Dazed and confused? Not me. I’m just Lost in the Cheese Aisle.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

DYING OF A BROKEN HEARTWOOD

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and those crushed in spirit, He saves.” - Psalms 34:18

Fallen Oak in Sharon
The grieving widow falls: The second of the mighty Twin Oaks of Sharon, Connecticut has passed on.  [Photo: Ruth Epstein, Waterbury Republican American]

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about the unfortunate loss of one of the Twin Oaks of Sharon, Connecticut.

For over two centuries, the Twin Oaks held court over a quiet field.  Saplings during the Revolutionary War, they managed to survive over ten score years’ worth of storms.  Hurricanes, blizzards, hail... nothing fazed the Twins until last fall, when Hurricane Sandy dealt a mortal blow to the northern oak.

Alas, this afternoon the Mistress of Sarcasm called to inform me of more sad news: The remaining oak now belongs to the ages.  As reported in the Waterbury Republican American this Sunday past, the second tree - the Widow of Sharon, if you will -  cracked and tumbled to the ground sometime Friday night.

Sad to say, nothing lasts forever.  People, trees, love, a good cigar - all eventually are buried in the Sands o’ Time.  As I said in that last post, in the fullness of time, nothing endures. It is for us to enjoy things while we are able to do so... including the sight of majestic trees.

Anecdotal evidence tells us that people can die of a broken heart - the stress and grief occasioned by the loss of a loved one - and there may even be a scientific basis for that belief.  Cases of a spouse passing away soon after the death of a loved one are, seemingly, not all that unusual.  But this may be the first case in recent memory of a tree being so affected.

Ave atque vale, O grieving Tree-Widow!  How must we mourn you, you who died of a broken heartwood!

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