Date: Fri 11-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-maples-cause-effect

Full Text:

ED INK: Lessons In The Leaves

Frustrated control freaks that we are, we would like at least to see the

seasons progress in an orderly, proper fashion even if we can't seem to get

our lives, our communities, or our society to do the same. It doesn't take

much to get people out of sorts. Just a little snafu at an inopportune time

can set off a chain reaction of crankiness that sends people veering off in

all directions so that nothing seems simple anymore. But nature is supposed to

run like clockwork, isn't it?

Apparently not. This week we learned from a state plant pathologist that a

late frost last spring and a premature bud break has set the maple trees all

out of kilter, weakening their natural defenses and opening them to a host of

diseases. All this arboreal misfortune has been exacerbated by a late summer

scorch. Just a few weeks before we expect our trusty maple trees to put on

their annual show, they are struggling with tar spots, and their brown wilting

leaves are dropping prematurely to the ground, not in glory, but in ignominy.

Red, silver, and sugar maples normally provide some of the most brilliant

colors of the fall foliage. We fear that this fall just isn't going to be the

same when so many of them are ailing.

It seems strange that something so remote as the spring's last frost can reach

out and mute autumn. But every effect that arises in life has a cause

somewhere. A small weakness or mistake that may seem innocent and harmless at

first, can compound itself over and over in time, and in the end create great

harm and disappointment. It happens in nature, and unfortunately we see that

it happens in our lives, our communities, and our societies.

If only these small weaknesses and mistakes could be addressed when they first

happen, their effects would remain small and insignificant. We wouldn't

presume to correct the automatic responses of the natural world; such

tinkering tends to get us deeper in trouble. But we might start with human

nature. As we have seen recently, personal flaws and weaknesses not dealt with

quickly, forthrightly, and honestly can spell the difference between glory and

ignominy. Fortunately, for those of us paying attention to causes and effects,

there are many opportunities to learn. There are lessons even in the leaves.