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A tree doesn't grow in London

November 17, 2001 ~ 4:30 a.m.

The bastards cut down the tree out back. A perfectly good and healthy tree. Now it's gone. How could they do it? Who's to blame?

I will get around to answering that question. But all I know is that earlier this week, I arrived home from work, exhausted. I let myself into the apartment only to hear the whine of a buzz saw.

"How the hell am I going to sleep with that racket?" I said aloud to no-one but myself, and had a look out the window.

To my horror, the proud, leafy tree that stood at the edge of a yard, and which sheltered us from the backs of several houses on Versailles Road, was now just a stump about 15 feet high. They were continuing to whack away at its height, until they could finally tear its pathetic remains from the ground.

I was horrified. I wanted to cry. I believe I nearly did.

I cannot believe this obsessive attitude some homeowners have with just destroying nature when it doesn't suit their landscape plans. City developers rip up parkland to pave parking lots; yuppies tear down trees to add stone paths or water gardens. Different people and locations, but exact same circumstances. The nice folks down the street from you could have more in common with the corporate clear-cutters than you may think. Scary thought.

You might think that as a conservative, I would support one's right to do as they please. But, spare me, that is not what it means to be a conservative. To be conservative means to act responsibly. And believe me, I believe there is nothing more irresponsible than the wanton destruction of nature just because it doesn't suit someone's purposes. I will oppose that with a force you wouldn't want to question.

If you are a conservative, you must also be a conservationist. You realize the importance of nature and the role it plays in our world, human or otherwise. You respect all life, human or otherwise. Please, do not call yourself a conservative if you are not concerned with nature, because you're no conservative. You're just greedy and/or selfish, plain and simple. Better instead to take a page from Republican members of the Sierra Club.

That tree provided shade and shelter. It was home to a handsome wood pigeon. It gave off rich amounts of oxygen on steamy summer nights when I stuck my head out the window for relief from the humid apartment. Now it's gone. Now all I am treated to is a view of overgrown grass�funny how homeowners can cut down a tree because it conflicts with their garden, yet won't even cut their fucking grass�and the backs of houses. I preferred the shelter that the leafy branches provided.

It'll be interesting to see what these people do with their garden. Absolutely nothing, I'll bet. After all, they're not the ones who cut down the tree, the lazy shits. They had professionals do it.

Well, I am going to take my mind off this tragedy by lugging a sack of old newspapers and magazines up the hill to the recycling bins. That way, perhaps I can save a few trees. I just hope the trees I save won't be in someone's yard, because then, the point will be moot.

� M.E.M.

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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.

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