smell, or thought of cabbage in all its forms.
So Jerry, did you grow up with a dearth of bananas in your house? We always had too many( because they were cheap, i suppose) and I don't like bananas today. My kids rarely have them.
Yummmmy Bananas! Love them. Especially when my sister makes Banana Pudding.... it's to die for! We have a Banana Tree (well.... guess I can't call it a tree anymore!)... we have a Banana plant growing that we got from my aunt. Hopefully by next year it will start to bear fruit.
Carolyn, "Yes, we have no bananas", because everyone ate them. Always have bananas. Banana pudding recipe? Hint.......Hint.......Hint Jerry
I like bananas, but not green or too ripe either. I think I would have had to have a party and share those extra bananas around with my neighbors--hopefully they had not been down to the wharf and gotten their own excess supply of them. Some relatives were cheap when it came to bananas and always had the over ripe/rotten ones for eating... I cannot stand over ripe ones at all.
