Strawberry Fields Forever

I was looking at a house that had a mature garden, complete with a strawberry patch. The owner said “go ahead have all you want,” as he noticed me drooling over the tiny fence holding in summer sweetness. I only took one, but that taste reminded me of why I sat in the middle of a red and green patch so many years ago and didn’t stop eating until I was sick.

It was so fresh. It tasted so much like summer, if summer has a taste. And the flavor lingered in my mouth long after leaving the garden.

My parents had a strawberry patch in our garden when I was young. When I was about seven or e...