ONE OLD RED MANGROVE TREE

On the beach of the island where we love to take a morning walk… there…down by the sea… all alone looking out at the ocean stands an old red mangrove tree. Over the years she has weathered a multitude of storms… that have left her branches contorted and a little deformed. I suppose when I stop and think about it…she is a lot like me and why this sentinel of the beach is a treasured and favorite tree. We heard the hurricane…as she departed our island took the entire beach with her back to the sea…. And with it, we’re afraid, our favorite red mangrove tree. With a hurricane that took so many lives and homes as she barreled in from the sea Why, you may wonder, are we upset over one old red mangrove tree? Because when this storm hit Florida and then up into the country she marched through every person, pet, house and possession lost…was someone’s favorite too. So many people are grieving today…over losing a loved one, a house their favorite photos. pet or teddy bear…. Someone or something special to them…that, today, is no longer there. It’s an individual and collective grief…brought upon us from this monster of the sea…. symbolized today…by one old red mangrove tree.