A Hill of Beans

Way back when I started this 'blog' I called it A Hill of Beans. I don't recall, but that was probably a sleepless night in my little studio at Cabrini and 181st in Washington Heights. It's quite likely that I'd been watching my #1 fave movie Casablanca, and one of my favorite lines from it yields this title.

However, I'd never thought consciously about the phrase until this evening. I love the humility of it. (God bless if anyone besides me is reading this drivel.) However much I would like to think that I'm an insightful writer, I really don't expect to do this regularly or well. Hence, I doubt it'll be worth a hill of beans.

But, why are beans so worthless anyways? Doesn't it follow that the key to a healthy vegetarian diet is beans? "Beans, beans good for your heart...," right? Entire societies were built with the growing of beans as its core. (The Maya, was it?) To me, beans are more raw than other foods, perhaps because I shelled so many as a kid. It seems that in our urban(e) lives, the lack proximity to food sources has devalued the food itself. A worthless hill of beans? Only if you don't use them.