Apples and Oranges

I am pretty sure you have eaten an apple and an orange before.

Now, which fruit tastes better? 

That is a question I should not have asked. You can’t really compare one with the  other—they are two distinctly different fruits.

From these two fruits came the expression “apples and oranges.” It means that if two people or things are apples and oranges, they are not similar. For instance, you can’t compare cities and barrios—they’re apples and oranges. 

ooo

I was sick one day and a friend came to visit me. She arrived with a big basket of red apples and yellow oranges to cheer me up. She also said, “I can’t compare my friend who is sick today and my friend who is usually well on other days.  Lying there, you seem to be a very different person. So get well soon and be the Grace that I really know.” 

We both laughed and I seemed to feel better right away.

ooo

These fruits inspired me to write two storybooks: one is entitled “I Am an Apple” and the other, “Apples and Oranges.”

“I Am an Apple” was recently launched; let me share with you what it is all about. 

It is a story of a boy, Abet, who is so sad after being told by his parents that he is adopted. He mopes and cries up until he meets a pretty little girl, a balikbayan, who is chirpy and happy.

She is also as adorable as her name, Adora, but she prefers to call herself an apple.

ooo

Why? Well, she explains that she is adopted, a word which begins with the letter A, just as apple does.

She knows that adopted is a real, good word, but apple is more delicious.

ooo

She further explains proudly that like a yummy apple, she was picked by her adoptive parents from so many others.

Aside from being yummy, the word apple means so many other things, too: 

Being the “apple of one’s eye” means being treasured.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” means apple is a healthy fruit.

“An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” means a daughter/son grows up to be like his/her  parents.

ooo

Now, how about an orange?

The book hasn’t been printed yet, so I can’t tell you what it’s all about. What words do you know that start with the letter O?

Keep guessing.

ooo

Meanwhile, let’s talk about other fruits. Did you know that the Philippines has exotic fruits that are better-tasting if grown in our soil?

Some of these fruits are: rambutan, atis, santol, lanzones, durian, atis (my favorite), kaimito, duhat, guyabano, balimbing, chesa, aratiles, and sinigwelas. Many of my balikbayan friends who have lived in other countries for so long say they miss eating these fruits they have gown up with.

ooo

So what’s your favorite Philippine fruit? E-mail me at gdchong@gmail.com or visit my blog site at www.leavesofgrace.blogspot.com