Friends are special gifts that life bestows. All these gifts are precious, and all are packaged differently. They are unique and individual coming in varying ages, genders ethnicities and personalities. Friendships take different paths. Some friends become like family members. They anticipate each other’s moods, mirror each other’s thoughts and feed each other’s spirits. Other friendships are not intimate in the same exact way but they, too, are nurturing, sharing and significant.
For years one of my good friends and I have enjoyed discussing subjects of mutual interest; professional ones, societal ones and a good many just plain fun ones. As an outgrowth of our friendship and discussions, we began sharing books and taking great joy in turning each other on to new authors and their worlds.
My latest turn on, Castles of Kudzu, is a collection of essays about the modern South, its culture, its people and some eccentricities of both. Author and North Carolinian, Hal Crowther, shares insights on Elvis, the poetry of James Dickey, George Wallace, Southern belles, snake handling and much, much more. Crowther gives all the topics thorough perusal and he takes some philosophical stands with conviction and pride. But he’s not pushy. His style invites readers to think for themselves. You can agree, disagree or, just think to yourself, “Well, that was an interesting thought”.
In the last essay in this collection, “The Cedars of Lebanon”, Hal Crowther expresses his love of trees and his disdain for those who don’t share the view. He tells us how William Faulkner’s family chided the politicians of Oxford, Mississippi when they cut down a huge Magnolia tree in order to erect a statue of the deceased author. Faulkner loved and referenced trees in his works and the incensed family directed that no statue of him should be erected at that site or anywhere else.
Citing what Crowther calls his “arboreal dependency”, he laments how Hurricane Fran caused the loss of so many of North Carolina’s canopy trees and changed local landscapes for generations. He describes how rural rivers became clogged and made sluggish by fallen timber. But he reminds the reader that humans too have left private and public lands bare, Hal Crowther muses that “…it was always trees not houses that constituted home”.
SEGUE ALERT- What could be a better segue to talk about the 2019 Trees SC Annual Conference than an intersection of trees and friends? On October 24 and 25, around 200 friends will gather at The Tides hotel on Folly Beach to talk about and learn about the value of trees to South Carolina and its citizens.
Flooding has caused significant damage across our state in recent years and our member friends asked to learn more about rising waters, their effect on community trees and how we might help to stem that tide. Karen Firehock of the Green Infrastructure Center will speak twice and share thoughts on how community forestry, in its broadest sense, can deter and mitigate some of the damages caused by flooding. Other scientists will talk to us about tree pests and diseases to expect as our climate changes.
Weather is not the only umbrella of ideas we’ll consider. We will learn from two SC landscape architects how they design for difficult sites. We’ll discuss how to start and maintain a quality safety program for arborists and attorney, Kathleen McDaniel, returns to conclude her presentation on trees and property conflicts. These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more speakers and more topics of interest to SC tree lovers. Our popular silent auction is back so come prepared to find that special gift (even if it’s for yourself).
Your friends are going to Folly Beach this fall and they want you to come too. They’ve got some cool things they want to share, and they want to refresh your friendship.
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