Cherry Bomb

The image at the top of this posting is my neighbor Dan's side yard. What is missing is a cherry tree which is been dead for at least 7 years maybe 10. I have been coveting and watching this tree all these years. My neighbor Dan is a pretty good guy. He's been very helpful to me and Diane when we have needed help with any number of things from jumping my van to picking up things I can't lift by myself, particularly in the garage. We've had a pretty good relationship over the years. That is why I was a bit surprised and Confused when the other day I noticed the tree toppled over.

I have been patient for nearly a decade to get few branches of this tree. It's a cherry tree and I love cherry wood. I was hoping to make some sticks and who knows what else out of some of these limbs. I even talked to Dan a couple months ago when I got a feeling he might be getting itchy to remove this tree. He was very cordial as I knew he would be and I continued to wait and be patient.

I should have gone over the very second I noticed the tree was laying on its side. Thinking back I saw the tree was no longer standing but it did not register for a day or so and then I saw, indeed the tree was down. I figured I had time. It was the middle of the week when I noticed and I figured that Dan would do nothing until the weekend. Shame on me.

We have not been super close but close enough that we've been able to call on each other in rather touchy situations. We had a hard time mowing our yard last summer and Dan sent over a Tongan lawn crew to mow my yard without even telling me. I was appreciative at first, and still am, but still it made me realize the neighbourhood was watching my yard and probably me. That's cool. Dan also asked Dianne and to testify in Dan's behalf when he was going through a custody battle in tough divorce. We have each other's backs. Neighborhoods being neighborhoods it's interesting. We have spent a great deal of time on our front deck / ramp which looks directly on to Dan's house the back of his house. We see each other all the time me on the ramp and then going and coming from this house. Granted, like many of the homes in this area probably all the homes except for a few none of them are wheelchair accessible. But wonder what we would have been like had Dan's home been accessible. Would we have been closer friends / Neighbors?

This morning I noticed with a hollow feeling the tree that was lying down, the tree today so coveted branch , limb was gone entirely. I sighed and accepted my fate I'm never getting my coveted cherry wood.

So, I will still wave every morning and evening make small talk , wish Dan, happy holidays and realize streets make good neighbors.