The Pundit Parents — Michael and Roslyn Prevor — attended the PMA in Houston, their first visit to a produce industry trade show in 17 years.
It was a joy for the Pundit. About a year and a half ago, we visited Houston because the Pundit Poppa had leukemia and only nine months to live. We went to M.D. Anderson, a specialized cancer hospital in Houston, for treatment and, eventually, we did a stem cell transplant with one of the Pundit Uncles, Sydney Prevor. (Michael and Sydney are identical twins, and Sydney ran the family’s produce operation in Puerto Rico.) We wrote about the experience here.
When we arrived in Houston for treatment, we had a weekend before visiting the doctor. We saw Houston and ate some nice dinners — but how much can you enjoy even the prettiest venue or the nicest dinner if you fear that it might be the last dinner your father ever eats out of a hospital?
The Pundit Poppa is fine today. All the tests show him to be clear of all cancer. He still goes back to Houston for bone marrow biopsies, and so the Pundit Parents coordinated this one to be able to see the Pundit give a workshop on Friday, host the Rising Star Reception on Saturday and to see old friends.
This time Mom and Dad had a clean test on Thursday, saw their son perform on Friday and enjoyed every conversation and every meal for the rest of the weekend.
The Pundit Poppa did many things in the business but was famous as a pioneer in export and import. We thought his take on the changes in the show since he was there were intriguing:
“In international trade the key things used to be contacts. If we decided we wanted to buy or sell from Brazil, we would go visit the steamship company and try to get a list of anyone who had ever imported or exported food. We would write letters to the Chambers of Commerce asking for help, we would go on trips to strange cities and knock on doors. Today, if you want to trade with Brazil, you go to PMA, go to the Brazil booth and they hand you a directory, introduce you to major players and a give you a piece of fruit as a bonus.”
Pretty astute we think.
