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Don'tEattheTomatoes:They'rePoisonous!ThefirsttomatoeswerefoundgrowingwildbyIndiansinPeruandEcuadorthousandsofyearsago.TheIndiansbroughtthetomatoplantwiththemwhentheymovednorthtoCentralAmerica.TheSpanishsoldiers,whoconqueredMexicointheearly1500stooktomatoplantstoSpain.ThetomatosoonmadeitswayacrossEurope,buttheEnglishwerewaryofit.Theythoughtitwasnotmeanttobeeaten.Englishdoctorswarnedpatientsthattomatoeswerepoisonousandwouldbringdeathtoanybodywhoateone.Forhundredsofyears,boththeEnglishandtheAmericanswoulddecoratetheirhomeswithtomatoplants,buttheyneverdaredtoeatthevegetable.ThismythmightstillprevailtodayhaditnotbeenforaNewJerseymannamedRobertJohnson.In1808,JohnsonreturnedfromSouthAmericawithalargequantityoftomatoplants.HehadhopedtosellthemtotheAmericanmarket.Hegavetheplantstolocalfarmersandofferedaprizeforthelargesttomatogrown.ButthetomatowasstillrejectedinhishometownofSalem,NewJersey,andeverywhereelseaswell.Johnsondecidedtotakeadesperatemeasure.Hepubliclyannouncedhewouldstandonthestepsofthelocalcourthouseandeatabasketoftomatoesinpublic.Thetownsfolkwereshocked.Johnson'sdoctorwarnedhewouldfoamatthemouth,thenfalldownanddieinafewminutes.Finally,theimportantdayarrived.Twothousandpeoplesurroundedthecourthousetowatchamankillhimself(orsotheythought).ThecrowdfellintoadeadsilenceasJohnson,dressedinabrightsuit,walkedupthestepsofthecourthouse.Whentheclockstrucknoon,hepickedupatomatoandhelditup.Hethentalkedtothecrowd.Friends,Iwillnoweatmyfirsttomato.Whenhetookhisfirstbite,awomaninthecrowdshriekedandfainted.Afterfinishingthetomato,Johnsonpickedupanotherandstartedeatingit.Anotherwomaninthecrowdfainted.Soonthebasketwasempty.Thecrowdexplodedinapplause.RobertJohnsonbecameahero.Inlessthanfiveyears,thetomatobecameamajorcropinAmerica.Today,over50000000bushelsoftomatoesareproducedeachyear.Over40000000casesoftomatojuiceareconsumedaswellasmillionsofbottlesofcatsup.ThetomatomightneverhavebecomeapartoftheAmericandiethaditnotbeenforRobertJohnson'sdesperatemeasure.Thanks,Mom,forAllyouhavedoneWetendtogetcaughtupineverydaybusinessandconcernsandforgetsomeofthethingsthataremostimportant.Toofewofusstopandtakethetimetosaythankyoutoourmothers.WithalettertomymotherontheoccasionofMother'sDay,I'mgoingtotakeaminutetoreflect.FeelfreetouseanyofthisingreetingyourownmotheronSunday,May10.HappyMother'sDaytoall.DearMom,Thisletter,Ikown,islongpastdue.Ikownyou'llforgivethetardiness,youalwaysdo.Therearesomanyreasonstosaythankyou,it'shardtobegin.I'llalwaysrememberyouweretherewhenyouwereneeded.WhenIwasachild,ashappenswithyoungboys,therewerecutsandbumpsandscrapesthatalwaysfeltbetterwhentendedbyyou.Youkeptmeonthestraightpath,oneIthinkIstillwalk.Therewasnothingquitesohumblingasstandingoutsidemyelementaryschoolclassroomandseeingyoucomewalkingdownthehall.YouwereworkingattheschoolandIoftenmanagedtogetsentoutsideclassforsomething.Yourchidingwasgentle,butrighttothepoint.IalsorememberthatevenafterIgrewbiggerthanyou,youweren'tafraidtoremindmewhowasincharge.ForthatIthankyou.Youdidallthethingsthatmothersdo--thelaundry,thecookingandcleaning--allwithoutcomplaintorobjection.Butyouwerenevertoobusytohelpwithaproblem,orjustgiveahand.Youletmelearnthebasicsinthekitchen,andduringthetimeIwasonmyownitkeptmefromgoinghungry.YoutaughtbyexampleandforthatIamgrateful.IcanseehowmucheasieritiswithmyowndaughtertobethebestmodelIcanbe.Youdidthatforme.Yourchildrenaregrownnow,yourgrandchildren,almost.Youcanlookbackwithpridenowandkonwyoucanrest.Asmothersarejudged,youstandwiththebest.Godblessyou,Mom.Hislife’sworkWhenhiswifedied，thebabywastwo．Theyhadsixotherchildren--threeboysandthreegirls，ranginginagefrom4to16．Afewdayslaterhebecameawidower,theman’sparentsandhiswife’sparentscametovisitthefamily．“We’vebeentalking，”theysaid，“abouthowtotakecareofallthesechildrenandworktomakealiving．So，we’vearrangedforeachchildtobeplacedwithadifferentuncleandaunt．We’remakingsurethatal1ofyourchildrenwillbelivingrighthereintheneighborhood，soyoucanseethemanytime…”Themanappreciatedtheirthoughtfulnessbutrefusedtheirkindness.Overthenextfewweeksthemanworkedwithhischildren，assigningthemchores(杂务)andgivingthemresponsibilities．Butthenanothermisfortunehappened．Themandevelopedarthritis(关节炎)．Hishandsswelled，andhewasunabletoholdthehandlesofhisfarmtools.Hewouldnotbeabletocontinuetheworkonhisfarm.Hesoldhisfarmingequipment,movedthefamilytoasmalltownandopenedasmallbusiness．Thefamilywaswelcomedintothenewneighborhood．Wordofhispleasantpersonalityandexcellentcustomerservicebegantospreadinthetown．Peoplecamefromfarandwidetodobusinesswithhim．Andthechildrenhelpedbothathomeandatwork．Theirfather’spleasureinhisworkbroughtsatisfactiontothem，andhedrewpleasurefromtheirsuccesses．Thechildrengrewupandgotmarried.Fiveofthesevenwenttocollegeandtheyweremarried.Thechildren’ssuccesseswereasourceofpridetothefather．Thencamegrandchildren.Nooneenjoyedgrandchildrenmorethanthisman.Astheybecameolder,heinvitedthemtohisworkplaceandhissmallhome.Theybroughteachothergreatjoy.Finally,theyoungestdaughter,thebaby,whohadbeentwoyearsoldathermotherdeath,gotmarried.Finally，them