Entry #651711, added on 05-26-09 @ 3:25 pm EDT
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| In Defense of a Tree | Entry #651711 |
Title: In Defense of a Tree
Date: May 26, 2009, Tuesday
Thought: For some insane reason I seem to think the cottonwood has some kind of rights. I know that sounds terribly liberal of me.
Jog: I’ve got this thing about trees. Although I am far from being some wacko tree lover who chains themselves to a tree to protect it from the bulldozer, I really hate to see one cut down—for any reason. And that has become somewhat of a problem. You see, I have two neighbors who are having a dispute. One neighbor has a swimming pool and a pristinely manicured lawn. The other neighbor has a magnificent cottonwood tree. It is a majestic tree that must top out at fifty feet in height. Some of you may already know the problem.
If I were planting trees in my new yard, I would never plant a cottonwood tree. Although they are gorgeous trees, they are a nuisance. They are beautiful to sit and stare at on warm summer days when the wind flutters their leaves. The breeze makes the tree actually shimmer. My youth is filled with memories of sitting in the shade and watching the breeze play with the large cottonwood leaves. However, I also remember the wispy seeds that are dispelled by the tree. It sends out these cottony deposits indiscriminately, covering everything with the cotton-like residue. It plays havoc on allergies as well as swimming pools.
My next door neighbor is a perfectionist, in fact both he and his wife are; they are a perfect match. Not a blade of grass is out of place and every flower bed is properly groomed. The life span of a weed is about thirteen seconds in their lawn. They attend to their swimming pool with the same religious zeal. So you can imagine their chagrin when each morning their pool has a film of cottonwood seeds floating in the water and their lawn looks like someone sprinkled it with flour.
Now, they have complained bitterly to my other neighbor, who owns the cottonwood tree. They insist that the tree be cut down. Seems as if the tree offends their sense of aesthetic order and is a nuisance to their entertainment plans. They see no reason why the rest of the free world does not agree with them and rid us all of the offending tree. I’m not real sure what my other neighbor thinks about their sensibilities. All I know is that the tree is still standing.
My perfectionist neighbors, who are really our best friends, have shared their miseries with us with the expectation and assumption that we agree that the offensive cottonwood must be destroyed. I have tried to be understanding, but am growing increasingly troubled. You see, I have come to have a completely different position. For some insane reason I seem to think the cottonwood has some kind of rights; although, I fully realize the Bill of Rights does not extend to plants. I know that sounds terribly liberal of me. And, I know that it’s just a dang tree, after all. But, I just can’t shake this feeling.
The tree has got to be in the vicinity of 90 years old. It stood in this field before urban development decided to cut roads and build houses. It survived storms and floods and drought. It survived when weaker trees succumbed to the elements. It stands today as a majestic testament to survival. That tree stood when the US faced the Great Crash on Wall Street. It may have shaded a vagabond or two during the depression. It was standing in that field on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed as well as on the day victory in Japan ended the Second World War on the decks of the USS Missouri. It stood in that field on the day I was born and on the days my children were born. And, it stands just outside my fence-line, on my neighbors property, today. Now it was there before the pool next door was built and before someone decided to turn that piece of ground into a pristine residential lawn. Somehow, someway I’ve got it figured that trees have the right to stand there until they expire of natural causes. What a shame it would be to cull it from existence because of a foolish and prideful desire to please someone’s sensibilities.
OK, I admit it is just a tree. Perhaps I am taking this much too far. After all, the desires of the human creatures on this planet should be paramount to that of a simple plant. The world would not be diminished if they were to cut it down. So, why, pray tell, am I so offended by the thought?
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