[JerryLBell]

I have absolutely LOVED watermelons for nearly 70 years now. I thought they were great in my home state of Michigan, but I was wrong. I moved to North Carolina for 20 years before retiring here and found out that I had never actually tasted a great watermelon until then. I figured it was a combination of soil, rain and sunshine. Then I moved to Florida with great hope and sadly found out that the watermelons here aren't even as good as those in Michigan. Or so I thought!

Two weeks ago I just happened to stop at a pull-off on Micro Racetrack Road where an older fellow in a pickup had some watermelons that looked pretty good, even though he said they were grown in northern Florida. Despite way too many negative experiences in the past, I took a chance and bought one. Once I got it home and chilled, I sliced into it. The rind started cracking in front of the knife cut, showing that this was a ripe one. The end piece rolled off and it was nicely deep red. I spooned a chunk out of the heart and...

THIS MELON WAS FREAKING GREAT!

I gorged on watermelon for two weeks and loved every bite. I pressed my luck and stopped back today and he was still there, still selling good-looking watermelons. I got it home, chilled it and had some this evening and...

THIS MELON WAS EVEN BETTER!!

It was deeper red, even sweeter, even crispier and even better! I am seriously starting to doubt my allegience to North Carolina watermelons.

Now, full disclosure. These are SEEDED watermelons. The long, big ones. These are NOT those solid-dark-green-on-the-outside, pink-on-the-inside, bowling ball-sized watermelons that Publix, Winn Dixie, WalMart, Sam's and everyone else sells. But then, when they bred watermelons to have tiny little immature seeds (there's no such thing as a truly seedless watermelon), they bred out the flavor. Just like they bred the flavor out of apples when they bred them to be prettier and last longer in storage. I bloody HATE seedless watermelons; they just have no d*mned flavor!

If you LOVE watermelons, you need to stop and get one of these bad boys from this guy. If you simply LIKE watermelons, you need to stop and get one of these bad boys from this guy to truly experience what a great watermelon can taste like. If you only ever buy "seedless" watermelons because they "taste just as good", you've been fooling yourself and you need to stop and get one of these bad boys from this guy and remind yourself how truly great seeded watermelons can be.

You may be thinking, "I can't fit a big melon in my little Villages fridge!" Buy one anyway and give half to a neighbor that you especially like. They will love you for it. You will love you for it. Or throw half of it out (what a waste!) and savor the half you kept.

I don't normally endorse folks selling stuff off the side of the road, but I am doing this for the absolutely selfish reason that I want to encourange this guy to continue to get these melons and have them for me to buy and relish. I also want to encourage the farmer(s) who grew these bad boys. Support small business! Especially when what they are selling are so reasonably priced and SO MUCH BETTER than the big businesses!

By the way, watermelons are a GREAT food for you! I guote healthline.com who says, "With a bright red flesh and little seeds embedded throughout, watermelon is packed with a plethora of nutrients and antioxidants that include vitamins A and C." (Emphasis mine)

I'm not sure what this guys hours or days are, but seek him out and get yourself one ASAP. I'm sure you've done something good at some point recently and you need to reward yourself!