The Apple of My Eye

Why is it that work can be relatively quiet for weeks and then suddenly you have high visibility actions and deadlines flying at you from all directions? It's true, I'd rather be busy than bored but, wow, be careful what you wish for, for you will get it in abundance! Must be the change in the weather. People are shifting out of Summer mode.

Meanwhile, with the shifting weather a variety of apples have shown up at the grocery stores and I wonder at the years and years we lived with only waxed Red Delicious apples in the bin. How did these get to be the most prevalent? I don't think they're all that delicious. Give me a Stayman or a Jonamac or a Ginger-gold or a Gala or even a zippy Granny Smith any day over the so called Red Delicious. Did the red delicious catch on because of the bright color (much like the dyed pistachios) or were they the easiest to grow and keep on the shelf without spoiling (much like iceberg lettuce.) Valid arguments, I suppose. But flavor-wise? Would Eve really be able to tempt Adam with a Red Delicious? C'mon. And now that people have tried other varieties, how ya gonna keep 'em buying Red Delicious once they've seen gay Paree?

Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about this.
"Red Delicious is the most widely grown apple in the world." It also says...

"The Red Delicious, like many other cultivars, was a chance seedling. The legend is that a hardy seedling was found in 1868 by one Jesse Hiatt, an apple grower outside East Peru, Iowa, USA. Hiatt tried to kill it, but it kept coming back, and finally Hiatt let it grow, eventually bringing its fruit to a fruit show in Louisiana, Missouri. It won first prize. All Red Delicious apples are said to be direct descendants of this original tree."

And...

"This variety of apple became increasingly popular until the 1990s, when overproduction began to degrade the quality and when better storage and transportation techniques made other varieties more available. Recently, apple aficionados often consider this apple bland and deride the Red Delicious for its overly sweet, relatively simple flavor compared to other apple varieties."

Gee, does this mean I can add "apple aficionado" to my resume? Who knew?!

Will we start to see tags under apple bins like the tags you see under bottles of wine? You know... "A delightful but unassuming apple from the Russian River Valley with a pleasant nose, undertones of leather and zinc, and hints of spice on the finish. Excellent for picnic nibbling and brunch desserts. Apple Spectator rates it a 76."