Hunting...

I don't care for it. A most conspicuous example of the hunting to which I am referring occurred right before my eyes in a cafeteria line last evening. Specifically a girl in front of me was spooning fruit salad, which consisted of grapes, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and pineapple, into her bowl.

My first concern is logistical. I was waiting a good two minutes to take my turn at the bowl, this particular girl oblivious to my pressing temporal need for fruit.

But the more pressing concern is for equitable fruit distribution. If everyone spends an inordinate amount of time hunting for the choice pieces of fruit, there will be a most depressing selection of fruit for those late night eaters.

I am not advocating blind fruit spooning. That, I think, would be impracticable. A happy medium can be achieved with the 'scan and scoop.' This manner of serving would allow consumers to view the whole bowl and to make reasonable sized scoops as they do. To be clear there should not be time for pontificating, which is to say no time at which persons should be standing and scanning without any corresponding scooping. There should be continuous arm/ spoon movement while a person is at the bowl. The spoon can be directed at specific areas of the bowl (e.g. an area in which pieces of pineapple predominate, say) but specific, individual pieces of fruit should not be targeted.

As the summer season of fruit approaches, these consideration will become ever more important.