I could not hear much that he said, and it did not matter. I did my best to deliver a public lecture on the apple, and all around me people were nodding as if to say:
“I’d order one if I could get it.”
The manager was impressed, and that night for supper he had “Baked Apple with Cream” written into his card in red ink. Later he came to me and asked names of varieties and where they could be found. As a result of this experiment a few of us founded the “American Apple Consumers’ League.” We pledged ourselves to call for apple in some form whenever we sat at any public table. Our declaration was cast in rhyme:
Apple, apple, call for apple
Everywhere you go.
Closely scan the bill of fare,
And if apple is not there
Call the landlord down with care!
He will come with smirking manner
Offering the soft banana,