In the early 1800s Frankenstein was known as the modern-day Prometheus. Today, the Syracuse Tree of 40 Fruits is a modern-day Frankenstein.
Quick side note: all italics are quotes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein follows Dr. Frankenstein during a manic moment of insanity and brilliance in which he uses his genius to create human life out of the body parts of people he digs up out of the cemetery. The doctor’s creation of human life is analogous to the Greek Myth of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. Which brings us to the tree in Syracuse, New York.
There is something at work in my soul that I do not understand
The modern-day Dr Frankenstein behind the creation of the 40 Fruit Tree is Sam Van Aken. Sam takes parts from various types of trees, mainly stone fruit trees and grafts them onto a single amalgamated monster. Stone fruits are fruits that have a soft outer layer (the part we eat) and hard pit (called stone) in the center (such as a plum or a peach). Sam’s method is very reminiscent of Dr Frankenstein’s process of combining human body parts to form an entirely new being.
I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…
The major difference between Sam Van Aken and Victor Frankenstein is, where Victor was filled with horror at the sight of his success, Sam was full of satisfaction. Victor sought never to repeat the process ever again. While the 40 Fruit Tree in Syracuse was merely the first of many. Sam has continued his process and his trees have taken root across the country.
Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity and ruin.
Sam Van Aken sees his tree grafting as a form of art that exemplifies biodiversity and preservation in an ever polluted and deforested world and all signs point to Van Aken’s efforts being noble and a great addition to the expansion of botany.
The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of nature.
And now we get to everyone’s favorite part of any news article. The part made up of pure speculation made to sell papers and has no basis on reality.
It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.
The biggest question remains, why did Sam Van Aken choose Syracuse, NY as the spot for the first plentiful stone fruit tree. To answer this we must go back to 1931. In 1931, Minneapolis breaks out in food riots, the United States adopts the Star Spangled Banner as its national anthem, Nevada legalizes gambling, construction of the Empire State Building is completed and most importantly, Syracuse University adopts the Saltine Warrior as its mascot.
We are fashioned creatures, but half made up.
From 1931 to 1978 the Saltine Warrior was the Native American mascot of Syracuse University. Thought to be culturally insensitive, after a couple new attempts SU landed on Otto, the fuzzy round mascot. It’s important to note that Otto is usually referred to as an “It” in an attempt to distance him from the fruit known as an orange. A very bold move with a spherical orange mascot for a school called the Orangemen.
Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?
Evidently missing from Sam Van Aken’s 40 Fruit Tree is the orange. And so the downward spiral of a mad scientist begins to parallel the mental degradation of Victor Frankenstein. Syracuse a city of roughly 150,000 people has been proud of its orange heritage since its creation in 1890. For close to 80 years this pride was focused on the color orange but then in their own Dr Frankenstein way, Syracuse University patched together Otto in 1980. From his mad scientist lair Sam Van Aken must have been fuming. The color orange had evolved into the fruit orange stepping on his botany toes. With people like Jim Boeheim (coaching in Syracuse since 1969) fanning the flames of Otto patriotism there was no way Sam Van Aken could speak out against the orange.
Evil thenceforth became my good.
Sam had to find an act of defiance, one that would fly under the radar but would be put in the spotlight for all to see. So, he created a tree. If Syracuse University was the Garden of Eden then Sam’s creation was the Tree of Knowledge. Bite from the fruit of thy tree and de-orange your soul. The exclusion of oranges from the 40 Fruit Tree is a slight at the Orangemen and probably not related to the hostile climate New York represents for growing oranges. Why does Sam despise oranges so much? We may never know but if I had to guess I would assume his parents were killed by pirates who while at sea desperately need oranges for vitamin C and without vitamin C run high risk of scurvy. So to deny pirates of oranges would be inviting death by scurvy as a form of revenge for their pirating misdeeds and sins.
One wondering thought pollutes the day.
Visit Syracuse. See the result of mad science in all its glory. Also, they have Syracuse Salt Potatoes and Mint Milk.
How many things are we upon the brink of discovering if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquires.