And on a sadder and weirder note....

I'm sad because a tree called The Senator is dead. Burned. At first the investigator thought natural causes, but now they seem to be reversing the cause to arson. Weird, because I feel a loss at the death of a tree. But this tree was incredibly ancient - this tree was old when Jesus Christ was walking the earth. It was a regular school field trip for Central Florida kids. I remember going to see it once, around thirty years ago, and always thinking I'd have to stop by again someday. And decades passed, and I never did, and now it's gone. So maybe I'm taking this tree as more than just a tree, and a loss of the chance to do something I really did plan to get around to doing, one of these days, and now that chance is gone. Sometimes a tree is more than a tree, even a very old tree. Sometimes it's a smack upside the head to pay attention.

Oh, and though that story is from a Tampa source the tree was barely 20 minutes from my driveway if all the lights were red, and I drove past the park going to the courthouse, car dealerships, a dozen other regular stops. Somehow, never managed to make that turn at the light. Too many other important things to do. My head feels truly smacked upside.