Are you a Cherry Picker?

Have you ever been told that you can't be a fence sitter? You must pick one side or the other. This past Sunday I was faced with that dilemma, in a literal sense. I went out with some friends to pick berries and we started an interesting debate about cherry picking. Naturally it stemmed back to the most basic of all questions, what is right and wrong. Now let me explain how we got started with the whole conversation. Early in the morning my roommate, Kenneth, told me where I could find wild raspberries. So after gathering a few friends we made our way over to the railroad tracks to find the raspberries bushes. They were easy to spot, because they were skirting the side of the dirt road. We jumped out of our car, and started picking away. I would gather a few in my hands, then eat a few. Gather then eat...gather and eat. They were sweet and free. I kept thinking in my head, "I just bought raspberries in Virginia for $5.00 and it was only half the size of what I have in my bag." And not all the raspberries were ready to be picked yet, so I think we will go back next Sunday too. Once again, I have to say, I love free food, no matter how I acquire it.

While we were out picking raspberries another picker mentioned that we could find cherries trees behind the firehouse and blueberries on AB mountain (but blueberries aren't in season yet). So we decided to go back into town and find the cherry trees behind the firehouse. Now cherries are a favorite of mine. Almost every summer when I would drive cross country from Virginia to Utah heading back to college, I would buy a large bag of cherries and munch away. And if you have ever bought cherries then you will know, as well as I do, that they are EXPENSIVE! I was psyched to find free cherries. After parking next to the firehouse we spotted the coveted item. Only there was a slight dilemma, the trees were located in someone's yard. Would it be right to pick cherries off a tree if it was in someone's yard? Well, what if some of the branches were hanging over the fence, shading the sidewalk? Would it be right to pick those? We started talking about this, almost like people talk about the egg and the chick, which came first? Both sides of the argument had good points.

I will start with my friends argument, that it was wrong. The tree was obviously in someone's yard, because there was a fence that clearly defined they space from that of the sidewalk. They probably wanted to eat those cherries and wouldn't appreciate someone walking up and picking them. If they wanted people to pick them then they would have put a sign up saying we could have them. If we don't ask for permission to pick cherries then we are stealing.

Now, I know those are fine points and I'm sure we probably could have walked up to the front door and asked permission, but I also didn't think it was necessary and this is why. I was picking cherries from the branches that hung over the fence. If the branches aren't in the yard, but on public domain then they are free for the picking. If they didn't want us to pick them, then they would have put a sign that said, DON'T TOUCH! There is nothing wrong with picking a few cherries, it is not like we were going to sell them.

So while we debated the question, I picked and they stood with arms folded in protest. Now I bring the dilemma to you, which side of the fence do you stand on? Would you be a cherry picker or not?