Weir Memorial Tree

A dear friend reaching back to my childhood sent me this photo yesterday as the Fourth of July weekend is about to get under way. My parents' ashes are buried amidst the roots of the tree pictured here. It's at a special place in rural Michigan. Some of my father's ashes are also in a nearby lake, where he loved to fish.

To my way of thinking, it's better to end up in places that mattered a lot to you when you were alive than in a cemetery with a tombstone. No offense intended: That's just me.

The environmental impact is far less this way, and putting ourselves to use ecologically after death is a genuinely nice gesture.

My parents, sisters and I spent many Fourth of July weekends where that tree grows, camping on the hill and walking down to the lake to swim, fish, and sit in the sun. I believe the last time I was there was the summer after my mother passed away, 17 years ago, when we laid her ashes to rest.

***

Another friend of mine reminded me recently how important a sense of place seems to be to those of us who grew up in the Midwest. It's true, you can take the boy out of Michigan but you can't take Michigan out of the boy.

This time of year, summer, is especially nostalgic for me, because that is when our family got away from the repetitious routines of spring, fall and winter to fully enjoy the hills, trees, rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes region.

The smell of the trees is one thing that never leaves my memory; if suddenly I find myself back in that area or somewhere with similar flora and fauna, that scent seeks me out, filling my mind with sensations and feelings that otherwise remain as buried within me as my parents' ashes are under that tree.

But I'm not a tree, so the nourishment their memories offer me is only in the words that form as I recall my youth. The faces of people long gone come back, the specific look of the clouds in the sky, the sounds of birds as they scattered before an afternoon storm.

All of this returns in a moment, even though I am half a continent away in a very different land.

***

It may be ironic for those of us who left the Midwest for the coastal life that we find ourselves in states that vote Democratic reliably, while states like Michigan actually are those that will determine the outcome of Presidential election.

What that means, effectively, is that if I'd stayed back there, my vote would matter more. It is the people of Michigan, not California, who will dicide whether Trump should be re-elected a few months from now.

Along with that choice will come the next stage of our country's ability to deal with this pernicious pandemic. Many tens of thousands of people are falling ill every day, yet our Commander in Chief is completely MIA.

We are at war with a killer and no one has showed up to lead us to victory. This Fourth of July is like none that have preceded it. It would be utterly irresponsible to hold parades or gather for fireworks displays. Even backyard Bar-B-Cues are inadvisable. And we have no leader.

We're an independent lot, us Americans. We like our guns and we like our freedom. We don't like anyone to tell us what to do.

But we also, in our best moments, care about one another. So celebrate this time by wearing a mask, maintaining distance, and committing to a better future for all. It's still a few days early, but...

Happy Independence Day!

-30-