Thursday, April 25, 2019

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. Mattie was 5 years old and he absolutely loved our floor to ceiling windows. He used the glass to do all sorts of decorating. You can see Mattie loved the birthday gift he received, because it allowed him to create all sorts of window creatures. 


Quote of the day: The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

In many ways, I wish there were things I could actively do to make our community healthier. But I have to work within the rules of the law and the processes put into place. Even processes that are ineffective. What am I talking about? Try graffiti and homeless encampments. PERVASIVE issues in the city. 

My days are very full, but I feel I have a responsibility as a citizen to report things that need improvement. The graffiti is bad enough (see this stuff in front of the Kennedy Center), but our streets are being taken over by homeless encampments. It isn't just a matter of our parks and open spaces being occupied by homeless people, but it is also the matter of going to the bathroom in our public spaces and the health concerns that alone brings. You know that rats eat feces! Homeless encampments also produce a lot of garbage, with food containers everywhere, and even fires. As make shift grills are used to cook under tents or in parks. I wrote to the City yet again today, and truly hoping that something results.

Meanwhile, Mattie's school sent me photos of his "grove." We call it a grove because there are now three Mattie trees growing and thriving. 

In 2010, the first oak tree was planted in the location you see here. Mattie loved oak trees, so that was a natural choice for us to select. However, that tree died from some sort of infection and then a Yellowwood Tree was planted. The Yellowwood Tree did not make it more than a year before it showed signs of trouble. 

However, that Yellowwood Tree was never removed. Look at it today, it made a come back.  

After the second tree had issues, we planted a third tree, another Yellowwood tree, in this new location, by the playground. However, this tree was practically cut in half by a terrible spring storm in 2018. It looked like it was dying. However, with time, this tree has also made a come back. 

This is Mattie's 4th tree, which is located not far from the tree above. We asked that a fourth tree be planted because the rest looked like they were dying. This is a White Swamp Oak. 

I am not sure what the moral of the story is, other than like Mattie, these trees don't give up. They persevere and have incredible strength. A great moral message. 

Around the base of the trees, we always plant bulbs in the Fall. So it is wonderful to see them sprout up in the spring and remind us that a new season is upon us.