Sad, how the things of man work out…
Each week Rochelle Wisoff-Fields posts a pic to write a 100 word story about.
This week it’s nothing to bark about…
© Sandra Crook
The Nature of Things
They cut me down and for what? What were they thinking?
I heard them say that they were going to build a house here.
Well, okay. I was here first, but I get it.
But they could have built around me. There is all this space.
But no, they cut me down.
I was here for two hundred years.
Two hundred years!
How old were they? Forty, maybe.
So they cut me down and then they don’t come back. It’s been 3 years.
I don’t get it.
Somebody grumbled about funding running out as they left…
Randy Mazie
The Writer's Village 
Dear Randy,
I hope they can get to the root of the problem. Bureaucratic branches no doubt. Seriously not funny but very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Enjoyed the puns. You’re getting quite good at it.
Randy
I saw the stump and thought of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Glad to see you did too.
I saw the stump and decided to stump on behalf of the stump.
Didn’t think of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, but glad that it reminded you of it. Great story. Love hIs work.
Randy
Dear Randy,
I’ve always found it strange how contractors seem to think they need to clear all the trees from an area in order to “develop” it. My spouse’s grandpa was a builder, and Grandma used to go out and tie ribbons on the trees she wanted left on the land. This always–ALWAYS increased the property values because when others in the neighborhood had no trees or mere saplings in their yard, the homes Grandpa built had full-grown trees for shade.
Good story, Randy! I hope people heed these warnings.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Marie, your thoughts are mine on this. There is little as sad to me as the empty, treeless lots waiting for buildings, which then require landscaping and trees, the latter which will take years and years to mature. Trees are precious, whether for what we are able to (sustainably) produce from them or “only” for their beauty, shade, and more.
janet
Good comments by both of you.
Janet – it’s funny when I saw your comments in my inbox and you wrote Marie, I thought you misspelled my last name (Mazie).
Marie – that’s a great story about your grandmother. She must of been a strong woman, and I like reading that your grandfather respected her wishes and choices.
Randy
Now that is some disgruntled stump. You get inside the voices of your protagonists beautifully, Randy.
Thank you.
Actually, the voices come into my head because there is not much in it.
Randy
We are so quick to destroy nature, but I do believe in the end it will bite us back. Good story and very true.
unfortunately, nature is already biting us back.
I recommend to grow some vines to throttle those destructive bastards…
You’re gonna throttle developers with vines?
Remind me to do something bad to you sometime if that’s the worst punishment you can come up with. Ha.
Randy
I agree with the stump.
He’s very convincing.
He’s quite a fellow – that stump.
He might run for politics. You know, stumping.
Randy
I would like to read a follow-up, revenge of the tree maybe?
It’s already in the works. I have movie rights being offered, too.
We’re considering calling it, “Trea-son”, but I’m not sure the public will get the pun.
Aww, poor stump!! This reminded me of the children’s book, The Giving Tree… Though the tree in that book was less disgruntled.
Was he? it’s been too long since I’ve read it. Maybe I should pick it up again.
Randy
My heart goes out to the stump.
the stump appreciates your heart, but would probably prefer some good fertilizer…
Randy
No problem, I’ll send over some cows to fertilize it. 🙂
😉
That’s both amusing and sad (sad both for the stump and in the wider context of the world and “progress”) at the same time. Nice story!
It’s not true. There is no tree. There are no developers. I made up the whole story. I wanted to amuse you as well as make you sad.
I’m glad I was able to achieve my goals.
But now you can feel better knowing that it wasn’t true at all.
Randy
Dear Randy,
The tree is stumped.
As well it should be. Very illustrative of humanity’s stupidity. Well written.
Aloha,
Doug
Illustrations of humanity’s stupidity are plentiful and diverse. There is no shortage of illustrations. It “branches” out all directions, and like a fruit tree – you can take your pick.
Randy.
There is a garden of very old trees being cut down in my town as we speak (or type!) because an old house was sold in an area that is zoned for commercial development. My neighbour is contracted with clearing the timber so I seen huge chunks of tree trunk go past my window several times per day as he moves the wood up to his barn for chopping. It’s hard to understand why their value is not appreciated
Some of the townspeople should’ve gone to the Town Council meeting and protested. If the Council still voted up the zoning, then the townies should have tied themselves to the trees and called in all the media that they could to save the trees.
Some people say you can’t fight “City Hall”, but my neighbors and I did with an issue that ran alongside our homes involving changing the land use of an easement – it took 5 years – but we won.
Randy
PS. Even if we had lost, it would have been worth it to have shown the Council that they can’t just do things without having repercussions. As it was, we voted 3 of the council members out.
Since this stump is still alive, it will have saplings. That will be the revenge of the tree. Great, sad story.
wow. That is such great hope.
That’s thinking outside the box (or in this case outside the stump). I love it.
Randy
Great barky voice. This sort of things happens too often. (There’s a development going up near us – they’ve already cut the trees down, dug up the earth releasing god knows how much CO2 into the atmosphere; the badgers and foxes will have gone; nestings disturbed. Money made.)
that last part is very disturbing – reading about how it has affected the animals that lived there.
Randy
Really creative to use the point of view of the three, loved it! So sad, and even more because this is a reality that happens way too often.
thanks for commenting on the creativity. It’s one of the great things that I love about writing. I think you’re a new writer to Friday Fictioneers? Welcome.
Randy
It is a great aspect!
Relatively, yes, I’ve written around three pices for this. Thanks a lot!
Loved the POV and glad to find more fans of Shel. I do think there are some sprouts coming up from those old roots… at least I hope so.
Me,too.
and yes, GO SHEL (even though he passed away a few years back).
What a stump! Too bad they can’t join together like those creepy trees in The Lord of the Rings and do some “revenge stomping” – whatever that may be.
Didn’t read Lord of the Rings, but I read that the Lord said, Revenge is mine…
Randy
Exactly! What were they thinking of? They could have done different. But…they didn’t. 😦
Lily
Story of mankind. We could have done differently, but we didn’t.
Randy
I love the voice of the stump, and the cry of woe at the end is brilliant – of course it’s a funding issue. Isn’t everything? Great story.
You should of heard the voice before it was a stump…
and yes, everything is the “f” word:
funding
Randy
It is still worst when they cut it down for some inane memorials. Like your take on this one.
Did you have any particular ones in mind?
Yes. In Lucknow, India the ruling govt had cut down more than 100,000 trees to build memorials that are called parks but are essentially 1000s of acres of stone in last two decades.
It has resulted in higher temperatures in summers and much lower temperatures in winters.
wow…
what were they thinking?
I doubt if they are capable of thinking. 😉
Bery creative to write from the point of view of the tree. Well done!
Just branching out a little.
Going out on a limb, so to speak.
Randy
Loved the trees perspective …..
being a stump, its a low down –
perspectively speaking.
Randy
Poor old tree. It could have shaded someone’s front lawn. It really isn’t fair. Well done, Randy. — Suzanne
Unfortunately, there isn’t too much that is fair.
Even for a tree.
Randy
Oh you have hit a nerve with this story. I hate it when developers clear a huge piece of land, demolish trees and hedgerows and then leave it to stagnate with months and months…
Well told, well done.
Thank you.