But what memories does watermelon elicit? I don't recall having watermelon very often when I was a child. When we did have it, it was served as a slice - something we took outside to eat because of the mess. Juice running down our arms and seeds spit onto the ground. Oh, yeah, and we cooled it in the stock tank - melons were big and refrigerators were small.
When I was in high school the boys would joke around about swiping watermelons from someone's patch. Farmers would plant watermelons in their cornfields or somewhere in the back forty just so they weren't visible to marauding teens.
But if a patch was discovered, it wasn't long before the news spread and raids were planned. If one was successful, brags were heard in the halls the next day. Every once in awhile stories were told about some farmer firing a shotgun to protect his vines.
I can still show you where the dirt road in Northern Taylor county was - now long closed - where my cousin Gary parked so he and my boyfriend could sneak into a neighbor's field to swipe a melon while his girlfriend and I waited in the car. I was scared to death the boys would get shot or that we would all be arrested. What I can't tell you is if that illicit melon tasted good or was even ripe.
There was no way I ever bragged about my one foray into watermelon swiping - I was even more afraid of what would happen if my parents found out than I was of the sheriff.
What else do I remember about watermelons? Muscatine melons were considered the cream of the crop. When they came in, everyone wanted one. I liked melon as a child, but I wasn't crazy about watermelon because of those darn seeds. I preferred muskmelon or cantaloupe. Now that we have the seedless watermelons, I like them much better.
What I still haven't figured out is how to choose a good melon. I still thump them - and hope.
Happy National Watermelon Day! 😋
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