I went out to do some last-minute holiday errands today when I came across four very sad and little evergreens, leaning pathetically against the outside of a well-known, and not always well-thought-of, big box store. A week ago, in this same spot, there was a whole crowd of trees, puffing up their branches when someone walked by, like a prostitute on the corner saying “take me, take me.” And so they got taken – all but these four little waifs, branches splayed downward in defeat, huddling together against the bitter wind and piercing lake effect snow.
I thought of them two, three, and more months ago, how they wafted resplendent in warm breezes, basked under shimmering sunlight, and offered their fledging pinecones to anyone who asked.
Look at them now … I felt an errant tear slither down my face, freezing in midstream, and despite many choruses chastising us for our artificial tree, perhaps if more people opted for the tree in the box we’d have more, healthy and beautiful trees gracing the lands where they are meant to be.
madmuser 