12 October 2019

Tommy

Once upon a time there was a tomato called Tommy. He grew up on a tomato vine. in a little greenhouse in Sheffield and he had a nose.

None of the other tomatoes had noses. Because of this they sneered at Tommy and called him cruel names like Pinocchio and Gerard Depardieu. Mostly they just called him Mr Nosey after the green Mister Man character created by Roger Hargreaves. 

Not being accepted by the other tomatoes made Tommy very sad. He needed to get away from the torment and besides he did not wish to end up in a salad or sliced and roasted upon a sizzling pizza. 

One evening in early autumn, when all the other tomatoes were sleeping, Tommy detached himself from the vine that had sustained him and crept out of the little greenhouse. He had no idea where he was going.

As Tommy did not have legs, he simply bounced along like a rubber ball. He bounced up the steps into the nearby house. Fortunately, the kitchen door  had been left slightly ajar. 

There was a big man in there. Tommy had previously spotted him mowing the lawn and grumbling to himself. The big man was making tomato soup. Couldn't he hear the screams of the tomatoes as he sliced them?  Tommy was horrified.

Fearing that he might end up in the saucepan with the other tomatoes, he ran for his life.

Just at that moment, the front door of the house opened and the big man's wife stepped over the threshold crying, "Honey! I'm home!"

Tommy grabbed his chance and bounced outside. It was dark but Tommy was not afraid. After all, he was free! Good God Almighty, free at last! He smiled to himself as he bounced along, past the parked cars and the wheelie bins and a prowling ginger cat called Arthur and a scraggy fox called Ferdinand.

No more the hot greenhouse and the bullying peer group! Tommy was free at last and he could make of his life whatever he wanted to in spite of his bulbous nose. And as he bounced down to Endcliffe Park he sang "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" " -  from the rock opera by The Who. It felt so good to be alive and free.

27 comments:

  1. When I had my greengrocery-health food shop back in the early 80s...in Noosa Heads (on the Sunshine Coast)..one day I discovered a tomato not unlike that fellow among my stock.

    He deserved not to be ignored, so I perched him up front and centre on my counter for my customers to see. He caused much amusement,making everyone's shopping experience pleasurable. It was a sad day, the day I had to throw "him" away, but the day finally did arrive. Poor fellow...

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    1. It was a great marketing ploy Lee! Gone but not forgotten..

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  2. And yet somehow I fear that Tommy found himself in a puree, his screams echoing across the universe as he was chopped and whisked and stirred and seasoned and finally...ingested.
    Poor Tommy. His amazing nose did not protect him from his fate. Let us hope that there was some sherry in the soup to numb his suffering.

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    1. If I added your horrific ending, small children would be traumatised for life!

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  3. Too bad John Gray wasn't having his online Flower Show vegetable competition right now! What did you use for eyes, quilting pins?

    I love the story. And now Tommy's been immortalized in photos and words. In the end, none of us can expect much more than that :)

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    1. What do you mean - quilting pins? They were Tommy's real eyes!

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    2. I also thought of John's novelty veg competition. I wonder if you can enter Tommy next year? What are the rules on that? Hmmmm...

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  4. He looks a bit like Michael Gove........

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    1. There's no need to be so cruel Christina! Honestly, I am surprised at you!

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  5. He is very cute. I wish him a nice life!

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    1. It won't be easy. He will need to get himself an education and somewhere to live.

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  6. Who knows - Tommy might meet a pretty tomato lady along the way, Dora (short for Pomodora) who will find him most attractive for his nose and love him for his free spirit.

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    Replies
    1. ...and they lived happily ever after.

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  7. I wish I could believe that he lived happily ever after, but I can picture him on a plate covered in a balsamic glaze or chucked into a bowl of pasta sauce.

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    1. You have a wicked imagination JayCee!

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    2. Mad as a box of frogs

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    3. Eh? JayCee seems perfectly sane to me.

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  8. I have a soft spot for any Tommy (except Tommy Lee).

    Not entirely sure we will be hearing from Tommy Tomato again though.

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  9. What variety of tomato is it? A Roma?

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    1. Wrong shape for a Roma Mr Titchmarsh. There are over 10,000 tomato varieties.

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    2. I don't think he got it.

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  10. Maybe he went somewhere sunny to live a long and happy tomato-life, even if ending up a bit wrinkled and dry in his old age...

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps he was eaten by a cocker spaniel in the park.

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  11. Tommy is such a cute little fellow. I hope he lived a long and happy life.

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  12. Why do I suspect this isn't a true account of Tommy's fate?

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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