Trees of Life Re-reclaimed
When I was in Kindergarten I dropped a picture book through an iron grate in the playground. A first or second-grade boy lifted the grate, descended into the opening and rescued my book. I envision him in prince charming blue riding up on a white stallion. He was my hero. Today William came at 8 a.m. to unlock the building for us. Then, he and Oren climbed into a dumpster to dig through bags of trash, salvaging plastic pieces that had accidentally been tossed. I never did figure out where they parked their stallions.
We dragged the trees to the site and drilled them back into their bases for what we hope is the last time. The wind Thursday night pulled the trees up like weeds. The L brackets and many of the screws were still on the trunks, having been ripped out of the wooden bases and through 25 pounds of rock. We moved some hardware and tweaked our assembly counting on three times being a charm. We really know how to put this installation up.
Oren says 'angel' means messenger of God and that the lady who stopped to encourage us was for sure an angel. Pretty soon people were stopping by expressing how happy they were to see it coming back after the storm or to let us know that it was their favorite entry. It really kept us motivated in the chilly morning air. A couple of ladies jumped at the chance to help pop the bottles into the remaining empty caps.
Before long Chris came to help. I am pretty much out of words after so many hours of talking to passers-by, but she and Oren enthusiastically chatted with the public, engaging them by having them attach pieces to the Haiti tree. Their son Paul became our expert 'drill sergeant' screwing caps into gaps and fielding questions. One little girl was adding bottles and exclaimed, "I can't stop!" and I echoed her sentiment. We just kept tweaking and tweaking until we had used up all but a few of our bottles and the sun was setting. All day long we heard "Oh, they're water bottles!" or "It's so happy!"
When we first started the project Chris and I talked about how everyone that touched it felt invested, from the Taco Bob employees that stood on the bases while the wind roared, to the building manager who regularly checked on us. After today I wonder if we had it wrong. So many people eagerly attended to the trees, walking away with a little glitter and a lighter heart. I wonder if instead of the magic being in their touching the trees, maybe, in some mysterious way, it is how the trees are touching them.