April 8, 2007

• the God-tree

  the "Tree of Heaven" grows like a weed all over new jersey and the northeast in general.  find it along highways growing out of concrete or in other places where trees aren't supposed to grow.  it's difficult to eradicate; cut one limb off or even break off the whole trunk and it will sprout new branches within a few days.  when handled, its sapplings leave a distinctive odor on one's hands and clothing.   as the tree grows and gains in bulk, its huge branches, made of spongy, soft wood, have a tendency to break off and come crashing down, especially when agitated by high winds.  a neighbor of mine has one such tree growing in her yard.  late one night, i found myself jumping out of bed and running naked (it was summer) from one end of the apartment to the other.  a sudden loud crash had awoken me.  it turned out that one of the two main branches of her tree had fallen into my immediate neighbor's yard, crushing her above-ground swimming pool and backyard furniture.  and so began the deforestation of my backyard.  no more trees, just nice flat savannah on which to plant tomato and basil.  so, in the end, and not to be irreverent or anything like that, i got the point.  and who needs that kind of surprise, anyway?

  • 10:31 am
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