Here's the scene: You're in a grocery store. Or a second-rate coffeeshop. Or an airport food court. You're faced with a challenge: get something healthy, cool and refreshing. But options are limited. All you can find is a plastic container -- a cup, or perhaps a square-shaped package -- filled with honeydew melon, cantaloupe, red grapes and -- if you're lucky -- pineapple chunks, strawberries or blackberries. (But only one of the latter. Never all three.)
You've had these salads several times before, only to find them to be wholly unsatisfying. But there's nothing else in the store or the coffeeshop or the airport food court. So you suck it up, pay the $4.50 for 83 cents' worth of fruit and think to yourself, This time will be better.
Is it? No. Never. You spear a piece of honeydew melon with your plastic fork and reality hits: this will always be the same day-old, borderline tasteless fruit salad. More often that not, you'll get a couple of deflated, sour grapes. Some of the cantaloupe pieces will be hard. Others will be melty and watery. And if you have pineapple, it'll cut up your mouth and leave an unpleasant, tart aftertaste.
Maybe you'll make it halfway through before tossing out the rest and regretting not buying the flash-frozen bagel with rock-hard cream cheese instead. In any case, you still won't learn your lesson. This won't be your last fruit salad.
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