I took a walk today in an area I used to walk in a lot when my niece was little. I used to take groups of the neighbors kids on what I called nature walks. We would walk through the surrounding neighborhoods. We would take pictures and smell flowers. I never allowed the kids to pick them they had to bend over if they wanted to smell them. The people in the area we used to walk in all knew me back then and they knew the kids that came with me would not damage their plants. They knew I would not allow it so they did not mind if they came right up on their lawns to smell the flowers or have a picture taken. Today I was back in that area for the first time in 2 years. I stopped walking there when I could no longer find children that were willing to listen and not destroy things. We (3 of my friends and I ) turned the corner from the ally at the end of the street to go up the street I used to make so many trips on. The first thing I saw when I turned was what was left of the once big beautiful shade tree in the back yard of the corner house. All the branches had been cut off there was not one single leaf left on it. In days gone bye that tree had a tire swing hanging on it, and a lot of shade under it. I guess when the kids grew up they decided they did not need a tire swing anymore. There had been quite a bit of pruning along this road. Some of it was nice and looked good some of it was a reallllllly bad idea. One of the saddest things was the fence post was gone. Mid way up the road there used to stand 1 lone split rail fence post with 4 rails coming out or the sides to the ground, and a flower bed behind it. It was a great place to take pictures, and if I was still making the walks I would miss it very much.
I should have known things on that road were going to start changing about 5 years ago when some new people moved into a house that had been vacant all summer. That house had the BEST pare tree I have ever seen in the back yard. The pares were sweet and juicy. They just melted in your mouth and the juice trickled down the back of your throat. The day I saw it was gone I wanted to cry. The previous owners had allowed me and the kids to go pick pares any time I wanted, because they knew I would not allow the kids to tare up the tree. I may have a clue why they cut it down. After the house standing empty all summer the fruit from the tree was falling to the ground making a pulpy mess of rotting sweet pare mush. This very sweet mixture attracted thousands of bees. I suspect the new owners saw it as more of a liability and a nuisance then a benefit. The sad part is if that was why it could have been avoided had I known. If the owners would have been willing to work with me I would have cleaned up the mess around the tree so the bees would have left , and I would have done it for nothing more then free pares whenever I wanted them. I would have went up in the late evening and worked on it after dark so the bees would not be there. I would have cleaned up all the rotting fruit from the ground and when I had it all cleaned up, I would have gotten the owners to hook up a hose so I could wash the residue away, but that is all speculation on my part. There could have been a different reason such as maybe they were allergic to it. If that is so I would not have been able to save it. I just think it is such a tragic loss. I have bought pares in the store that were not half as good as these were, and now it is gone.
I have never done well with change, and sudden changes are the worst. Lately there has been a lot of changes in my life and I see there may be a couple more down the road. I have been thinking and thinking, but I am not seeing any way to stop the next change I see in my future. Well you know what they say that which does not kill you makes you stronger. I can guaranty the changes in my future will not kill me. Here lately I have been doing a lot of thinking. It is so hard to make changes when you do not want to make them, but what you going to do life is all about change. That which can not evolve to meet the changes in its environment dies. Dinosaurs could tell you that if they were still here. I know what you are thinking dinosaurs can not talk , but in all the time between when they were here and now had they evolved they may speak real words by now had they lived.
Yea change is one thing no one can escape. Mountains ware away into dust. Flat areas become mountains. People are born they grow up get married have kids only to grow old and die. The world is constantly changing, and you either change with it or you die. As for me I am getting more exercise this year, and I am thinking about writing another book. Not many people know this because they are not published but I have written 3 books already and am working on 2 more. Ironic is it not my spelling is not good and I write. lol The thing is someone came up with a great little thing called spell check. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IF YOU WANT THEM BAD ENOUGH AND YOU ARE WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THEM, because the things constantly change.