Lesson (re)learned

Q:

How many fruit fly eggs come with an 18 lb. bag of fruit?

A:

Doesn't matter, since a well-prepared homemaker prevents the eggs from hatching by washing fresh produce when it's brought indoors.

And one day I hope to remember this lesson.

It begins innocently enough ... There I am, casually pushing a shopping cart through the produce aisles when it finds me — mmmmm the sweet aroma of Texas Ruby Red grapefruit! And for the thrifty price of those great big bags, who could resist?

A lovely drive home ...
No way do I put the fruit in the trunk, or even the back seat. I drive home surrounded by its scent.

Looky what I got!
The family's tickled to see the unexpected treat. Quick as we can haul the groceries indoors and stuff everything into the pantry, we grab a few knives, slice those suckers up and dig in!

Impaired judgement, poor decisions, regrets ...
Perhaps a belly full of fresh citrus is like that third glass of champagne you should've politely refused at your boss's wedding reception. I begin to realize that confining the remaining 15 pounds to the fridge would be foolish. Last time I tried that, we forgot we even had grapefruit and they all spoiled. The crisper bin isn't big enough to hold them all anyway. Besides, no Glade Plug-In can match the fragrance of a basket full of Ruby Reds on my kitchen counter. And of course I forget to wash them.

But I do eventually remember ...
Despite enjoying the grapefruit for breakfasts and betweeen-meal snacks, pushing them on guests and sharing with neighbors, I realize too late that I've repeated a tiresome mistake — but only after a gazillion fruit flies hatch and swarm throughout the house, where I suspect they continue to breed for several generations. I'm also reminded why I typically purchase ready-to-eat grapefruit slices in jars marked Del Monte.

Saving the fruit to dispose of the rinds —
but too late to kill off these annoying pests