The tree

The local college town recently cut down a lovely old tree to accommodate a traffic roundabout, an aberration that almost no one likes. One young protestor sat in and was arrested. My tribute to him, AS PUBLISHED ON 2/20, follows:

I would be extremely remiss if I failed to thank Mark Herrera for his courageous attempt to save the healthy sycamore tree that graced the community with its beauty and life-giving properties. His grasp of the issues involved is to be commended, and his concern for the future speaks well for those of his generation. Old trees, and we old folks appreciate what he is doing for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

With President Obama's announcement that oil is the energy of the past, we must be especially careful to preserve our trees and other vegetation so we can build and maintain our stagecoaches, and feed the horses who pull them. Of course, some believe that electric vehicles are the future, but how are we going to create that power? By burning oil or natural gas? Isn't coal a popular fuel for electric generation? Perhaps, someday, Herrera will have to protect the trees from that type of misuse, too.