get your hot roasted peanuts!

Last night I dreamed I was a peanut vendor. I had a cart balanced on two wooden wheels with a hitch resting on a large rock. The peanuts were roasted & salted in their shells and piled high into a dome. I sold only one type of peanut and I did it well - making newspaper funnels to pour the nuts into for those who came to buy. I was satisfied with my job and with my performance, until a man wearing an un-tucked & rumpled, striped shirt with a seersucker, plaid jacket approached. He pointed toward the pile of peanuts with a silver, filigreed ring clad middle finger and asked for 'one bag of each.'

Even in my dreams, I'm pretty simple. As a peanut vendor, I offered one item - peanuts, in the shell, roasted and salted - there were no variations. What was this 'one bag of each' that the seersucker jacket man wanted? I looked from the peanuts to Mr. Seersucker, his gaze told me that he was unphased by my confusion. He pointed his ringed middle finger toward the peanuts again (though the ring was now a bulky, skull design like that of a pirate.) I followed his finger back to the cart and the pile was suddenly transformed -  I could see the peanuts as they were - larger, smaller, soft-shelled, hard-shelled, dark brown, golden brown, 2 nuts per shell, 3 nuts per shell, even some with only a single peanut in each shell! Suddenly, the many differences overwhelmed me.

I picked up two small, brown paper sacks and asked which he would like. Mr. Seersucker's ring finger pointed as I picked up each peanut he selected one by one placing it in one of the two bags. I was suddenly noticing the independence and individuality of each one. Feeling liberated in a way and sad in another. Here I was, a peanut vendor - yet I'd never truly seen peanuts before.