[dovate.com]

[dovate.com] » Broccoli II

Broccoli II

On my way home this afternoon, I passed the broccoli dumpster. Once again, it was being filled with broccoli. If I hadn’t been on my way home sick and if I wasn’t afraid my stomach was going to lose structural integrity at any moment, I would have stopped and asked the man on the loading dock why he was heaving box after box of broccoli into the garbage. But I didn’t. Perplexed, I made my way home.Once safely in my own apartment, I found the phone number of the broccoli dumping business and decided to give them a call. The lady who answered was confused at first. “It’s trash day.” She said when I asked why they were throwing away the broccoli. I tried a different approach asking why they were throwing away just broccoli. “hmmm…. can’t explain.” She said.

I pressed on, asking if it was contaminated or rotten. She struggled for an explanation. Behind her, I could hear the sounds of a warehouse. Men’s voices echoed; aluminum shelves rattled and forklifts dropped stacks of boxes. Probably loads of broccoli on the way to the garbage, I thought. The lady had put down the phone and was asking someone something in Chinese. She was surprisingly earnest in her search for an answer. Apparently finding it she picked up the phone and said, “The broccoli is not the one that we want.” Satisfied with her answer, she hung up.