PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Dutch Uncle,
Well said. I once rented a house for a few years. It was old, flimsy, and heated up in the afternoons when the sun would mercilessly have it's way with the shallow roof. A neighbor had majestic oaks shading their place. They were happy to let me dig up a couple of squirrel-planted acorns which had sprouted in their yard. I transplanted them to the west of this house, knowing that I would be long gone before any of the hoped-for shade resulted.
15 years later I had occasion to drive by that old place and was amused to see that one of the oaks had taken and was doing exactly what I had envisioned for the house. The current renter was there so I stopped to chat a bit, telling him how much the place had struggled to stay comfy in the summer and what I had done. Naturally he thanked me up one side and down the other. One of the reasons he had decided to rent was because of the natural shade.
I never got to enjoy it, but it still felt good knowing that it was appreciated. Later, when I could afford it, I bought a place with shade trees of my own. I never knew who to thank for that shade.
A lot of that goes to culture. American values. Too many people value avarice over morality. Too many people are pushing for self-gratification instead of doing what's best for America. Too many people are willing to walk all over others in a quest for taking care of #1.
One of my favorite sayings is “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
Nowadays, we just buy a chinese-made canopy; movable, replaceable and doesn't need nurturing. As Pogo once famously said, "We've met the enemy and he is us".
Well said. I once rented a house for a few years. It was old, flimsy, and heated up in the afternoons when the sun would mercilessly have it's way with the shallow roof. A neighbor had majestic oaks shading their place. They were happy to let me dig up a couple of squirrel-planted acorns which had sprouted in their yard. I transplanted them to the west of this house, knowing that I would be long gone before any of the hoped-for shade resulted.
15 years later I had occasion to drive by that old place and was amused to see that one of the oaks had taken and was doing exactly what I had envisioned for the house. The current renter was there so I stopped to chat a bit, telling him how much the place had struggled to stay comfy in the summer and what I had done. Naturally he thanked me up one side and down the other. One of the reasons he had decided to rent was because of the natural shade.
I never got to enjoy it, but it still felt good knowing that it was appreciated. Later, when I could afford it, I bought a place with shade trees of my own. I never knew who to thank for that shade.
