{"id":101,"date":"2014-12-02T17:40:53","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T17:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/?p=101"},"modified":"2014-12-02T17:40:53","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T17:40:53","slug":"harrys-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/harrys-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry’s Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"503<\/a>Harry Maddox\u2019s passion is to find the perfect redwood tree and\u00a0 transform it into the world\u2019s best suite of furniture, but Harry\u2019s epilepsy precludes him from having a driver\u2019s license and denies him access to the forest.\u00a0 Then Steve, a newcomer to Kinsale, goes to the senior center, meets Harry, and becomes infected by Harry\u2019s dedication and enthusiasm. Steve becomes Harry\u2019s mentor.\u00a0 He leads Harry on long hikes through the redwood forest in search of \u201cHarry\u2019s Tree,\u201d urges him on when weary, soothes him when patience wears thin, teaches him the values of preparation and practice, and protects him when the police become suspicious.\u00a0 The longer Steve and Harry search together, the more Harry contributes to other people\u2019s passions, and the more his view on life changes.<\/p>\n

[toggle title_open=”Close Excerpt 1″ title_closed=”Excerpt 1″ hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The front door of the Kinsale Senior Center opens into a lobby holding a couch and a pair of overstuffed chairs. A long hallway to the left leads to what once were classrooms but are now meeting rooms. The sign under the arrow reads \u201cceramics, computer, quilting, studio.\u201d To the right is an open room with an elevated stage at one end. When I arrived, the main floor was filled with perhaps twenty tables of bridge players. One man about my age was sitting in a lobby chair watching me.<\/p>\n

I said, \u201cGood morning. I\u2019m Steve Terwilliger. I\u2019ve just recently arrived from Denver. This is my first visit to the senior center.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man stood up and shook my hand. \u201cHarry, Harry Maddox. Glad to meet you.\u201d Harry was stocky and at least six inches shorter than my six foot two. What hair he had was white.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019re not a bridge player.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I play, but all those old women say I\u2019m crazy. What brings you to town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been looking for a place to retire. This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations. Come take a load off. Where\u2019d you find a place to live?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a house just down the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose little Victorians are cute when they\u2019re fixed up. I live just across the street. It\u2019s a nice neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sat in silence for a minute or two. I said, \u201cSo what system do you play that those women can\u2019t handle? Surely, not American Standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, my bridge is fine. It\u2019s just that they\u2019re tired of hearing me talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes. You see I\u2019m a man on a mission. I\u2019m looking for the perfect tree. Harry\u2019s Tree. And not just any tree but a redwood. It doesn\u2019t have to be too big or too tall, but it has to be perfect.\u201d He stood and started to pace to and fro in front of my chair. \u201cHarry\u2019s Tree will be straight. There\u2019ll be no twists, turns, lightning strikes, dead branches, or any flaws at all. The bark will be smooth and true.\u201d He waved his hands in a quarter circle. \u201cThe bark will twist clockwise exactly a quarter circle as it goes up the tree. That\u2019s the secret for knowing a redwood is well-bred and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t be expected to, you being from Denver. Anyway, the heart of the Harry\u2019s Tree will be the ideal dark red, not quite maroon, just a dark red. And the grain will be straight. Some folks like the knots and twists of the burl wood. Someone else can take that. It\u2019s the straight grain heartwood for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do with it when you find it?\u201d<\/p>\n

His speed picked up and his voice became almost a holler. \u201cThat\u2019s the best part. You see, I\u2019m going to take that perfect heartwood and turn Harry\u2019s Tree into the prettiest suite of furniture you have ever seen. They\u2019ll be enough wood to outfit the entire house. There\u2019ll be sofas and chairs for the living room and family room, coffee tables and lamp tables, a dining room table and chairs to go with it, a hutch to put all the matching dishes in, a country-style kitchen table and chairs, and then in the bedrooms there\u2019ll be canopy beds and dresser and chests of drawers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry, settle down.\u201d A stern, matronly looking iron gray-haired woman intercepted Harry\u2019s path, grabbed him by the upper arm, and led him back to his chair.
\n\u201cPlease excuse Harry. He does get excited when he talks about his tree. I\u2019m Sara Wilton, Secretary of the Kinsale Senior Center. I don\u2019t believe we\u2019ve met.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve Terwilliger. This is my first visit to your center.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome. I apologize for Harry. He is really a very nice man who gets carried away now and then. May I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Yes, if you could spare a few minutes, I\u2019d like to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bridge game will end in a few minutes. If you can wait, we can talk then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I watched her stride back into the main hall and then turned to Harry. \u201cShe seems a commanding woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe keeps an eye on me. I like that. It keeps me out of trouble sometimes. She can be harsh, but she means well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Harry, I take it you haven\u2019t found your tree yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sooo disappointing. Actually, I haven\u2019t even begun to look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took my driver\u2019s license away. No, no, not drinking or anything like that. I\u2019m an epileptic, though it\u2019s been some time since anything\u2019s happened to me. I can\u2019t say I blame them. It might be dangerous to me and others if something happened while I was driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one will take me into the forest. Some don\u2019t want to go with a crazy person and others don\u2019t want to have to deal with a fit if one comes on. I can\u2019t blame them, and I certainly don\u2019t want to be pushy. I\u2019m grateful to get driven here and there as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you go if someone drove you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry jumped up. \u201cWould you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see why not. I\u2019d like to walk in the redwoods, and don\u2019t have anything else to do until escrow closes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry was hugging me when Sara came back into the lobby. \u201cHarry, what are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

He let me go and turned to Sara. \u201cSteve\u2019s going to take me into the forest. I\u2019m going to find my tree.\u201d He stopped and slowly turned back toward me. \u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll pick you up at ten tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Harry was out of sight Sara said, \u201cAre you sure you want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure. Why not? The worse that can happen is I keep him from swallowing his tongue and have to carry him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. The worse thing that can happen is to have to listen to him the whole time you\u2019re with him.\u201d She paused. \u201cWhat did you wish to talk to me about?\u201d<\/p>\n

I waved to her to sit down. \u201cI just bought a house right down the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Doll House area?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It\u2019s one of the originals, a fix-it project. Please don\u2019t think me as crazy as Harry, but I want to make it into a doll house, something apropos to the neighborhood. I\u2019d like to talk to someone who knows something about doll houses to give me some guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery fatherly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it traditional for a father to build a doll house for his daughter to decorate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t thought about it that way. I just thought I need some advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sara paused for a few minutes. \u201cLet me think about it. I know the women here in the senior center, but it\u2019s not a subject we\u2019ve talked about. I\u2019ll talk to a few people and see what I can come up with for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She rose from the chair. \u201cAgain, welcome to the Kinsale Senior Center. Don\u2019t forget to fill in the membership form and pay your dues.\u201d[\/toggle]<\/p>\n

[toggle title_open=”Close Excerpt 2″ title_closed=”Excerpt 2″ hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The next morning Harry was sitting on the steps of the senior center when I arrived at five-to-ten. He jumped up and got to the car before I stopped. \u201cThanks for coming. I was afraid you wouldn\u2019t. Where are we going to go to look?\u201d
\n\u201cI surfed the Internet last night. There\u2019s a lot of places right here in Santa Christina County. Here\u2019s a short list.\u201d I handed him a computer printout. \u201cI\u2019d recommend we start by walking in Naperson-Morris State Park.\u201d
\nHarry got in to my car and buckled his seatbelt. \u201cI didn\u2019t imagine finding my tree in a park.\u201d
\n\u201cProbably not. But since neither one of us has ever looked, I thought it would be good practice.\u201d
\n\u201cGood idea. Let\u2019s go.\u201d
\nThe entrance to the park was only a five-minute drive from the senior center. Harry insisted on paying the two dollar day-use fee, and then studied the trial guide until we reached the parking area at the end of the road. Neither of us had dressed for serious hiking; we both wore tennis shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt. Harry didn\u2019t have a hat. We didn\u2019t carry anything, not even water. Harry pointed to the trailhead and said, \u201cThis way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trail was broad, flat, and gently graded. Harry looked from the trail guide and said, \u201cThis trail was one of the original logging roads. They brought Chinese labor in to build roads like this to allow the huge first-growth redwood logs to be carted out by oxen. The surrounding area was first logged in the 1870\u2019s, but farther in it was logged in the early 1900\u2019s. We\u2019re walking in Ayre Canyon. Most of it was logged right after the 1906 earthquake. Ayre Creek redwood was used to rebuild most of San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew all that?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cNope, it\u2019s in the pamphlet.\u201d<\/p>\n

After about fifty yards we came to a stand of six redwoods. Harry looked at them and said, \u201cThese six are growing in a circle. When the old loggers worked here they couldn\u2019t cut the trees at ground level, the burl made it far too thick for the equipment they had. So they cut them ten to twenty feet up from the ground. That didn\u2019t kill the trees; they just sent up new shoots all around the edge of the burl. That\u2019s why they grow in a circle, and that\u2019s why these got so tall in such a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the little trees started with a mature root system. They didn\u2019t have to spend a couple of hundred years growing roots. It makes for a nice forest today but none of these trees will do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause they\u2019re not perfect. Look at the branch development. They don\u2019t grow toward their cousins. The trees are lopsided. Further more, they\u2019re not quite straight. They lean away from the others. This kind just won\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Harry, there are no old-growth trees anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOld growth doesn\u2019t matter. What matters is that the tree was grown from seed. Then it has a chance of not being misshapen by its neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

We walked in silence for ten minutes. I saw several rings, or partial rings, of redwoods but none standing alone until we reached an area of oak and redwood. Harry said, \u201cAh, this is more, like it. Redwood saplings usually don\u2019t do well without shade, and oaks provide the most reliable source. They\u2019re the climax tree in all the forests around here that don\u2019t support redwoods. They might be two hundred years old before a redwood will drive them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

I counted sixteen redwoods mixed with the oaks; none of them reaching more than twenty feet above the tallest oak. \u201cDo the oaks retard the redwoods? These look small.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all. This just means that all these redwoods started growing about the same time. I\u2019d guess they\u2019re one hundred years old, maybe a bit more. These oaks would have been about big enough to provide the needed shade about then. I\u2019d say about fifty years before that there was a fire here that created a clearing. Then the bay trees filled in enough to give the oaks the dappled shade they need, and then the redwoods arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA fire?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. The native Indians often used controlled burns to clear patches of land. I\u2019ll bet if we dug around here we\u2019d find some Miwak artifacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiwak?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe local Indians.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked carefully at the redwoods. \u201cDo you see anything you like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some nice looking specimens here, but they\u2019re all too small. They wouldn\u2019t have enough of the red heartwood. This is the kind of grove we\u2019re looking for, but the trees have to be bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are pretty big.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBig for an eastern forest, maybe even big for a Rocky Mountain forest, but not for a redwood forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the height, Steve, it\u2019s the diameter. A redwood could be the same height as these and be twice as thick. That would be a candidate. The thing about this grove is the way the trees are distributed. They\u2019re not in a ring. They\u2019re scattered randomly about fifty feet apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know a lot about the redwoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve studied them, read books, looked at pictures. I\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

We walked on for another twenty minutes before we turned back toward the car. Harry\u2019s pace slowed noticeably. \u201cAre you feeling okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, yes, don\u2019t worry about me. I was so keyed up. I overdid it. It\u2019s so exciting to actually start to look for what you\u2019ve dreamed of for so long.\u201d We walked on for another ten minutes. \u201cYou know, Steve, you were right. Being out among them really made a difference. I thought I knew all about the redwood forest, but reading books just isn\u2019t the same. I did need to practice. Thanks for helping me. But now I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not going to find my tree in a park. I\u2019m going to have to hike back into the mountains, really get deep into the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure? It\u2019s one thing to predict where your tree might be. It\u2019s another to be able to hike ten miles a day. You\u2019re no spring chicken, Harry. Are you in shape for it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but no problem. I\u2019ll just get in shape. How hard can it be to get in shape for a ten-mile walk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not me, Steve, I\u2019ll do it. It\u2019s you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going with me, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

I stopped and sat down on a log and thought about the prospects. Harry couldn\u2019t go by himself. He couldn\u2019t get to the trail head and he needed someone with him if something happened. There were trails in the mountains but most of the terrain was wild. Searching for a special tree would mean some true wilderness hiking. It wasn\u2019t just ten miles along a flat logging-road; it was ten miles through mountain wilderness. I hadn\u2019t been in shape to do that for forty years.
\nHarry said, \u201cIf you\u2019re worried about the gear we\u2019ll need, don\u2019t. I\u2019ll pay for everything. If you\u2019re worried about getting in shape for it, if you were ever in shape for it once, you can do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been forty years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, too. But we can do it. Just think how good you\u2019ll feel once you\u2019ve done it. We\u2019ll start slowly and build up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry, I\u2019m too old to spend hours in a gym trying to get in shape. Life is too short for that. Nothing is as boring as walking on a treadmill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree. We\u2019ll shape up by walking in the woods. We\u2019ll go until we get tired, and then the next time we\u2019ll go a little further. We\u2019ll get in shape faster that way. We\u2019ll make it fun. And you never know, maybe we\u2019ll get lucky and find my tree quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really think you can do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can, and I\u2019m betting you can too.\u201d<\/p>\n

I got up and started down the trail. Neither of us spoke until we were fastened in our seat belts. \u201cHarry, how do you feel? Stiff? Sore? Today was just a stroll. What you\u2019re proposing is far worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great about getting started. I feel sure you and I will find the tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, Harry, how do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cStiff, sore and tired. But hey, no pain no gain. I\u2019ll get in shape in no time. How about you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you do it, Steve?\u201d<\/p>\n

I started the engine and backed out of the parking spot before I answered. \u201cI\u2019ll try.\u201d [\/toggle]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harry Maddox\u2019s passion is to find the perfect redwood tree and\u00a0 transform it into the world\u2019s best suite of furniture, but Harry\u2019s epilepsy precludes him from having a driver\u2019s license and denies him access to the forest.\u00a0 Then Steve, a newcomer to Kinsale, goes to the senior center, meets Harry, and becomes infected by Harry\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senior-fiction","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}