Something fruity this way comes

Chuck Morris is no stranger to his garden producing unusual items. He once happened upon what he called a Siamese peach, and another time, one that looked like actor Jimmy Durante, known almost as much for his acting chops as he was for his pronounced proboscis.

But there was something fruity about a tomato he and wife Sue pulled out of their garden Tuesday that he wanted to share with the world.

"You can't help but laugh when you see that goofy face looking at you," said Morris, 71, chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

There on the skin of the Creole tomato he had grown from a seed was a split that had darkened into an arch. Some sort of fungus ate two small holes above that arch, and right where Sue plucked out the stem was another hole.

Was it the magic of the man in the moon - the way people see faces in everything from clouds to, well, the moon - that made Morris see it? Or was it obvious to everyone - that the tomato was smiling back at him?

Of course, there are more important issues in the world to ponder these days.

But something about the tomato made him laugh so much that he got into his car and drove to the Nevada Appeal to share it with his community.

Hailing from Jefferson Parish, La., Morris and his wife have been in the area for 15 years. They came West, said Morris for the same reason people did in 1849: gold.

"I lived the dream. Ever since I was 7 years old, I always wanted to go prospecting for gold, and I did," he said.

He was moderately successful, he said. But after his gold fever broke, the Morrises decided to transplant. They bought a home in Indian Hills, and each year plant a garden where they try "experiments," like successfully growing Creole tomatoes used to the humidity of Louisiana in the dry climate of the desert.

Their most animated test tomato now sits on a shelf in Morris' refrigerator and greets him every time he opens it.

"It's looking right at you and you've got to laugh," he said. "That's the goofiest looking face I've think I've ever seen."