Watermelon, The Conversation Starter

I bought another watermelon today July 3rd, 2011 and on my way back from the store to my house-a 15 minute walk through Meridian Hill Park and a group of young Hispanic immigrants started joking with me about "cutting it", at first I thought they wanted to cut me.

Then an African man saw me and asked me how much I paid for my watermelon! He thought I got a good deal. A young white couple saw me and wisheed me a happy 4th of July becasue I was being patriotic with my watermelon.

Here's my question, since when has it been OK and talk to strangers with a watermelon? I swear more people talk to me when I have a watermelon than when I carry anything else?

I am aware watermelon is hard to miss, and people sometimes look so tired of carrying one, so people who see them feel like making light of it. Kinda of like the dudes carrying a keg, they know there is a party somewhere.

What makes people seem so friendly when they have this watery fruit? But coming to think about it when I was a kid in Gaza and we bought watermelon people always wanted to know how much we paid for it? I think watermelons are like pets in that sense, they help break the ice! And keep you cool.