ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI: BERRY PICKIN' TIME

It doesn't matter if it were strawberry or blackberry season -- "berry pickin' time" was not one of my childhood's shining moments.

I was a disgraceful strawberry picker who ate more than I picked. After all was said and done, I would be given the task of carrying the small, filled baskets from the patch to the field office so they could be counted and crated.

My favorite way to eat strawberries is fresh off the vine, but I have always been able to devour my share of any strawberry offering.

As bad of a strawberry picker as I was -- I was an even worst blackberry picker. You were covered in gook from head to toe to keep the giggers and etc., from biting. Your attire for the adventure of blackberry pickin' was a long-sleeved shirt and long-legged pants with high socks and hard-soled shoes. Oh, I forgot, they pulled up my long hair and placed a stunning old straw hat on my head.

On this particular afternoon about 10 people, including me, had received permission from Mr. Henderson to pick blackberries on the Henderson farm, home of prize-winning dairy cows and quarter horses.

I was peddlin' as the older ones were pickin', and I found a smooth, disk-shaped rock. Something possessed me to just chunk that rock right over into the blackberry briars. The rock hit a hidden wasp nest -- a big one!

The air was suddenly filled with flying blackberries and stinging wasps, as screaming people disbanded the cows and stampeded the horses.

That was the last time that I ever picked blackberries!

Summer Fruit Medley

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup pineapple juice

2 cups fresh strawberries (hulled and cut-in-half)

2 cups fresh peaches (peeled and sliced)

1 cup fresh blackberries

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and ginger in a small saucepan; gradually add pineapple juice, stirring until smooth.

2. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, boil one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool.

3. Combine strawberries, peaches and blackberries in a large bowl. Pour sauce over fruit, toss gently.

4. To store, refrigerate in a tightly covered container up to eight hours.

5. To serve, spoon fruit mixture into serving bowls. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Yield: about 5 cups