In the area where I live, it is mango season. When I arrived here about forty years ago, there were mango trees in every yard. Then, with the increase in construction, a large number of those trees disappeared, but there are still a considerable number of them.
Mangoes always produce a very abundant harvest; each tree yields hundreds or thousands of fruits, far more than a family can consume. That large harvest sometimes becomes a problem because the fruits rot on the ground and attract flies.
Many people pick the fruits and place them in front of their houses so that anyone passing by can take them; it is a gift that many neighbors appreciate.
Others, like Mrs. María, collect the mangoes in plastic bags as soon as they begin to fall and distribute them to all the houses where she knows they will be well received.
When María was younger, she always took great care in selecting the best mangoes to give away, and everyone who received a bag knew that it contained wonderful mangoes.
But the passage of time has taken its toll. Now María is eighty-two years old, and her eyesight and mobility are quite impaired. However, her desire to be useful to others remains intact, and she makes a great effort to continue giving away her mangoes.
Every time someone passes by her house, she tells them when she will bring them mangoes. It seems that she has a kind of schedule for assigning a day to each person. However, for about three years now, her bags have not been the same; now they contain many mangoes in poor condition.
My wife and I were talking about this the other day, wondering why María insisted on giving away mangoes in poor condition. We concluded that she was doing it without realizing it.
When María had good eyesight, she could easily see if the mangoes had dents, cuts from falling, or were overripe. But now she probably can't tell the difference. Most likely, she picks them up off the ground and can't tell the good ones from the bad ones. This may be something that worries her, but faced with the dilemma of whether to continue giving them away or not, she prefers to give them away anyway.
Over time, the number of mangoes she puts in the bag has also decreased. The weight must be too heavy for her, so she puts fewer mangoes in the bag.
At the beginning of the season, I told Maria that I could stop by her house to pick up the mangoes so she wouldn't have to go to mine. But Maria replied that she still felt strong enough to carry them, that as long as she had the strength, she would continue to take the mangoes to everyone, that she felt very good knocking on people's doors to announce that she was going to deliver her gift. It is obvious that this task gives María great satisfaction.
María is a great example for everyone in my community, especially for the younger people. She is one of those people who do not let themselves be defeated by the problems that age brings to our bodies. Her desire to continue being useful is stronger than any ailment; for her, the important thing is to stay active.
Thank you for your time.
Images edited in Photoshop and HDR Max app.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version).
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