Does it worry you that no one wonders where seedless oranges come from? It worries me. People wonder why there's so much traffic, they wonder who will win a baseball game and they wonder where the remote control is, but no one, as far as I can see, wonders where seedless oranges come from. It must be somewhat of an overlooked miracle. Or underlooked, I should say, since no one seems to look at miracles anymore. What's the big deal? They're all already here. The big deal, Bub, is this: When a chicken comes out of an egg, I am surprised. Chickens look nothing like eggs, nor do eggs look anything like chickens. And lots of other things come out of eggs—lots of things that look like nothing chickens and nothing like eggs. But no one looks. They're all watching a baseball game. They are chewing without tasting, swallowing without noticing and I am shouting now but no one can hear me. The damn TV's on too loud. Hotdogs and potato chips, that's what it comes down to. I am stuck in a parallel universe where no one can see me and I pound on the soundproof glass, wave my arms and scream,
"Don't you see the problem?! If there are no seeds in the oranges, how do we get any more of them? One-seeded oranges I could understand, but oranges with no seeds? It's inconceivable! It's like having a baby by yourself! That's what it is!—It's an immaculate conception! It's like a hundred million orange immaculate conceptions! Everyday! For less than a dollar each! It's as strange as a chicken shrinking and going back into an egg! It's as strange as an egg producing a chicken! It's as strange as an egg. Can anybody hear me?!"
Is anybody there?