There’s something to be said about the act of peeling oranges.
Did I say act? I meant art.
I’m a Florida girl, so maybe it’s natural to hold the sea and replace, retrace, retract.
[redact]
Are you ready?
To get started, you can hold on with your left hand and use your right to dig in deep.
Have you seen the moon in its waxing crescent phase, right before it’s born anew?That’s the shape you’re going to make with your dirty fingernails as you wiggle them underneath the skin. Once you get a good grip, go ahead and rip- first to the right, and then down towards the ground.
Think waxing crescent, or sideways smile.
Don’t be surprised if a little juice runs down your hand, this is sticky work and you’re a hungry girl. Sure, it would be nice if it would come off in clean, surgical strips, but as for myself?
Well, I can never manage more than chunks.
Be aware: this method is going to take longer than using a knife, and it will be messier, too. But beggars can’t be choosers when you’re impatient to get at what's inside. After all the work it took to steal that orange from a neighborhood tree, this will feel cathartic.
You earned it!
This might even feel like home.
So, say it with me – Nails, dig, rip.
Think waxing crescent, born anew.
As I got older and grew out of sneaking into backyards to steal citrus, I still found myself falling back into this routine. I’m sure you can see why, with the whole ‘waxing crescent’, ‘born anew’ deal. How poetic - how freeing! Maybe it was just for something to do with my restless hands. Maybe I was holding too much inside.
Who’s to say it wasn’t in an effort to feel like I was back home?
I wasn’t stealing oranges anymore, but I still found skin.
Scroll up if you don’t remember, but you start by using your right to dig in deep.
Now if you’re catching my drift, this might seem like a shocking confession of self-mutilation but to me it felt a lot more like someone saying, ‘Welcome back’.
When my nails held a thick enough hold on my wrist, I would rip them across as hard as I could, releasing every bit of tension I held inside of my body back onto itself.
Waxing crescent. Sideways smile.
First to the right, and then down to the ground.
Now this might seem even worse than the admittance, but it felt like air being released out of a too full balloon, a group of your very best friends calling to say, ‘we miss you’, or arriving at an airport after a red eye to see the person you love waiting at arrivals.
They brought flowers.
This method takes longer than using a knife, and it’s messier, too.
I’d love if it was clean, but sometimes all you get are chunks.
Beggars can’t be choosers when you’re impatient to get at what’s inside.
Think…born anew.
Enhance your reading experience with today’s Blog pairing menu:
Lil’ Snack: Navel orange