|
 When
old Joe Gilliam began digging that hole in his front yard, out there
close to the street, neighbors watched and wondered. When he got his
grandson to help him carry the shade tree sapling from his pickup to
the hole, people nodded.
Mystery solved. Old Joe’s planting a tree.
After removing the root mass from the five-gallon pot, the grandson
disappeared and Old Joe was left to care for the baby tree. He
carefully spread the tiny feeder roots out and tucked them in with
soil. Then he packed more dirt around the tree’s base and soaked it
well with the hose. No one else saw anything
odd in Joe planting that tree, either, but Joe’s been retired now
going on 20 years. He’s old and getting more frail each year. By the
time that sapling gets large enough to give homes to squirrels and
birds and shade to neighbors and a resting place for dogs, Joe will
have been long gone. [to top of second
column] |
Planting a tree is an
affirmation of faith in the future. It is a gift to those yet
unborn. It is a legacy of goodness, an old man’s prayer.
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
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