A Farewell to San Jose's Liquidambar Trees

We love trees. They dot the landscape of our lives, standing like monuments through time and seasons. In winter, I stare with my children up through barren branches, searching for clumps of twigs - a nest! In spring, I open the skylight of our car as white blossoms fall upon us like snowflakes. In summer, we run and play amongst the shady trees, happy to be sheltered from the heat. In autumn, downtrodden leaves give forth a most satisfying crunch.

On windy days, we look up and see drama in trees full of movement.

In early September, we look up and see a red leaf, then a yellow leaf. Our eyes light up - fall is coming!

Where would we be without trees? Without trees, the seasons would be boring. Trees make me happy. They make my children happy. My children will tell you that a tree is nice.

Yet, one by one, in some San Jose neighborhoods (Willow Glen, for instance), certain trees are being felled. Giant, beautiful Liquid Amber (?) Liquidambar trees topple like dominoes, replaced by assorted scrawny saplings no bigger than a branch. My children and I wonder about the ages of these fallen trees. We could not wrap our arms around the circumference of any one of these trees, so my children guess the trees must be ancient, as old as grandpa.