Oranges, Little House, and Prison

"Je t'apporterai des oranges" is an expression I remember my great-uncle telling my uncle when I used to work in the winery back in the day.  This would inevitably follow some kind of exchange where my great-uncle was recommending we engage in some outdated and slightly shady process in making wine.  When my uncle would balk or protest, he'd be told "Don't worry, I'll bring you oranges."   Often I would just wait and eventually figure out what an expression would mean by context but this one eluded me so I eventually asked my uncle about it.  He looked surprised and said "You know, when you go to prison, you'd want your family to bring you oranges.  Obviously." (A quick internet search reveals a late 19th century french poem mentioning this very act which may be the origin of this expression (?))

When I was a kid, the first book series I ever read (and fell in love with) was Little House on the Prairie.  I read and reread all of them!  One of my favorite scenes is when a family friend hikes over to visit the Ingalls for Christmas.  He makes the trip sound very arduous and then reveals a precious gift he has brought the family: a single orange.  What a special, rare gift!  They carefully sliced it up to share and enjoyed its sweetness and rarity.  I think it was the first time I realized how I was growing up in a profoundly different time that all the previous generations!

Today, I snapped the picture at the top of this post after I found myself annoyed with how many oranges we have sitting on our kitchen counter. What a burden to have to eat all these oranges in the middle of winter in a place that can not even sustain a single orange tree!  C'mon Ken - get a grip already!  What would Pa and Ma Ingalls say?