Sunday, December 20, 2009

An Ode to the Tree People



Editor’s note: Bob was a force to be reckoned with. Whether they agreed with him or not, people read “Observations from the Edge.” In the many years he wrote for The Coast News Group, no person or issue elicited more Letters to the Editor than Bob Nanninga. His passion was admirable, his energy infectious. Here at the office, we will miss his unannounced visits, which were always a welcome and entertaining break in our workdays. We will also miss his voice, which was sometimes loud and at times dramatic, but it was always true. The following is Bob’s final column for The Coast News Group, written from his hospital bed days before his death.





***



Greetings from the ICU ward. It would seem I needed some critical “me” time after the 2008 Encinitas City Council race. Rundown and profoundly disappointed, I didn’t see the pneumonia coming until I was panting like a dog struggling to breathe on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.



Pneumonia is as gnarly as it gets. Everything works but the lungs. Lungs give breath. To breathe is to live. My mind is as active as ever. I want this to be done.



There is Earth Day to plan for, Encinitas Environment Day to organize. Poetry to publish and a novel to be finished. And I still have yet to see Prairie Dogs in the wild.



Lying in bed, news filters back about life and community in Encinitas. It is nice to know the tree people are getting creative. Thank you, Andrew, and all who gave him support during his week at the Orpheus front line.



Trees are the lungs of the planet. Without trees, lots of trees, soon everyone and everything will be gasping for air, victims of planetary pneumonia, so not good.



With that observation, allow me
to self-indulge with a poem written in honor of those who fight and plant trees.



Plant an oak, save the world.











Who are the people who speak for the trees



Giving them voice from root tip to leaves



I know they are out there



I’ve heard the tales



Of proud David Chain and Julia Butterfly Hill



A redwood named Luna



Watched her friends fall



Victims of the greed



Now killing us all



Victims of indifference



Trees continue to fall



As the climate changes



And biodiversity fades



Planet is diminished



As the trees fall away



Where are the warriors



Who will fight for the trees



Knowing full well without trees we’re not free



Humans are primates



We came from the trees



Before braving the grassland



And our now history



Thuggish and brutish



Forests were cleared



To make room for the primates



Who hold nothing dear



Happy to cut down



Trees, as long as they’re there



Well, I’ll speak for the tree people



And count them as friends



This warrior undaunted a message will send



In the green revolution



Allies stand tall and take to the trees



Spreading the call



Trees are our future



Trees built our past



Trees must become sacred



If mankind is to last



So all hail the tree people



Those that fight for the trees



Those that understand ethics



Beyond avarice and greed



A battle is coming



Pitting man against man



Man against nature



So do as you can



It’s time to take sides



Not just do as you please



Make no mistake



I stand with the trees.






An Ode to the Tree People by Bob Nanninga
Bob Tree Painting by Vanessa Lemen










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