Patience, tomatoes and the Constitution

My impatience is growing.

My displeasure for distractions is showing.

Every time a cell phone rings inappropriately during a meeting or presentation, I wonder what happened to etiquette and respect.

For instance, when a person behind me failed to mute his loud-ringing cell phone during the Sept. 11 observance at the Shanower Memorial along Naperville's Riverwalk, I was deeply annoyed. And so was the cameraman next to me.

I know. It's time to take a deep breath.

A watched plot

At the end of July, I was "this close" to giving up on 150 tomato plants in our backyard garden plot. Even though the plants stood 4-feet high with hundreds of clusters of tiny yellow flowers and daily swarms of nurturing bumblebees, I could count on one hand the number of tiny green fruit.

I remembered that other years our half-dozen cherry tomato plants each had produced about 10 pounds of fruit. This year, my son planted about a dozen varieties. I watched their slow growth every day, noting heavy rains and unusually cool days and nights for July.

Considering the carefully concocted soil combined with manure and other nutrients, I began to think we had overly stimulated their stem growth in a way that dwarfed their yield.

I wondered if Naperville would see its usual 12 weeks of warm summer days.

Thanks to my summer reading, I keep reminding myself of many quotes by Ben Franklin who said, "Nothing is so full of victory as patience. He that can have patience can have what he will."

And guess what? By mid-August, green, red and yellow tomatoes in all stripes, shapes and sizes began to ripen.

At first we fried green tomatoes. Then we sliced red tomatoes and blended gazpacho with green peppers and cucumbers also growing in our garden.

To date, we've enjoyed tomato omelets, tomato sandwiches, tacos, tomato sauce for pasta dishes, stewed tomatoes with zucchini and fresh salsa as well as handful after handful of sweet cherry tomatoes.

Now every day we pick a lot! And tomatoes are good for us as an important source of vitamins C and A.

They contain calcium and iron, with some amounts of phosphorus, sulfur and potassium. The low-calorie fruit, commonly considered a vegetable, is high in fiber and recommended in weight loss programs.

Its nutritional value also makes it good for eye disorders, urinary tract infection, liver disorders, diabetes and a variety of intestinal disorders.

When I offered a friend a pack of tomatoes, she said tomato products upset her stomach because they contain lycopene, a pigment that gives tomatoes, ruby red grapefruit and watermelon their red color.

I searched for lycopene online. Lycopene appears to have strong antioxidant capabilities to cleanse the body and help fight disease. While some folks have adverse effects from eating tomatoes, several studies suggest consumption of foods rich in lycopene is linked with a lower risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Final stretch

I try to eat well, watch my calories, walk daily and use the stairs wherever possible to better my constitution. A healthful diet focused on fitness and wellness is important to my lifestyle.

The U.S. Constitution is important to my lifestyle every day, too.

Constitution Day was Sept. 17, a fitting reminder to let respect, reason and responsibility govern us all.

For the past month, nearly every chance I've had, I've encouraged family and friends across this great nation to read and/or reread the Constitution in the spirit that Anderson's Bookshops and the Naperville Public Library have promoted the popular Naperville READS! communitywide program since 2002.

I wish I'd thought of it sooner.

We should all cherish our freedom and remember why America was founded and why it has prospered since the Constitution went from state-to-state for ratification from December 1787 to June 1788.

For many enlightening facts about the document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles that govern the United States, visit constitutionfacts.com.

Here's to the enduring health of our great nation with enough time to preserve all the tomatoes in our backyard.