To My Beautiful Six Ash Trees:

Do you remember that wonderful day so many years ago when Checkered and I became your guardians?  We were so happy to own not one tree, but six of you!  You were all grace and shade and weird groans, but you really broke our hearts when we learned that you were lousy listeners.

Now I know that you were of a mature age when we met, but we still felt responsible for your well-being and future.  We made a promise to support you in your decisions and we found a peace in our symbiotic relationship.  A little shade and breeze from you;  a little pruning from us.

Then we noticed how some of your cousins were behaving.  We saw the wild partying, the thirst for independence, the sassiness!  And then we saw their guardians reduced to raw emotion as your tree cousins were eradicated from our town.  And we feared for you.

We warned you about this beautiful guy (image courtesy of http://www.gurnee.il.us/public_works/images/EmeraldAshBorer_lg.gif)/



We told you he was nothing but trouble.  A real heart breaker.  We begged you not to be lulled by his looks or his quiet anassuming manner.  He was a scroundrel of the worst sort.

We talked with you about choosing the right friends.  We nagged you about your lifestyle.  We tried to bribe you into submission, but it was too late.  You were alreadly deeply under his spell.

And no begging, no yelling, no crying on our part could seperate you once you decided to move in together. 

It hurt to see you neglect your job.   It hurt when the neighbors gossiped about you.  It hurt when the doctor told us  it was too late to save you.

So here we are, your guardians, remembering that last look of sick you:


  There will be no more trees to shade us or cool us down (but there might be trampoline to raise the ire of our insurer.)  In years to come, we'll tell our children about you and your beauty and how your poor choice of a roommate ultimately brought you down.  Then we'll wipe our tears and walk over to our six new wood piles and add another of your logs to the fire. 



Yup, we're really going to miss you.

Sincerely,
Ma and Pa Flag