Scavenger Hunt For Corn

© Photo David Torrence

I got a call from a longtime client saying that if I could locate fresh corn in green husks by the next morning, there was a healthy fee for one shot. “Good luck,” he said, “I’ve called everywhere.” The hunt was on. My stylist called local farmer’s markets, wholesale businesses and grocery stores. Nothing. Two different people told her there was no fresh corn in St. Louis after the end of August. (Remember: No white shoes and no green corn after Labor Day.)

I made a call to my in-laws in Kansas. My mother-in-law called Smith’s Market and then called me back within 10 minutes. “They’ve got a ton of it. And it’s green.”

My father-in-law (more adept at shipping stuff, I was told) was called in for back-up. They handpicked the pieces, boxed them up, and went to the little shipping depot on Main Street. (There’s no dedicated FedEx in Hutchinson.) They were closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:30. With the nearest major airport an hour away in Wichita, and the clock ticking, they waited, guarding the corn. Although it was a $90 shipping fee to get it to St. Louis, it arrived the next morning green and healthy. It goes to show…when in a pinch, there’s no place like home.