Entry 19: Save The Tree
Love or money? A dilemma I'm constantly faced with.
My class has their little get together spots in the neighborhood. Places to not only hang out, but avoid our irksome families from time to time.
Gerald field, the park, the pier, and this tree as old as Ms. Slovak...Mighty Pete.
The class enjoyed spending their free time in what I have to admit wasn't such a bad looking treehouse they had all put together.
One day, everyone up there couldn't help but overhear someone speaking about the removal of the tree and future construction work being done on the premises.
"That tree is going down!"
The group then came down to read demolition was being done that Friday. Of course, my beloved was ready to take action.
"We've got to do something you guys!"
Pttss...sure we've GOT to do something. That doesn't mean we CAN, bucko!
After watching the group bail on Arnold, I show my face to catch a glimpse at what the commotion was all about.
Taking a look at the sign that announced the upcoming tragedy, I took a look to read the name of the careless fiends behind these scheme. Who was it? Pttss...who else?
"Big Bob's Beepers?"
I raced home to see Bob happily sitting in front of the tv, not caring about the inconveniences his business plans may be leading to.
"Dad! Is it true?"
"No, it's just a bunch of made up nonsense."
"No DAD. I mean the tree! Are you really going to tear it down?"
"Oh absolutely!"
My insisting on how much that spot meant to us all in no way mattered to the workaholic. My heartfelt pleas for him to reconsider were outweighed by his business decisions.
Yeah the thought of being rich, famous, and having everything Princess is always bragging about, minus the attitude, would be a dream come true. What good would any of that do me though, if it meant hurting the one thing I truly care about…
Having felt there was nothing I could do to stop him, I reluctantly took Bob's side. Hey, what could I do? Like the rest of Arnoldo's friends had said 'We're only kids.'
Well, that didn't stop the football head from trying every trick in the protestor's book to put a damper on Bob's plan.
From posters, to fliers, to parading around in my front yard dressed like a goofy impression of the one hundred year old plant.
I listened to them bark out ridiculous rhymes they believed would actually change the mind of a selfish businessman like Bob, until finally…
"That's it! I'm turning on the hose!"
Watching that arrogant man turn his hose on my beloved down was like feeling someone take a knife to my heart. Something dear to Arnold was about to be taken away from him, and my siding with Bob didn't make me feel any better than it made me look.
The night before the tree was to come down at last came and no one was able to sleep. I heard Bob anxiously leaving the house as midnight approached. The man must have his own private stash of coffee hidden somewhere, after seeing the way Miriam goes through it! Criminy!
Having made up my mind on who I would side with, I raced to the tree to see Bob already on a tractor with whoever the heck that guy is he's always doing business deals with. Yet, they never work out for him? What kind of go to guy is he?
Seeing I wasn't too late, I raced past the salesman, seeing my love climbing the perennial plant, as I screamed…
"Arnold wait!"
"Helga? I thought you were siding with your dad on this one?"
"Uhhh no. It's not like I'm siding with you or anything. It's just that my dad's been bugging me lately."
I climbed the tree, watching a look form on Bob's face that implied I had just betrayed him. Glad I could give him a taste of his own medicine!
He did prove to me however a bit of good parenting skills exist inside that thick business like skull of his.
As the group looked for things to throw in the tractor's path, I watched Bob struggle to stop it himself, after whoever that guy he was with decided to take down not only the tree, but whoever was in it. Again, what kind of partner was he?
I watched my friends grab whatever they could find until the only thing remaining was a useless cup.
"If I hit the lever, I think I can stop it!" said my optimistic beloved.
Of course, his hopeful thinking was no match for the laws of physics.
I watched the useless cup fly by the lever of the moving tractor, as I mocked my beloved for trying.
"If I hit the lever, I think I can stop it! Oh brother!"
The class took that as their que that the tree wasn't worth actually risking their lives for and began to head for the exit. That is, until someone as crazy as Bob is arrogant suddenly showed up.
The group turned their heads to see football head's lunatic grandmother pretending to be Tarzan. As crazy as she is, her plan to steal the tractor by playing the role of a pathetic cartoon character worked.
After watching the crazy old loon take off with Bob's business associate's cherished piece of equipment, my friends and I climbed down from the tree.
"You okay Olga?"
"It's Helga dad. Helga!"
Yeah, we're still working on that. I suppose I should just be grateful he was more concerned about me than his business spot.
The bump Bob had gotten on his head during his fight with his partner must have knocked some real sense into him. As we stood there under the tree, he turned to Arnold and said
"This tree deserves to live, I won't tear it down."
So, love or money? Although I chose love, as I always do, in the end it didn't seem to matter. Bob's plan failed and football head proved once again there's always hope for something… no matter how crazy the solution may be.
