In 1969, I was enjoying my life as a lobbyist in Washington for the great AT&T Company.  As summer was about to turn into fall, the great AT&T Company decided that my talents were needed back in New York.  Time was short as my two children were required to return to school.  When I came from Washington to look for houses in the New York area, I gravitated to a town called New Providence where I had lived for 11 years before.  New Providence is a lovely town.  As it turned out, in August of 1969 there were no houses for sale that suited us.  And so it was that a middle-aged female realtor showed me a house in Short Hills.  That house was located in Millburn Township, which has a superior school system and was also on the Lackawanna Railroad which provided reliable transportation to my office in lower Manhattan.  And so it was that I bought this house for $69,000.
When we moved into this house, I noticed a sickly maple tree in the back garden.  One way or another, I decided that the maple tree had to live and I devoted time and the efforts of forestry companies to see to it that the tree lived.  Two of them told me that the tree should be destroyed.  I said, “No way.”
I cannot say that the tree thrived.  The tree survived though, growing into a small maple tree in our back yard.  That was acceptable to me.  But as life has gone on, the maple tree has been subjected to root watering and feeding in an effort to promote its growth.  Unfortunately the squirrels in the neighborhood have taken, over the years, to climbing that tree in an effort to reach the back porch roof.  The squirrels launch themselves from the limbs on that tree toward the back porch roof.  That tends to denude the maple tree, and I am left with the hope that in future seasons that maple tree will recover.
The fact is that over the years, the squirrels still use that tree as a launching pad to reach the back porch roof and the bird feeder.  I suppose that over the years I have devoted as much as $3,000 to preserving the life of that tree.  It is still not a robust specimen.   One way or another that tree has become my tree.  So the little maple tree was treated again by the Stonehouse Tree Service this spring.  The squirrels still use it as a launching pad, which denudes the tree.  For the 43 years that I have owned this house, my maple tree has always come back.  For the past ten years it has also served to hold the hummingbird feeder.  The two hummingbirds that we support seem to join me in the desire to keep the little maple tree alive.  No one should go against the wishes of hummingbirds.
I know that the maple tree will not last forever.  But I also know that I am determined to keep that tree alive while I am still here.  I think it is fair to conclude that the sickly maple tree in the back yard signifies my desire to hold onto my life until it is time to go.
I am happy to report that at this early stage of the summer of 2012, it seems to be doing quite well.  But I know, as does this maple tree, that sooner or later its time will be up.  Perhaps this is in keeping with the words of Ecclesiastes from the Bible, who holds in the second verse of his admonition that there is a time to be born and a time to die.  I know that the tree will not last forever, but I hope that it does not die before I am gone.  And if this qualifies me as a tree hugger, I will say that that is quite right and I am happy in that description of me.
E. E. CARR
July 4, 2012
Essay 676
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Kevin’s commentary:
Turns out Pop is a hippie. Who woulda guessed?
Seriously though, visiting my grandparents is always fun because of the crazy amount of wildlife in their backyard. One usually does no associate New Jersey with wildlife, but between the birds and the squirrels and the chipmunks the yard is basically teeming with various fauna. Hell, I didn’t even know fireflies existed till I spent my first night at Pop’s place, I’m pretty sure. I haven’t seen them there recently though, which is unfortunate. Nevertheless I’m of the opinion that fireflies are great and will always remind me of my childhood.
I suppose it’s then fair to conclude that I’ve also spent a decent amount of time around the maple tree in question, but I am not sure I ever noticed that it was special. I feel that this is probably a good thing — if it were noticeably decaying, I may have said something about it. As I don’t normally comment on trees, the fact that I never had anything to say about this one is likely a testament to the amount of care it has received.
Pop’s response:
Hey Kevin,
The maple tree in question has a mission in life – it holds the hummingbird feeder and the wind chime.
The little maple tree says it is in good health these days.  That little maple tree and I thank you for your generous comments.
Ezra – Pop