The sign at the vegetable stand said, Mamey – $2.00 each.
“Is this a fruit?” Sherry asked me.
“It’s what is known as a mamey,” I told her. “They’re really good for flavoring ice cream and milk shakes. I like them.”
Sherry bought one for $2.00 and that night I had mamey flavored milk shake. A few days later we were back at the vegetable stand where the table was still piled high with mamey. When she paid for the fruit Sherry asked the shop owner , “Do these things sell very well?”
“In some places they do,” the owner said, “but in my shop they don’t.”
“Why don’t they sell here but they sell well at other places?”
“The places where they buy a lot of mamey is the local vegetable stores. Locals know what mameys are and they like them.”
“You don’t get many locals shopping here?” Sherry asked.
“No, lady. Most of my customers are gringos. I’m not complaining because they spend a lot of money on other fruits and vegetables. I just don’t know how to get rid all of these mameys before they rot.”
When we went to the vegetable stand today the sign read, Mamey – 3 for $8.00.
“That’s a ridiculous price for the mameys,” Sherry said. “I should get 4 for $8.00.”
“Everybody says that,” the shopkeeper said, as he bagged the fruit and took her money.
“They’re right, too,” Sherry told him. “See, you’re almost sold out of mamay.”
“Yes lady, but before I made that sign I hardly sold any.”
Share
Read more
