We Can Look, but Do We See?
A chance encounter with a 4+ foot tomato plant I walked by for months suddenly got me thinking. What else have I missed?
The plant I had never seen before was in a metal enclosure in the middle of the concrete plaza of Union Square in New York City. These enclosures dot the square, typically protecting trees or, in some cases, protecting people from tree stumps.
Here was a plant that someone had been carefully tending and, I hope, enjoying the fruits of their labor. It’s ironic that it is growing exactly where farmers come four days a week to sell their tomatoes plus so much more. I never saw it until it blocked my way as I headed straight up the square.
A few days later, I wanted to see if the flowers were starting to produce tomatoes. I looked all around where I last saw it, and nothing. Then I took another look and saw it hiding in plain sight as part of a flower farm’s bounty. How fitting since it was still in flower itself.
A similar mystery occurred in Connecticut years ago. A friend highly recommended a diner located on a particular corner in Middletown. I had driven past that corner numerous times over several years and all I could remember seeing was a vacant lot.
