Tomato Surprise

Will someone tell me why I decided to plant not one, but THREE tomato plants in the back "garden" this year?
I now have a trio of ENORMOUS "Jack-in-the-tomato-stalk" trees that are producing Texas-size tomatoes that are bursting at their seams. All of them have had to be staked and they are still falling over from the weight of these big boys. We couldn't find a stake that was 22' tall.

I feel like I'm on the bus with Forest Gump, talking about the 59 ways to prepare tomatoes (instead of shrimp). Tomato soup, tomatoes on the salad or as broiled appetizer with sprinkled parmesan cheese, tomatoes stuffed with chicken shrimp or tuna, tomatoes on a sandwich, tomatoes in an omelet, tomatoes in chili, spaghetti and on a pizza.

This is crazy. I don't even like tomatoes THAT much. I usually take them off my salad when I am out because I figure they are not "home-grown".

I always wondered about neighbors who usually ever talked to us would stop by with charitable smiles and a sack of tomatoes as a gift for us. Mom would mumble, shaking her head as they were out of ear-shot, "they do this every year when they don't know what else to do with their tomato crop"....then really low under her breath she would add, "I wish they had a still in their backyard instead of those plants."

And what about the "EAT-TOMATOES-AND-DIE" scare this summer?
So what were we thinking?

Ah, maybe it was in the spirit of the Olympics...thinking there is some kind of contest. We would HAVE to medal in this sport.

And to think, I still don't know if a tomato is a fruit or veggie...and now I don't care.