MR FIX-IT

When I was growing up, there was always somebody to fix things. You know, make them work again--can openers, rusty saws, broken zippers, missing buttons. You name it, somebody could make it like new--or else, good enough to last a little longer.

That's what life was all about when I was growing up in the '40s. Money was tight. New stuff wasn't always available, even if we had the cash. Our country was recovering from The Great Depression, as well as finishing up World War II and then recovering from that.

So I think it's safe to say, we were a fix-it generation. Probably had been for a long time.

That's the up-side: fixing stuff so we could go on using it, not having to put out hard-earned cash for a replacement (always supposing a replacement was available), and having the satisfaction of doing it ourselves, or having it done by a family member or friend for a little bit of that hard-earned cash.

[As an aside--looking up "fix-it shop" on the Internet was a bust; there's a fairly recent (2017 publication) book based on a true story, and it's called The Fix-It Shop. Not what I wanted to know. Even Wikipedia let me down. Now that's bad.]

-----

So far, we're talking about fixing "things" that might have a little life left in them.

Let's move on--what about other "things" that can't be fixed? We're not talking about bicycles and cars and coffee pots. We're talking about situations--life stuff that happens--relationships that fail--you get the idea.

Here's an example:

Recently, we've noticed more trees are being cut down by the City. {My City is about 12K populationn.) Not an ideal situation, but sometimes, it's necessary: trees are diseased or dying, trees are rotting and are dangerous to people and buildings below, trees are in the way of overhead lines for utilities.

Okay. I'll agree that those are valid reasons for removing trees.

I do know that the City has often trimmed a tree to allow the overhead lines room, without removing the whole tree. The result may not be pretty, but the basic tree is still standing and the shade it provides may be less, but it's certainly there.

In the past two weeks, two trees on my block (a short block, quite a few trees for shade) were cut down completely. The trees were not diseased, dying, rotting, or dangerous. They were simply "in the way."

This was a tree two days ago

[As another aside: Do you know how long it takes a tree to grow to maturity so it provides shade? Obviously that depends on the type of tree, but a good estimate is ten-plus years. Many American tree species grow 1-2 feet per year.]

A few years ago, the City came to trim trees along the alley behind my house (lots of utility lines out there). They offered to take down one of my trees and "replace it with a new tree." Only ten feet away is a fully mature maple, twin to the "offensive" one, and I just looked at the man and said, why would I want a new tree? It would be small. I was almost speechless. Couldn't he see that a "new" tree would look idiotic beside a fully mature one?

They trimmed away a lot of my tree, but it's still standing and still provides shade over the back half of my house.

-----

Here's where we come to the fix-it part. How do you fix something you can't fix? You know what I mean, it's out of your control. You have no say in how the process works. There's no review board or appeal body to hear the complaint.

So I've come up with my own way of dealing with something I can't fix, or control, or even have a say in the process. And I assure you, it's legal.

I've decided to paint trees. Not the ones growing in the ground--just pictures of trees I see and like or admire or want to preserve in memory. I could take photos--in fact, I have quite a lot of tree photos in my phone--but I want/need to have a hands-on activity to preserve trees.

Will somebody come along and cut down the trees after I've painted them? Could be. Probably will. 

Does it matter? Certainly! I don't want those trees removed. But if I have no clout to have them preserved, then I can "save" them on watercolor paper.

-----

A year or so ago I decided to support Arbor Day Foundation. That charity helps replant areas that have been destroyed by wildfires and other disasters. 

Recent news stories about wildfires, especially in Canada and the western states in the U.S., have encouraged me to tell others about what we can do.

If you keep up with regular news, you'll know that climate change is impacted by changes in the natural habitat. Trees are a part of that habitat. My small contribution to replant trees won't make a huge difference. But that's not the point--it may not be huge, but it's something I can do. 

If I can't stop the City cutting down trees in my neighborhood, I can at least plant new trees somewhere in the world. 

-----

Today's post won't end with a positive spin--not much way I can make something good out of trees cut down to the ground. But I can quit taking for granted the world I live in. It may not last forever, but I want to enjoy it while it's here.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

It wasn't a small tree, was it?