Watermelons

That’s a historical post about something you can easily forget. I remembered it when I was thinking about the day Igor was born and the days before that.

In the Soviet Union, at least in the northern part of it, the beginning of September meant not only the start of school but also the start of the watermelon season. My granddaughters might not believe it, but watermelons were not sold in the stores. It was a seasonal fruit that would arrive at the end of August/beginning of September. Watermelons were sold at the temporary locations (same as New Year trees). The trucks unloaded watermelons in the cages, and then the shoppers were allowed to walk around and select a watermelon. There was no guarantee that a watermelon would be ripe; nobody checked whether they were ready for harvesting if the timing was right. There was always a risk of getting a watermelon, which was almost white inside.

And there were lines! Watermelon lines of shoppers waiting for their turn to enter the point of sale and start hunting for a perfect watermelon. In September 1985, Igor’s dad spent a lot of time in these watermelon lines. I remember that he even wrote a poem about “waiting in a watermelon line forever.”

I have no logical (or any other) explanation for why watermelons were “deficit.” They were not imported; they were grown in the southern parts of Russia and Ukraine. But still, when I think about the time Igor was born, it comes to mind: “I am standing in the watermelon line. Forever.”

My historical posts are being published in random order. Please refer to the page Hettie’s timeline to find where exactly each post belongs and what was before and after.