An old gum tree served for over twenty years as an expansive umbrella at my home, its branches enveloping festive occasions as well as hours of restful sitting. Feet hopped gingerly on and off its countless gumballs. Having been a planter of trees all my life, I was sorely saddened when this dear one (any one, actually, is dear) came to the end of its days. What to do, other than leave home and not watch as it came down, bit by bit? It stood in the midst of a garden, quite near a bushy acuba started for me as a seedling by my aunt, ruling out grinding the stump. This video captures the sweet gum’s new life, carved out by a master carpenter who is a good friend. I supplied him with adjectives as hints—“light, airy, moving, sinewy, simple,” and he smiled, nodded, and....
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We’re present—together now.
Post a sign. Ask a question. Run for office.
When Sarah Inama started teaching world civilization four years ago at an Idaho middle school, she hung a sign in her classroom featuring hands of different skin tones with hearts in their palms, highlighted by these words scripted in varying colors: “Everyone Is Welcome Here.”