(I was away last week, enjoying a vacation in Hilton Head, SC. Came home with a horrible case of sinusitis, ear infections, laryngitis. That’ll teach me to take a vacation! Anyway, I’m back, and taking the week off while I recover from this ugly mess.)
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
The little boy, hands stuffed like balls into his front pockets, kicked his way through the wood, bark, and sawdust. His tree. His friend, shelter, confidante. It was hacked down and sliced like bologna, because some kind of disease had made it weak. Sick. Dead.
Life just isn’t fair.
Just Writing! 
Well done in so few words. Poor little guy. But better a tree than a beloved pet to learn your very first lesson in “Mortality 101.” 🙂
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A model of brevity
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: (…I can understand, that he is sad…some trees are special and the belong to our life…if they are gone, there is a bit of our life gone and it remains only memory.
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I had a tree like that. Loved it, don’t know if it’s still alive.
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I also have a tree, which stands a bit away from the forest in front of my parents’ house. The bear-tree (he looked from our door like a big bear from the side) …. He is still standing there, but once the lightning has hit and now he is no longer a bear. Alone this fact made me sad at the time.
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Aw. Poor tree.
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this is also ten years ago now…the tree is fine just look a little bit different now…; )
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Brutal and brief. Hope he finds another tree – and you get another vacation 🙂
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Thanks, Lain 🙂
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Dear Linda,
Poor kid. At least it was a tree and not a human. Those lessons will come along soon enough. Nicely done. Hope you’re on the mend.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle. Still feeling pretty sick, but the meds should be helping me turn a corner soon.
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At least your sinusitis gave your some inspiration
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Ha! Maybe because I’ve used up at least a tree’s worth of tissues 🙂
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So sad for his feeling of loss , even though it was a tree.
I hope you get well soon.
Take care. 🙂
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Thanks, Moon. Doing my best.
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…But then he discovered girls (What tree?)
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haha, o.k. this depends on HIM. If his interest going to grls, may be he will forget the tree for some time, but the memory will come back one time….I´m sure, because he had big emotions, and big emotions you do not forget!
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Funny, Martin 🙂
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No, it sure isn’t.
Why is everyone getting sick right now? My ears started to ache the other day and now my wife has me rubbing all these oils around them. Oy.
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It’s the least wonderful time of the year 🙂 Lavender oil on a cotton ball stuffed into your ears when you go to bed will relieve the itch. It’s working for me.
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Hope that the boy grows up to plant lots of trees, and that you are soon on the mend,
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Thank you, Michael.
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I guess it’s a good life lesson learned early – life is not always fair! I feel for him though.
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It’s something we all have to learn, isn’t it?
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Very true
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If it’s any consolation, at least the disease won’t be spread to others by this particular tree. Scant consolation though. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
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Thanks, Sandra. It’s slow going. I’d hoped for a bit of a turnaround by now. Maybe another day.
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Hope you start feeling better soon! And nice story; I can picture the little boy so clearly in my head, and almost taste his sadness at losing his oldest friend.
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Thanks so much. The medication seems slow in doing its job, but maybe I’m just impatient.
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An important lesson learned at a young age.
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Feel better, Linda!
We went along similar lines this week. Better one tree than a whole forest – small consolation when you are a boy, though.
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Yes, but you don’t see that when you’re a child. I had a tree that I loved, but we moved away when I was young. I’m sure it’s gone by now.
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What a picture you create of the boy, hands stuffed in pockets, kicking his way through the debris. Nicely written, Linda!
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Thanks, Penny. I had three sons 🙂
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Personal experience is invaluable in forging a true-to-life description, isn’t it?
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No, life isn’t fair at all…. great story. Thought about writing something like this, but the Dayquil has my mind slurred.
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Oh, boy, do I ever understand that!
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poignant story. hopefully, he can find another tree to replace it.
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Succinct summing up and you nailed it. Life isn’t fair. A good life lesson to learn.
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No it isn’t. Get well soon granonine 🙂
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Thanks. Working on it 🙂
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I’m sure many of us talk to trees. We think they’ll be there for us forever but their lives end too.
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A sad truth. My husband is fascinated with bristlecone pines, and I think it’s partly because of their longevity.
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A perceptive write. Get well soon.
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Thanks. Working on it 🙂
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Very well conveyed in so few words! Hope you feel better soon.
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Thanks, Claire. Wrking on it 🙂
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True, life isn’t fair. A good lesson learned.
Pray that you’ll be feeling better soon, Linda.
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Short and sweet story. Get well soon Linda. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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So sad.
Feel better!
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Nice! @sheilamgood at Cow Pasture Chronicles
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Life definitely isn’t fair. Only the strong survive.
I think you’re one of those workaholics Russell talks about on his post. Seeing as time off made you sick! Hope you get better soon!
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Thanks, Fatima 🙂
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Aww my heart goes out to him. Hope you feel better soon Linda 🙂
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I think this is one sad to grasp… a sick tree is sad, but sick woods is a tragedy… a lesson to the small boy.
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A child doesn’t usually grasp the bigger picture–just that which affects him personally.
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Linda,, loved loved loved the story. Sorry to hear you are feeling poorly. Pace yourself.
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Working on it, Dan. Still struggling with a sore throat and laryngitis. Tired of this.
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Life is definitely not fair and it’s a hard lesson to learn. Feel better soon!
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