Banyan Tree, Big Island, HI

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

John Muir

Lower right is the prettiest girl I ever knew.

Grandfather Tree

I think one of the first lessons we each as individuals should learn is, that a word is like a tree. The ultimate meaning of the word, like the tree can grow with time, despite our short sightedness, no matter our years of life experiences. We must keep an open mind, and never come to the conclusion that we know everything about anything, because then we will know nothing.

I once met a humbly learned individual by the name of  Mario, an indigenous person who lived most of his life in the rain forest, far from any modern convenience. He told me he left the simple life he loved because he wanted his son to go to school, and learn to read and write. The park service there offered to give he and his family good clothing, a small salary, teach them English in exchange for a job as a tour guide, as his knowledge of trees and plants was extensive. He spoke with a reverence for the plants and animals of the jungle and for life I have seen in few ministers.

He pointed to a huge tree, (kind of like this one that my grandfather planted) towering above all the rest and said to me, Ron, this is the Grandfather tree, and within its limbs and crevices, as you can see is a forest in itself, within which seeds, the hopes of all future rain forests rely. A tree is like a word that grows.