I thank Michael Rhodes (a high school acquaintance)  for sharing the photo of the oak tree bark. It reminds me of the BIG oak tree in Grandma Margie’s backyard in Sacramento where we would visit and swing using a tire-on-a-rope hanging down from a large branch. The tree was so BIG that it cast enormous shade out over the lawn on hot summer days. We would play, the noise of children, until the cool of the night. There were acres of fields around the few farm houses where Grandma lived in Sacramento, and part of it was fenced off to keep in a few cattle and a bull. Chickens would scamper around the property, and usually nest to lay eggs in a wall of bamboo grown to block the north winds. Today, that old oak tree still stands, even after the fire of 1967 that burned down Grandma’s home and took out the bamboo. Most of the acres around that tree have succumbed to one form or another of property development, but that tree still stands as a memory of days gone by when kids played in the safety and comfort of its shade. On occasion, every few years, I go visit the old property to look for that tree, to remember how things have changed, and in 2009 it was still there looking as strong and reliable as ever. I pray it will be there next time I drop by to visit, to remember, because it encourages me to stay strong and endure the changes for the sake of those who are watching.