The Maple’s Story
by
Brenda Kay Ledford
Through decades, Red stood watch over
our family. This beloved maple witnessed
picnics, parties, visiting with neighbors, making ice-cream, listening to the
“Wagon Train” over the radio station, and slicing humongous watermelons on the
Fourth of July.
As my siblings and I grew from
childhood into adulthood, the tree offered branches and her trunk. She helped us to pursue our dreams.
Brother Harold scaled the tree and
found adventure. Mama knew where to find
him. She looked up and saw Harold
reading the Grit newspaper in Red’s arms. Sister Barbara and I followed big brother’s
example, and swayed in the branches on sweltering summer days.
During the polio epidemic, we stayed
at home to avoid contracting the disease.
Red offered hours of pleasure under her shade. My siblings and I played “Red Light/Green
Light,” “Mother May I,” and “Hide-and-Seek,” beneath its canopy. Barbara and I spent hours dressing our paper
dolls, and coloring animals in a book.
As we grew up, our interests
changed. When Harold got his driver’s
license at 16, he started dating. On
autumn evenings, he played a guitar for his girlfriend under the maple’s
blushing leaves.
Red stood proud and tall. She watched Mama taking prom photos, family
reunions, children graduating from high school, and wedding days. She saw the grandparents cuddling their grandchildren
and Harold wearing a US Army uniform.
Finally, throughout generations, old
Red has been like a mother to our family.
It’s a story of lives forever intertwined and changed, through
connection to this marvelous maple tree.
