Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Yes, that is a giant pickle in my pocket, though I'm also happy to see you.

I was going to continue my farewell tour of Strasbourg today with a story about Strasbourg’s Historically Significant Tree but that will have to wait, for I have an appeal for you, my dozen or so loyal readers.



What the heck are these? They arrived in the mail today, from a good friend of mine in Canada. They had no explanation attached. As you can see, they are two bags, each containing a large green item embalmed in a murky liquid. The exterior labels identify them as “Big Papa” and “Hot Mama” pickles, which are helpfully described as “portly” and “sassy,” respectively.

I’ve emailed my friend for an explanation, but haven’t heard back. These are easily the oddest things to arrive unannounced in the mail since Bruno and Gunther the steel-shot-stuffed hand-stitched leather rhinoceroses that mysteriously showed up on our doorstep in 2007.

3 comments:

Natalie Joan said...

Can't help you explain it, but I have a sudden urge to mail pickles to a random selection of friends.

Danielle said...

Van Holten's Hearty Dill Pickle in a Pouch.
Today, Van Holten’s is turning pickles into one of America’s most popular single serving snacks. Van Holten’s invented the pickle-in-a-pouch, a masterful merchandising innovation that turned pickles into a popular, convenient food for people on the run. The Pickle-in-a pouch is the perfect snack because the individually packed pickles are crisp, crunchy, delicious and fat free.

strasmark said...

Hi Danielle,
Are you, perchance, a paid professional, proselytizing and promoting people's popular pickle pouch products (picture posted previously)? Please - paid publicity is preferred, per my purely petty pecuniary priorities. It's partly proprietorial protectiveness, principally petty preference to preserve my percentage.*

In all seriousness I had the Mamma pickle tonight - it was a little spicy for my tastes, but the pickle itself was excellent. I'll partake of the portly pappa pickle tomorrow.

* I'm joking, and I apologize - you must get that sort of humour a lot.