the mango tango

Before I started writing this post, the only things I knew about mangoes were that they're juicy, tasty little things, you can't only eat just one and when you do eat them, you need a bowl of water beside you to rinse off your hands.
(they're very juicy fruits)

Mango trees grow all over Key West. On my street alone, there are six mango trees and right about now they're all starting to bear fruit.

So I took  a few pictures and looked the little buggers up. 

The mango is known as the "king of fruit".

Native to South Asia, where they have thrived for over 4,00 years the mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines where it plays something of a sacred role.

It is a symbol of love and some believe that the Mango tree can

grant wishes.

Legend has it that Buddha often found "tranquility and repose" while meditating in a mango grove.

 I don't have a clue how it happened, but in the 1830's, mangos found their way to Florida.
(and my taste-buds are so glad they did).

But, I don't pick mangoes, I wait for them to fall down to me.
Still there are a lot of dudes around town with very long poles that have a sort of retracting basket on the business end. They can reach way up and pull down as many mangoes as the want, any time they want them.

But here's my thing. . .
The dudes are reaching up, balancing those very very long poles, trying to get a grip on a mango. The pole sways right, the guy side-steps a little to the left. The pole sways left and the guy side-steps a little to the right; It's like a dance between man and his desire for fruit.

It's "the mango tango".