Sharing is caring, I’m told. It also frees up a shelf in my fridge. I have given away about half the juice I have made, and I am not stopping. I enjoy making it, and I like handing it to people. I have no wish to sell it or take a penny for it. It is not a big deal, and I would like to keep it that way.

It does feel good to give away something you made and expect nothing back. Not every human interaction needs a price or an invoice. Sometimes you can just do a thing and enjoy it. Life is shorter than you think, and nobody has ever lain awake wishing they had billed for the orange juice.

If you are in the area, drop me a line. I will invite you to my home and make you a coffee, or a cuppa if you lean toward tea. I have off-street parking, which in Long Beach is a driveway and a small miracle. We can sit outside in the sun and talk. When you leave, you will take some homemade juice with you.

I have also started grilling oysters, if that appeals. If it does not, the juice still stands.

I have never been into food prep, baking, or cooking. I do like to barbecue, which I am told is not the same thing, though I have never seen the difference. But people do this for a living, they are much better at it than I am, and I am glad to pay them. I would always rather eat in a restaurant. Takeout is sometimes necessary, and some places offer nothing else. Eating in my car is far from ideal. I will not be taking questions on this.

Even so, a manual juice press gives a quick and real satisfaction. This week I have wrecked a silly number of Cara Cara oranges, and a few watermelons. The kitchen has not recovered, and neither have the oranges.

I wake up without an alarm. I go outside, walk around a bit, and watch the sun come up. Then I come back in, cut a fresh watermelon, and make the juice myself. I have come to like this, and it did not take long.