Are Johnny Appleseed in Myanmar
|
A couple weeks ago, I received this email from Moh Moh about Snow and Fatty showing me what appears to be their mango grove in their backyard.
This is Snow proudly displaying a mango. 
Fatty is apparently counting the mangoes that the family has. I love mangoes. Actually, I love all fruits. However, I really enjoy munching on dried mangoes while writing or teaching online. However, it will be a couple of years before I’ll be back in Burma/Myanmar and have fresh mangoes picked by my granddaughters. Nevertheless, Snow and Fatty remind me of a Burmese version of Johnny Appleseed. 
Johnny Appleseed wasn’t his real name just like Snow and Fatty aren’t their real names. His real name was John Chapman. He was born in 1774 and died in 1845 having planted thousands of apple trees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, W. Virginia, and Indiana. This apple variety is called Johnny Appleseed. 
Johnny Appleseed not only planted thousands of apple trees, but he created many nurseries to protect the trees from livestock that could eat seedlings of the trees. Nonetheless, the type of apple trees that Johnny Appleseed planted were not the type of apples that we enjoy today. There is a big debate among authorities regarding why he did not plant sweet tasting apples. Some believe that it had to do with his conservative Swedenborg religious background. That group thought that God didn’t want people changing what God had created. The other group feel that the apples he planted were the type that were used for hard cider or applejack. Interestingly, the tin hat that Johnny Appleseed often wore was related to his frugal lifestyle. The first group also contended that he wore a cooking pot in which he carried a Bible and some Swedenborgian theological writings. Additionally, many believe that while planting apple trees, he was also an itinerant preacher. 
Maybe Snow and Fatty could plant mango seeds across Myanmar. Their new names would be Snow Mango-seed and Fatty Mango-seed. Their new names do have a nice sound to them.
Visit the Burma Independence page to read more about this topic. 06/27/18 Follow @mountain_and_me |
