An Unfortunate Mom-ent

There we were, halfway around the world, visiting friends in the far-off tropics. Dinner had been served and now it was time to relax over some lovely fresh native fruit - one I’d never seen before, called a mangosteen. It’s kind of a funky-looking little thing, with a very dark, thick rind covering succulant soft white interior sections that themselves hide a hard pit. 

Unusual looking but a tasty little bugger! It's entirely possible that I may have had two…

The child of the house, however, was not doing very well at the relaxing portion of the program. He was extremely excited over the arrival of company and having a hard time staying focused on trifles like behavior, listening to his parents, and finishing the half-eaten, dripping mangosteen that he clutched in his hand. 

His mother would remind him to eat, the fruit would advance an inch toward his mouth, and then he’d be off on another fascinating story he had to relate to us, gesturing enthusiastically and spraying mangosteen juice onto anyone within arms reach.

This continued for several rounds before his mother finally snapped.

“Jonathan James Hadley! You put that mangosteen in your mouth... and you suck it... until the Flesh… Falls… OFF!!”

A flurry of dropped napkins ensued as the rest of the adults found it necessary to dive beneath the table until we could control our faces.

I have never been able to look a mangosteen in the eye since…