SOMEBODY CALL JENNA!

Hey, I saw in the news that Jenna Bush is getting married at the ranch in Crawford. Somebody needs to call her and tell her I have EXTENSIVE experience in wedding planning around Waco! I know the best vendors and I have tons of GREAT ideas! I could plan it all for her and REALLY I don't even want to be paid. I would love the fun of another "Ranch Wedding"! If you have never driven out to the ranch in Crawford, it is quite an experience! Crawford is just a "bump in the road"! We did eat at George's favorite local spot. I need to share that you do not want to stop if you are on a low fat diet. I had George's favorite burger and the trimmings. It was reminiscent of every "diner burger" I ever had. When you leave town and head out to "the ranch", it is almost a single lane road. I cannot imagine the droves of people getting to the wedding down that road. You are traveling through flat ranch country with mile upon mile of only ranches and an occasional house. You know you are getting near "the ranch" when you start seeing the signs instructing you TO NOT STOP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! When you finally get to the bend of the road where "the ranch" you really cannot see "the ranch" itself, only the road to it. Across the street is the house that the secret service stays in. It is really quite a sight and if you are ever out that way, you should make the pilgrimage. If you find out I am too busy to blog between now and May, you will know that Jenna heard of my expertise and gave me a call!

I wrote a little story a while back and actually forgot about it until I was looking through my files. Here it is-Looking for critiques!

THE MIGHTY OAKS

The early morning shadows revealed the majestic trees of the thick forest. The cool of the morning slowly warmed, as the golden sun began to rise in the sky and the woods came to life. There were birds darting between high limbs and the low underbrush which surrounded the trunks of the trees of every conceivable size. Rabbits appeared at the edge of the forest looking for dew covered grass and greenery to nibble on. The deer were slipping silently back into the thick undergrowth following a night of grazing and foraging for a meal. The stream in the center of the forest bubbled from the ground and trickled down the path worn by time and higher water from steady day long rains. The amazing forest was a paradise of flora, fauna, and creatures that all called it home.

In the middle of this thicket of trees there were two old, but magnificent oak trees. When you glanced at the trees and remembered that they had started as a little acorn, it was beyond your imagination how they had matured into the wonderful trees that they were today. The trees had sprouted from acorns that had missed the squirrels eager search and with the luck of rain and wind become buried under the thick mulch and tatch that covered the forest’s floor. The tiny trees had sprouted from the unlikely acorn and the rich soil and cool rains had nurtured the seedling into life. With odds certainly against them, the trees had grown and survived the many perils that surrounded them. Against all odds, the trees began the growth that brought them to the place that they stood today.

The two trees had grown as saplings not even in the sight of each other. Time had raised them up and spread their branches until they were within the shadow of each other. There were many trees in the forest and for a long time these two did not seem special or any different from the many others. As time marched on and seasons passed, the trees did their assigned tasks. They produced leaves which provided oxygen for all of the earth, they grew acorns which fed the forest’s animals and grew new trees, and when the days grew cool, their fallen leaves provided mulch and cover for the forest floor.

Now in their 6th decade in the forest, the two trees seemed as one, when you glanced from a distance. Their limbs were intertwined and their roots overlapped. What had begun as solitary trees had grown over the years into what seemed like one living organism. Sheltering each other from the strong winds, they shared the nutrients from common soil and water flowed to the roots of each tree in equal streams. The forest surrounding them was their neighborhood, but the space between the two trees was their home. The trees seemed to be dependent upon one another, which was a remarkable thing for trees.

There would come a day when one of the trees would meet the fate of all trees as they age. Lightning would strike, insects would invade, or some disease would attack the very life form of the tree. The once tall and majestic tree would begin to loose its life as time marched on. There would finally come the day when the majestic oak would fall to the forest floor, leaving behind the twin giant to survive alone.

The wonder of this sad time is that the fallen tree would provide the nutrients for the soil as it slowly returned to the place it had come from. The fallen tree would have cleared the sky and allowed the sunshine to fall on the partner tree. The water they had once shared would now be solely soaked up by the remaining tree. The tree had lost its life, but the remaining tree would survive even in the ghost of the shadow of its partner of so many years.

The forest would still be beautiful and the animals and plants would still remain, even with one tree gone. Seasons would pass and time would march on, with the remaining tree standing tall in the gap created with the fall of its mate. The lone tree was a testiment of two intertwined dependent lives that though separated were still a reflection of the years of living together. The void created would be filled with sunshine, flowers, and animals of the forest which was as it should be. The small oak sprouts that surrounded the giant old oak were a legacy of the oaks and the forest life that would go on as it always would. The forest, well the forest, would remain as it always had been and other giant oaks would grow and replace the others, just as it was intended to be. The forest would indeed live on.