Shore Musings is Collin Hall’s column about life on the shore, the good and the bad. Collin is the editor of Do the Shore and lives in Villas.
There’s so much corniness, such much trite about the word “fresh.” Roll up to McDonald’s and they’ll sell you something “fresh,” sure- and to some extent, they mean it. They crack the eggs on-site for each McMuffin, ya know…
But it’s hard to cut through the noise. Customers know in their hearts that they should look for something “real” in what they eat, but getting there is so difficult. Walmart has a new brand focused on freshness with their BetterGoods label, and the pitch is right there in the name. We know our other stuff wasn’t so good, but these goods are better… And they sell some really crazy stuff. Here’s a product name I saw on the shelf: “Finely Ground Cassava Flour Guacamole-Flavored Tortilla Chips made with 100% Avocado Oil.” Or how about the “Crafted Artisanally Pistachio Nut Butter, made in Italy.”
What does it all mean? The packaging won’t tell you. And like, does it really matter if it was made in Italy? I live in New Jersey, man. It’s great to want freshness at Walmart but the real thing is right here at your doorstep, at places like Rea’s Farm and Duckies Farm Market in West Cape May. You know that stuff is fresh because it grew it out of the ground, you can see it, can touch it.
But obviously, that’s not how economies of scale work. I certainly can’t afford to get all local stuff. It’s still great to eat a Mexican bell pepper from Aldi.
I think a lot about HYPER REALITY, the idea that we live in a world where the real thing and the unreal thing are indistinguishable. I have a sticker big and bright on my water bottle to make others think about it, too.
So it is that I go through the grocery store in a haze, looking sometimes for what’s real. I try to quantify layers of abstraction and rank things on my honesty meter. I think back to the Better Goods items. Does “made in Italy” actually indicate quality or is there like, a factory farm over there that doesn’t mean jack about the taste? How much chicken is in the chicken nugget? Why do Kraft Cheese slices say that they are a “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food?” It’s a world of dishonesty.
And for this reason, Trolli Sour Gummy Worms have earned my respect. They’re not real worms and everybody knows it, they aren’t healthy and everybody knows it. They’re neon blue, for God’s sake. Can you think of a fruit of the Earth that pokes out of the ground in neon blue? They aren’t fooling anybody. So Trolli is fake, but it’s real because its honest.
Somebody asked me recently if a photo can be re-focused once it’s taken and I was, at first, astonished. Son… Light enters the lens of the camera and an exact moment in time is captured. The image is a reflection of physical reality, at least as best as the equipment could capture.
But I can hardly blame the intern who asked the question! He maybe has become accustomed to a world where a computer can generate images that look identical to the real thing. But it isn’t real at all. The fake version can take on a new focus, the real thing can’t. So, which is better?
It all leaves me with a squirmy feeling in my stomach. That’s why I was excited for this issue of Do the Shore, where we talk to the real people on the Cape who are growing right from God’s Earth.
But there are so many moments of realness in my life. I’m about to harvest the summer’s first tomato from my garden. We started some of them from a seed, which grew in my kitchen with just some water and dirt. I bought compost, cleared out the garden boxes, planted those suckers when the time was right. I haven’t had to water it more than once or twice because of all the rain. I’m hardly doing any work at all. When a fat red thing comes off the plant, I’m reminded of my place in the world. I stare in wonder at the tomato galette my girlfriend makes every year from ingredients we grew ourselves.
So go eat a bell pepper from Rea’s Farm and know that it’s real. Your body runs on real. The simpler, the better.
Audio of the Cape May County Commissioners Meeting
Swimming Advisories Issued at 3 Beaches in County
Upper OKs Licenses for Beach Ice Cream Vendors
