Warum? Warum ist die Banane krumm? ~ Why? Why is the banana crooked? German expression, used when a question has no answer.
I doubt Jack Johnson could sing about apple pancakes with the same nostalgia, I know that a smoothie now requires thought and construction, I suspect that Weet Bix has counter-intuitively become less healthy and more boring, and I downright oppose the notion of carrot bread for breakfast. That's right, the banana drought in Australia is very much upon us, with a myriad of unseen repercussions. It's turning breakfast on its head, causing cafes to change their tried and tested menus, reducing lovers of the fruit into "let's do breakfast" weekend recluses, and causing me to curse at anyone named Larry. I miss them!!
While still available at exorbitant prices (exorbitant for bananas anyway), the decrease in average intake of this once common, lowly regarded fruit must come at a price.
I read somewhere... that bananas contain tryptophan, a protein that converts to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low serotonin is associated with low mood. While it's not like antidepressant medication sales are going through the roof at present, including tryptophan in your diet everyday for over 20 years, as I have, and suddenly not getting your daily hit could potentially affect a person. Though it might be nice to blame Monday morning grumpiness, PMS and any shameful chocolate binges on a natural disaster and protective import policies.
Age-old proverbs like "You dont know what you have until it's gone" or "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" might be replaced with "You dont know how much you like a fruit until a cyclone hits" and "Absence makes the stomach grow louder."
I was worrying what I would tell my grandkids, with no experience of war or economic depression, no "we had to walk 20km in the snow with no shoes in the mid of winter to school" stories. Now I have the "Great Banana Drought of '06" to remind them that life used to be a lot tougher, that breakfasts used to be a lot plainer. While they complain about eating their own breakfast I will remind them that banana pancakes were once considered an unforgivable extravagance, what with all the (banana) starving children in the country, and that they "don't know how lucky they have it."
No longer can we say someone "is going bananas" with a cheeky smile and good intention. The phrase has taken on a more ominous meaning. Bananas are going and things are not the same.
I doubt Jack Johnson could sing about apple pancakes with the same nostalgia, I know that a smoothie now requires thought and construction, I suspect that Weet Bix has counter-intuitively become less healthy and more boring, and I downright oppose the notion of carrot bread for breakfast. That's right, the banana drought in Australia is very much upon us, with a myriad of unseen repercussions. It's turning breakfast on its head, causing cafes to change their tried and tested menus, reducing lovers of the fruit into "let's do breakfast" weekend recluses, and causing me to curse at anyone named Larry. I miss them!!
While still available at exorbitant prices (exorbitant for bananas anyway), the decrease in average intake of this once common, lowly regarded fruit must come at a price.
I read somewhere... that bananas contain tryptophan, a protein that converts to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low serotonin is associated with low mood. While it's not like antidepressant medication sales are going through the roof at present, including tryptophan in your diet everyday for over 20 years, as I have, and suddenly not getting your daily hit could potentially affect a person. Though it might be nice to blame Monday morning grumpiness, PMS and any shameful chocolate binges on a natural disaster and protective import policies.
Age-old proverbs like "You dont know what you have until it's gone" or "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" might be replaced with "You dont know how much you like a fruit until a cyclone hits" and "Absence makes the stomach grow louder."
I was worrying what I would tell my grandkids, with no experience of war or economic depression, no "we had to walk 20km in the snow with no shoes in the mid of winter to school" stories. Now I have the "Great Banana Drought of '06" to remind them that life used to be a lot tougher, that breakfasts used to be a lot plainer. While they complain about eating their own breakfast I will remind them that banana pancakes were once considered an unforgivable extravagance, what with all the (banana) starving children in the country, and that they "don't know how lucky they have it."
No longer can we say someone "is going bananas" with a cheeky smile and good intention. The phrase has taken on a more ominous meaning. Bananas are going and things are not the same.
1 comment:
Do some work Helga! This is complete procrastination city. You have no reason to say you can't make it to some event because "I'm writing my thesis", when you appear to have ample time to send your musings into cyperspace. ;)
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