I’m not a fan but my husband really does love cherries. His mother loved them too. She would get giddy when we’d stop by her apartment in Palo Alto with a huge bag. It was always a HUGE bag for her because we knew that within 10 minutes of us leaving she would start dividing those cherries up into smaller portions to hand out to her best friends. One of the joys of having her move to Palo Alto’s Channing House many years ago was how within a short time she had so many new friends.
Funny story: The day before we helped her move into her apartment she was really mad at us for “making her move” from her home in Santa Barbara, even going as far as to say we had “ruined her life.” Ouch. The following Monday though, we came by and found her wearing a Channing House baseball cap having signed up to be a tour guide for people considering moving in! We lost Ella a few years ago and I really miss that look on her face when she would see that bag of cherries.
As a basic consumer I’ve never found myself having to sort through cherries, “cherrypicking.” Every bag always looks fine to me! Of course robotics and people have the job of picking out any bad cherries so that customers like me don’t have to. Thank you cherrypickers. I got curious about the process of cherries reaching our kitchens from tree to supermarket and found this great video (bit.ly/4qKXduR). I hope you enjoy it!
You might be wondering why I’m writing about cherries. While most of the feedback I get on my columns is kind and encouraging, there are a few folks who complain that I’m “cherrypicking” stories, making them up, or repeating false stories circulating on the internet to advance my opinions. I don’t. Something happening locally or around the world catches my attention, curiosity and empathy kick in, and I look more deeply into the story. I might send emails or make calls to get more direct information, interview someone, visit somewhere, and then I start writing. I go over every column again and again to make sure that I have a good hook, strong narrative in the middle, and a solid ending, sometimes with a call to action. I constantly ask myself if a “fact” I’m including is, in fact, a fact. I’ve gotten a few wrong over the years, including the wrong Dollar to Korean Won conversion in one story, and not getting solid enough confirmation soon enough about children being zip-tied by federal agents in a middle of the night apartment building raid in another. For the record on that one, dozens of news organizations shared a video of Ebony Watson saying she had seen children zip-tied. I reached out to two nonprofits for confirmation. One said two additional witnesses saw children zip-tied. Another said no one reported that to them. That same week, after DHS vehemently denied ever zip-tying children, a family shared a photo of their 15 year old zip-tied in a raid. DHS quickly clarified that they didn’t zip-tie children under the age of 15. CBS News then reported that a 14-year-old U.S. citizen was zip tied by ICE in Idaho. Oops.
Back to cherrypicking. My attention in the last few months has been drawn to ICE activity and the stories of people who, in my opinion, should not have been beaten, detained, shackled, thrown into prisons, transported to other states or countries, or shot and killed. Who wouldn’t be moved by the images of the Hmong-American man wrongly dragged out of his house in the freezing cold, only wearing boxer shorts, or 5-year-old Liam who was held captive, allegedly used as bait, then flown to a Texas jail? How can one not be horrified by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti? Yes, the deaths of Kate Steinle and Laken Riley, killed by undocumented immigrants, are equally heartbreaking. Every life cruelly cut short is a tragedy. Every human life is of infinite worth. The death toll from the war against Iran is staggering. Please don’t try to justify all of these lost lives, including young school girls and our fallen troops, by talking about Iran’s nuclear ambitions unless you admit that the president lied when he said we had “completely and totally obliterated” their nuclear program back in June.
As I move forward picking ideas to share with you, I’ll try my best to choose topics that will be as moving to most of you as they are to me, verifying the facts, admitting when I’m wrong and counting on you to correct me when needed, hopefully with kindness as the cherry on top!
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos. Follow Craig: craigwiesner.bsky.social.
Craig your column today contains the perfect example of your "cherry picking" emotional stories to fit your narrative. Prior columns tell questionably untrue stories of "zip tied children" to tug on heartstrings and craft your "ICE is terrible" position but you have never written a column about murders committed by those here illegally. Today's column mentions Kate Steinle and Laken Riley in passing only- why are those stories unimportant?
And I personally wouldn't want endless columns from the right doing the same thing either- these murders are horrible and should not have happened but they aren't the reason we need to enforce immigration laws.
I challenge you to write a column about immigration policy without heart-tugging anecdotes and childhood reminiscing. What should our policy be? How should it be enforced? Should anyone who crosses the border be allowed to stay? Should they get welfare benefits, health care, etc.? If we abolish ICE what replaces it? Nothing? Was it acceptable to have millions streaming over the border under Biden, should we go back to that? How is that sustainable?
No one seems willing to have an actual nuanced conversation, it's all waving signs, shouting slogans, and yes "cherry picking" anecdotes.
Mitch - Craig said he doesn't "cherry pick" isn't that good enough? But maybe if Craig answered your questions he'd be forced to switch teams because the truth, common sense and his "empathy" will kick in and knock down the democrat roadblock to honesty.
Yes Craig, like most on the left, is so very "empathetic" and "kind" and just loves telling us all about it. 2 years ago I was trashed for weeks on the pages and comment section of the DJ because I don't think boys, even those that call themselves "trans girls" should be able to compete in girls' sports and share their locker rooms. Craig's column on that issue said that we all need to "be kind"... to the poor "trans girls" of course. Women like me and girls who want fairness and privacy don't deserve kindness according to men like Craig.
Hilarious. Mr. Wiesner attempting to justify his cherry-picked columns while, of course, completely ignoring the fact his cherry-picking only goes in one direction – to push a biased leftist narrative. Mr. Wiesner feigns outrage at the deaths of Pretti and Good without informing us these folks were easily manipulated by Democrats, contributing to their deaths. Mr. Wiesner says every life cruelly cut short is a tragedy and the death from the war against Iran is staggering yet he fails to remind us that Iran us reported to have killed up to 45,000 (thus far) of their own citizens. And of course, the 47 years Iran has wished for death to America. And there are more people than Laken Riley or Kate Steinle killed by folks who should not have been here. Just as Pretti and Good were sacrificed by Democrats, more American citizens are being sacrificed each day. And on cue, Mr. Wiesner pushes the Democrat talking point about obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program. Does Mr. Wiesner think Iran can’t restart their nuclear program? If one’s house is obliterated via fire, can they not rebuild?
Now we have Mr. Wiesner making another “promise” by “…verifying the facts, admitting when I’m wrong and counting on you to correct me when needed…” Hey Mr. Weisner, will you continue cherry-picking “facts” as you see them? As for admitting you’re wrong, remember almost two years ago when you “promised” to write columns that would move anyone who isn’t already on one side or the other, to give people hope or motivate them to do better, or to spark mutually helpful discussions? We’re still waiting. Seems to me that each of your TDS-inspired columns invites folks to call out the hypocrisy. BTW, if you’re looking to ideas to share with us, perhaps you can share why Democrats put the welfare of criminals and terrorists over the American people? Perhaps you can share why Democrats continue their war on women by allowing biological males to compete against biological women, while also being allowed to invade women safe spaces?
For once, I have to agree with you, MissTY: If equipped with male organs, you can only enter male restrooms, no matter what you “feel” like, no matter how curious you may be. Simple as that.
Reading his column again, I surmise that Mr. Wiesner struggled to fill the 750 word requirement for his entry. Most of it is pure filler and at times even laughable. Not once have we been surprised by a column that is somehow instructive and optimistic. While Mr. Wiesner is obviously well-read and a successful entrepreneur, why not use those talents and attributes to educate the readers and high light the positives around us. Instead, as seemingly frustrated, he repeats, and yes, cherry picks silly shop-worn anecdotes. No more zip tie stories either, please.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(7) comments
Craig your column today contains the perfect example of your "cherry picking" emotional stories to fit your narrative. Prior columns tell questionably untrue stories of "zip tied children" to tug on heartstrings and craft your "ICE is terrible" position but you have never written a column about murders committed by those here illegally. Today's column mentions Kate Steinle and Laken Riley in passing only- why are those stories unimportant?
And I personally wouldn't want endless columns from the right doing the same thing either- these murders are horrible and should not have happened but they aren't the reason we need to enforce immigration laws.
I challenge you to write a column about immigration policy without heart-tugging anecdotes and childhood reminiscing. What should our policy be? How should it be enforced? Should anyone who crosses the border be allowed to stay? Should they get welfare benefits, health care, etc.? If we abolish ICE what replaces it? Nothing? Was it acceptable to have millions streaming over the border under Biden, should we go back to that? How is that sustainable?
No one seems willing to have an actual nuanced conversation, it's all waving signs, shouting slogans, and yes "cherry picking" anecdotes.
Mitch - Craig said he doesn't "cherry pick" isn't that good enough? But maybe if Craig answered your questions he'd be forced to switch teams because the truth, common sense and his "empathy" will kick in and knock down the democrat roadblock to honesty.
Yes Craig, like most on the left, is so very "empathetic" and "kind" and just loves telling us all about it. 2 years ago I was trashed for weeks on the pages and comment section of the DJ because I don't think boys, even those that call themselves "trans girls" should be able to compete in girls' sports and share their locker rooms. Craig's column on that issue said that we all need to "be kind"... to the poor "trans girls" of course. Women like me and girls who want fairness and privacy don't deserve kindness according to men like Craig.
Absolutely! For locker rooms, you go where your genitals belong, not where you “feel” you belong or are curious about!
Hilarious. Mr. Wiesner attempting to justify his cherry-picked columns while, of course, completely ignoring the fact his cherry-picking only goes in one direction – to push a biased leftist narrative. Mr. Wiesner feigns outrage at the deaths of Pretti and Good without informing us these folks were easily manipulated by Democrats, contributing to their deaths. Mr. Wiesner says every life cruelly cut short is a tragedy and the death from the war against Iran is staggering yet he fails to remind us that Iran us reported to have killed up to 45,000 (thus far) of their own citizens. And of course, the 47 years Iran has wished for death to America. And there are more people than Laken Riley or Kate Steinle killed by folks who should not have been here. Just as Pretti and Good were sacrificed by Democrats, more American citizens are being sacrificed each day. And on cue, Mr. Wiesner pushes the Democrat talking point about obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program. Does Mr. Wiesner think Iran can’t restart their nuclear program? If one’s house is obliterated via fire, can they not rebuild?
Now we have Mr. Wiesner making another “promise” by “…verifying the facts, admitting when I’m wrong and counting on you to correct me when needed…” Hey Mr. Weisner, will you continue cherry-picking “facts” as you see them? As for admitting you’re wrong, remember almost two years ago when you “promised” to write columns that would move anyone who isn’t already on one side or the other, to give people hope or motivate them to do better, or to spark mutually helpful discussions? We’re still waiting. Seems to me that each of your TDS-inspired columns invites folks to call out the hypocrisy. BTW, if you’re looking to ideas to share with us, perhaps you can share why Democrats put the welfare of criminals and terrorists over the American people? Perhaps you can share why Democrats continue their war on women by allowing biological males to compete against biological women, while also being allowed to invade women safe spaces?
For once, I have to agree with you, MissTY: If equipped with male organs, you can only enter male restrooms, no matter what you “feel” like, no matter how curious you may be. Simple as that.
Reading his column again, I surmise that Mr. Wiesner struggled to fill the 750 word requirement for his entry. Most of it is pure filler and at times even laughable. Not once have we been surprised by a column that is somehow instructive and optimistic. While Mr. Wiesner is obviously well-read and a successful entrepreneur, why not use those talents and attributes to educate the readers and high light the positives around us. Instead, as seemingly frustrated, he repeats, and yes, cherry picks silly shop-worn anecdotes. No more zip tie stories either, please.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.