THE LAST TOMATO

Beginning somewhere back in the long ago

mists of time, it seemed to be popular to 

name movies, books, songs, and so on, with

a "The Last..."

There was even a popular cowboy song dating

to the thirties or forties called "The Last 

Roundup."

One of the first movies with such a title was

"The Last Picture Show," and the beloved 

cowboy wrangler/ actor Ben Johnson won 

an Academy award for that one.

Others were "The Last of The Mohicans," "The

Last Tango in Paris," and "The Last Emperor."

"The Last" terminology seems to be alive and

well even in recent days, as we've had "The 

Last Man On Earth," "The Last Samurai," "The

Last Western Hero," and: "The Last Boy Scout."

And now, sadly..."THE LAST TOMATO" from me...

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Everything on this earth

     seems to end

Tomato growing season is

     no exception

and this year it came 

     early

Last year we had dozens

      and dozens 

of beautiful shiny red ripe

      juicy tomatoes

and a photo of them 

     for the ages

This year, our twelfth year

     of planting in Earth Boxes,

began on May 25. a happy,

     cool spring day

as we planted ten plants

     in five boxes, with

one being a "cherry..."

It was especially hot during

     both June and July

and a "funny thing happened

     to our tomatoes on the way

to the kitchen table..."

They somehow caught a virus 

     and were brown and wilted

by mid-September...

Thus we got plenty of tiny cherry

      tomatoes 

but really a total of only about

      fifteen "big" ones...

the Early Girls, the Better Boys,

      and the Beefsteaks

all failed...

      They weren't early, better, 

or beefy...they withered

     on the vine...

My wife said yesterday, "I've been

      watching this last one ripen

and saving it for you.

      Do you want to slice it

to go with your bacon and eggs

      and then we'll be done?"

"Why not," I replied.

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Last year!!

































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BY MIL

17 OCTOBER 2017

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