A Quantitative Theory of Fruit-Digital Collage 4" x 4 "

Grandfather, a kind and caring seafarer came of age during the Age of Scurvy. Unlike many a bandy-legged mariner, he stood on legs strong as trunks of oak. He attributed his superior bone density to an almost religious devotion to fruit. As soon as I was old enough to eat solid food he insisted I ingest at least thirty milligrams of fresh fruit each day. He went to great lengths to make sure I met my daily requirement, measuring the circumference of grapes to calculate the amount of vitamin C held within each one. He spent hours with slide rule, protractors and an old adding machine calculating the nutritional quotients of whatever fruit happened to be around the kitchen. Mother told him she thought he was off his rocker, but he held firm that by cross referencing his calculations against my height he could quantify exactly how much a single raspberry contributed to my growth.