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Losing the Fruit and Vegetable Shop
On dimensions of belonging, meaning, and loss
When, in 2018, we emigrated to Prague, Czech Republic, one of the selling points of our new apartment was its location. All within a minute’s walk of our front door were a butchers, a cheese shop, a convenience store, a cafe, and a fruit and vegetable shop. The natural food store was a whole five-minute walk away, which soon seemed like a long distance away. It’s a great neighborhood in a great city.
I will focus on the fruit and vegetable shop, because we’ve just lost it. It was run by a middle-aged couple —Pan and Paní (Mr. and Mrs.) Žába — she, short and round, he, tall and muscular. He would seem imposing, almost threatening, except that he, like his partner, was so openly cheerful and friendly.
She was front of the house and handled the cash register, he was the muscle who would bring in the produce and stock the shelves. He arranged the most wonderful, artistic displays of fruit and vegetables in the shop’s front window. Sorry the above photo was taken when the shop was closed for August vacation (it’s a European thing).
You’d walk into the shop and Paní Žába would greet you with an enthusiastic “DOBrý den!!” almost singing it. That’s the Czech greeting, literally meaning, “good day,” and the most important phrase in Czech culture. To not say “dobrý den” when you see someone is quite rude. But no one says “dobrý den” with as much genuine joy and enthusiasm as Paní Žába. Going to the shop was always guaranteed to brighten your day. And their produce and other products were always top quality.
Their tiny shop was filled to capacity with fruit and vegetables, and she was always so thrilled that you were purchasing them from her. We knew no Czech and they knew no English, but by our second visit to their shop (when it became clear we lived in the neighborhood and weren’t tourists), we were treated like family. All of their regular customers were like family. They helped us learn some Czech words and made us feel we belonged.
In 2023, Pan Žába had back surgery and the shop was closed for months. He recovered nicely and business resumed as normal.
But last 19 December, we went to the shop to stock up before the holiday break. Pan and…
