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The "Jesse" Tree

I suppose most of us (at least those of us who have spent any time in a rural environment) will recognize the following event:

A large, aged tree of great girth is sawed down (due to whatever cause)to the ground. All that remains is the raw, glaring stump, the base of the tree that once was. Yet, often within a season, or a year, or two years after then original tree was amputated from its stump and roots, a young, new, shoot will arise along that cut surface.

I am not actually sure of its origins, but my wonderful father always refered to this sort of occurance as being a "Jesse" Tree, and I think the image of this growing tree stump is very good as an analogy for our life.

For me, the tree can represent many things. These would include:

1. Our family. The stump and roots can symbolize how there will be some of that family that will remain even when the main body is no longer present in its full form. The new shoot is both NEW, but also OF THE OLD that came before it. By having the NEW be possible, it makes it bearable that the original may change. I think of my father often in this way. I miss him tremendously, and in some ways, I hope that I am like the Jesse tree... some of him in terms of manner, demeanor, and traits, but also my own individual. There is obviously also the genetic component as well.

2. Our idea of knowledge. Knowledge grows and arises from what has been discovered before. This is part of the idea of the scientific method. This notion of knowledge being a collective force for our world, our society, and ourselves is a critical idea and one that is parlayed every day in colleges and universities of science across the world. We learn and value and covet the past, both in recollection of the previous toil and effort, but also to be able to utilze this information as a springboard for our own awakening and discovery of new knowledge.

3. Our Love. The "Jesse" tree can help to make harsh realities a little less so, for I think the one aspect of life that this mimics well is LOVE. Love between family and friends is so precious and vital. While original love, the love that initially bonds people in a family together is very unique and special, those who are fortunate to have such bonds (be they between husband and wife, between child and parent, between siblings, etc) also can wittness how the grow, develop and become new and even better over time.

Much of life is like the "Jesse" tree.

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My mother is doing well. Her weight has stayed stable since her return home. I do not like to relax and think everything will stay stable.... for if I do it almost inevitably that in doing so, I "jinx" it and a new disaster ensues.

My wife and I are working hard to experience as much joy as we can during this, the start of both the holiday season and the physical start of winter.

PipeTobacco