It's only been a few months since I had a commute longer than going to my basement. And even though it's only been weeks, I noticed big changes as I turned off Redwood Road at 1940 West and returned to my old work location for a meeting. The biggest change was any living plant that once lived on that corner is gone.
And so is the big old tree.
Whenever I took the train home, I walked by that tree and I marveled at its longevity. I even blogged about it back in 2016 (you can access that blog post: HERE). I'm not an aborist so I didn't know how old the tree was, but for it to have survived on a busy downtown corner for years, probably decades means something. I thought it was a beautiful tree.
I'm not one to put the life of a tree over progress. I understand it had to come down. Without knowing the facts, I'll bet if they even could keep the tree, the cost would be very high. Plus, it's likely they couldn't have saved it even if they wanted to. My guess is, once the project is done, they will possibly plant many trees around the apartment complex and in a few decades, they'll be as tall and as beautiful as the one that's no longer there.
Progress is wonderful, but it can hurt. Just as growing old comes with it the advantage of wisdom and experience, it also brings the downside of aging. Just like the tree (and the apartment building that resulted in its demise...), everything we now know will one day be gone, the tree, the buildings, the light rail tracks, the roads--all of it, gone, replaced or destroyed or taken over by nature.
It's progress.
In my 2016 blog post I predicted the tree would not survive if they put in a new building. I also predicted how I would feel if that were to happen. Telecommuting has advantages and disadvantages. I'm glad I won't have to drive by the corner where the tree once stood. I think it would make me sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment