This Girl

We were quite fortunate growing up. We had a real cherry tree in our back yard. Real cherries meant real cherry pie. And this was the only kind I knew for quite some time. I remember the first time I had cherry pie made with that thick, gelatinous, super sweet cherry pie filling that comes in a can. I felt so sad for those unfortunate people who had never experienced real cherry pie before. What a dour life they must lead. Never knowing that there is something better our there. Never quite grasping that real cherries are not encased in a thick, gelatinous syrup, are not all super sweet and more times than not, don't retain their plump, spherical shape during baking. Those poor people. How sad for them, indeed. Now that I think about it, though, this is not unlike the first time I had really good chocolate. You know, the kind that melts in your hand as well as your mouth. With the first taste of a real chocolate morsel, came the sad realization that I had been eating chocolate-fla