Promises kept...

It was one of those odd coincidences that you can hardly believe is happening, but there it is.

Last week, at about 1 p.m., we arrived at the City Park where one of the city workers had arranged to meet us so we could watch him plant the tree that we promised our son we would plant for him along the walking path.

Well, that isn’t quite accurate. He wanted a pine tree planted, but unfortunately, the tree he wanted was not among the memorial trees offered for planting by the city. Even though it a tree native to Missouri, none of the nurseries we contacted in this area in an effort to get the tree ourselves had that variety of tree for sale in the right size. 

At the edge of a vacant lot on a road into town stands a beautiful tulip poplar tree

 

  

 

and since that variety happens to be one that the city did offer, we said our apologies in the Spirit to our son for not quite keeping our promise, and picked it to be planted.

Perhaps if we are still around 15 to 20 years from now, and I suspect it might take at least that long for the tree to mature enough to bloom, and if we able to hobble out to park, we might see it bloom.

The older areas of the park where memorial trees are planted has been filled up,  so the new trees are being planted in a recently cleared area of the park. It's sort of muddy and not very attractive right now, but it will be beautiful in years to come...

The man had already dug the hole, so as we watched he put the tree in and began to fill in...  

 and he pushed in the plaque on its steel post, and then, slowly…. slowly…. slowly…

two Burlington Northern-Santa Fe engines pulling a train crept down the track past the park. The men operating the train were likely not the railroad men who had befriended our boy over the years but… but the train appearing when it did could not have been more perfect if it had been arranged. 

Perhaps it was.