South Philly Review

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Remember the good old days when a tomato tasted so good you called an attractive woman a tomato and meant it as a compliment? Those were the days my friend when one of the great joys in life was biting into a ripe, red tomato and feeling the juice drip down your chin. In Barry Estabrook’s book “Tomatoland,” he explains the downfall of the store-bought tomato.

Science and agri-business have teamed up to give us a tomato that couldn’t be distinguished from a potato in a blind taste, according to Eastabrook. And today’s tomato fails not only the taste test, but also miserably in the nutrition department since today’s tomatoes are raised to have a long shelf life.

Unfortunately, a long shelf life is obtained by a giving tomato plants a good dose of pesticides, herbicides and any other kind of “cide” you can think of. Most of the tomatoes, according to an article, Americans eat (other than in sauces) are grown in Florida. The Sunshine State might be great for oranges, early-dinner specials, and college football, but not for tomatoes.

Luckily, we can get in-season Jersey tomatoes. But try to get a good tasting tomato the rest of the year and you’d have better odds on Andy Reid winning a Super Bowl. Estabrook claims you can get good out-of-season tomatoes at Whole Foods, both organic and regular. But more importantly, Whole Foods is a member of the Fair Food Campaign.

That means the worker (likely Hispanic) who picks your fruit gets treated fairly. The working conditions of migrant fruit pickers today are not a whole lot better than what John Steinbeck wrote about in “The Grapes of Wrath.” It might cost you more, but you’ll get a better tasting tomato that will do credit to the memory of Tom Joad.

If you have gotten this far and are wondering what’s the big deal about tomatoes, ask an Italian friend ...

In 2012, the Republicans finally will come up with their nominee to run against Barack Obama in November. One by one, Republican candidates, in my mind, have been eliminated for the wrong reasons. Rick Perry fell by the wayside because he couldn’t remember the identity of the third federal department he wanted to eliminate. When before a live audience, anyone can forget the most familiar name. Some years ago I all of a sudden couldn’t remember the name of my co-host (John DeBella) sitting right next to me during an Eagles pre-game broadcast. Perry should have been eliminated because Texas schools have gone from bad to worse on his watch.

Michele Bachmann faded, in part because she and her husband run thinks it can convert gays into heterosexuals (the 21st century version of alchemy whereas in in previous centuries, alchemists thought lead could be turned into gold). She should have been eliminated because of her incredible lack of knowledge about American history.

Herman Cain didn’t make it to the finish line when his alleged mistress exposed his supposed 13-year affair, but Cain should’ve bit the dust when he revealed he couldn’t tell Libya from Egypt. If Newt Gingrich doesn’t reach the finish line it probably will be because he correctly criticized the idea that illegal immigrants could not be rounded up and sent back home unless resorting to Gestapo tactics, but he failed the presidential test, in my mind, because of his lack of ethics on and off the job.

Ron Paul, the current flavor of the month, won’t last because one can’t oppose an expanding military and remain a ’12 Republican in good standing. Paul‘s racist pamphlets in ’08 and his stated determination to return to the gold standard, eliminate the safety net and oppose any federal oversight over food, water and air should have eliminated him as a serious candidate.

If Mitt Romney doesn’t become the Republican nominee, it will be because his greatest accomplishment — reducing the number of uninsured in Massachusetts when he was governor — is an albatross around his neck in today’s Republican Party. As for Rick Santorum, his time never came, won’t and shouldn’t if only because he can’t distinguish yet between gay love and beastiality.

Here’s my analogy: The White House in ’12 is like the NFC East. It is up for grabs. The Republicans are like the Eagles — not good enough to win a very winnable election against a very vulnerable president.

Locally, our residents have organized to fight the good fight against the encroachment of neighborhood crime and other bads that diminishes our community, such as MARCO’s current battle against the blight of increasingly obtrusive billboards (see the front page). It is encouraging to see so many dedicated adults banding together to preserve our neighborhoods, an example Packer Park Civic Association and other community groups have set. The fact that these organizations are uniting in a common cause lends great promise for the continued vibrancy of South Philly.

Looking forward to 2012. Hope you are, too. SPR

Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.