As her name dictates, Smug Scout loves to spend her time on the lookout for new Smug treasures at farmers’ markets. Her local Sunday market in Mar Vista, which began as a small, not very Smug market, has grown into a Smug monster with a ferocious parking scene. Although it is not as Smug as the Portsmouth, New Hampshire market–no others are–Smug Scout was delighted to find a stand that brought her straight back to Portsmouth. What could have possibly reminded her of Portsmouth?
- Limited selection of produce
- Much higher prices than other stands
- Flowers available, some edible
- Undecipherable green chalk board signs
- Run by blonde, blue eyed men with hair in various stages of unwashed (from grimy to dreadlocked) and wearing tattered hemp t-shirts in a color you could only describe as “marijuana”
So imagine Smug Scout’s delight when she was about to pay for her dirty and deformed organic heirloom tomatoes and happened to spot baby patty pan squash with the blossoms still attached! And she loved the careful recycled cardboard box display: single layer with blooms sticking up like cockscombs!
Then, as Smug Scout was carefully placing these gems in the reusable bag she brought, some weather-beaten rube approached her to ask a question:
- Weather-beaten rube: Is that squash?
- Smug Scout: In fact, it is baby patty pan squash, and as you can see, the blossoms are still attached, which you do not see too often with this variety.
- Weather-beaten rube: [turns and departs]
Alas, not everyone values or even pretends to tolerate Smug Scout’s expertise. At least she got a toothy smile from the young dreadlocked farmer.