Our own personal Caligula, Dick Cheney is hospitalized. Multiple hundreds of people are being killed in Iraq. My own life is in moderate to heavy discombobulation, and I feel really energized right now because I saved a 50 year-old shade tree today from the city-contracted tree killers. I know. Some will say, "pah..." I'm a nothing. I'm just one of those tree-hugging liberal commie socialist godless heathens... but I feel damn good.
Not only did I save the tree, but I made contact with the local free paper... The Observer... they sorely need volunteer web work which I can do, and they were delighted to hear from me. My wage... they print my rant on the cutting of ALL the parkway trees in my block. If I hadn't been home today, and seen the landscaping contractors measuring the trunk of my 50 year-old Brazillian pepper tree.. oh my gosh... but I was and had been watching them take out the west side of the street since 7 AM. I ran out. I said: "I don't want this tree cut down". Feeling powerful since seeing "The Incredibles" movie last night. (See it! LOL...) The foreman, a nice man said: "You don't want me to cut it down? I won't." I was amazed. It is the only old parkway tree left on my block as I type now, and I can still hear the chain saws gnawing away. Fucking tree killers. I went out with my very nice Canon digital camera and took a lot of pictures. I sent a small blurb off with two photos to the Observer ... they are going to press tomorrow. The photo above is one that I sent...
I feel like quoting a Paul Simon lyric... I must.
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease.
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees.
Oh, but it's all right, it's all right
For we've lived so well so long...
Still, when I think of the road we're travelin' on
I wonder what's gone wrong...
I can't help it I wonder
What's gone wrong.
I'm so pissed off about the arrogance and short-sightedness of the "city", that I can hardly type... ok... I'm exaggerating. I CAN type. But, some of the neighbors came out after I'd made a nuisance of myself and saved the big pepper tree... at least for awhile. Some of the neighbors are not happy either. We were not notified that they were going to take them out. It is usually what the city does when they get a hunger for trees... They send a form letter. Yet, my city prides itself on being a tree city... supposedly... The new city council, for whom I actually cast a ballot... two of my candidates were elected. Pffft ... I'm putting them on notice here and in the local paper... quit fucking with the trees to save two bucks on tree trimming you idiots!
My Think Globally, Act Locally for today.
