No More Asparagus

The last asparagus of northern California was eaten this evening. The final spears of spring have come and gone.

Unless, of course, you've come to expect asparagus at any time, any season. Unless you have the unalienable right to eat whatever you want whenever you want. Asparagus in November? Yep, imported from southern Mexico. Oranges in July? Sure, imported from Brazil.

See, eating out-of-season food (what it represents) really is no different than every other issue we currently have in America; imported oil and the concomitant wars to ensure its liberal supply, massive federal debts to support a standard of living beyond our willingness to pay for it, housal prices so far removed from reality that we can only describe it through bubbles, personal debts so far removed from our ability to pay that we foreclose, short sale, walk away, declare bankruptcy, or remain mired in debt in perpetuity.

The first shoots of this season's asparagus coincided with our "green shoots" of economic recovery, didn't they. The asparagus crop is harvested, it's been consumed, and the plant has returned to replenishing its carbohydrate stores to prepare for next year's shoots. In much the same way, the green shoots of our economy have been harvested, steamed and eaten, and now all that's left is a Chrysler bankruptcy, thousands of dealerships getting culled, GM on the verge of doing the same, Florida's BankUnited about to collapse, the state of California ready to steal billions in property taxes from counties and municipalities who are themselves hundreds of millions in the red, and a bankrupt General Growth Properties, leaving my little Elk Grovian half-finished mall gathering weeds on the brown edge of our suburban hinterlands...waiting...waiting...

These were our green shoots.