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Why?
After the 10 month stay at a motel we had moved back into our apartment and it had been about 5 months. Despite it not being a short time, it feels like we had done this type of living for a long time and feels very familiar. But why is that so?
Most of the people who had returned had bright expressions on their faces. Those who did not go to a motel that had stayed with their families also had returned as well.
Despite their happy expressions, many of them who were able to walk before now needed help with walking devices and others I have noticed walked with difficulty before and after the remodeling.
One saddening thing was, there was a good Chinese couple who also had moved to the motel while the apartments were being fixed. The couple always had walked together slowly. The couple still had put on quite the effort to walk again after returning but one day, they were no longer walking.
Few days later I saw the husband walking alone weakly.
I thought it was strange and so I asked him what had happened. He said with a weak, teary face that his wife had gotten dementia and is in a medical center to get treatment an hour or so away. Since he has no car his children help him get there once a week. Some days he would take a backpack and after changing many bus routings, would go and see his wife.
Despite a small, crowded motel room they were both doing so well then moving back to a better environment suddenly got dementia and now is in a care center. But why is that so?
In my residential apartment, there are few trees that had been trimmed away. Many of them were ill from old age was my guess. Thankfully, some of the white blossoming trees that looked like it was snowing during its full bloom up to 4 floors tall were left alone.
Whenever during a full bloom the grass would be covered in their petals and make it looks like the whole area had been snowed on. However this year, several (about 1/3rd) of the branches had turned black and looked dead. So were the flowers blooming only about 1/3rd as much as last year – and to top it off, the flowers were all very small. Why?
Not only that.
Many of the other flowering trees around the apartment complex had moss grown over them like grass and the branches were all turning black. I was curious and snapped a branch to see if any were alive and they were all indeed dead. About 1/3rd of the pretty trees had turned black and was barely surviving. My apartment has 3 floors and I live in the 2nd floor. There are many broad leafed trees nearby from my window not too far away, and in the neighboring B apartment complex also had several trees as well. They were about 4~7 floors tall with broad leaves that had made great shadows and blew cool wind. There were 14 trees total but only 2 survived (albeit barely) and rest of them had died. Most of the branches on the surviving 2 trees are not healthy at all.
Another strange thing was, a particular tree that is planted well outside the construction (about 200meters away) that is a broadleaved – despite it being winter the leaves were all still there and did not fall.
This tree, during the winter sprouts some sort of fruit and hangs and ripens around March in orange in full bloom. It is such a beautiful sight to see every morning during my morning walk with my wife. While doing my routine in the morning I had noticed the tree had small fruits but none of them are ripening, just green and small. At this period of time it should be ripening and turning into big leaves in joy of life. But nothing’s happening this year.
Many people wished the rain would now stop pouring in one common way… but why?
Perhaps there was too much precipitation during the days coming and the trees were freaking out? Many of the acorn trees surrounding the apartment complexes had almost no acorns last Fall. Many of the bigger acorn trees do not have any leaves on them as much as the other species.
The new leaves sprouts during Spring time and their fruits are large and gracious. But in October of last year, whenever I walk around below the trees, I see nothing. Even the trees out in the road are barren. Why?
While staying at the motel I had visited the apartments to collect my mail weekly. March or so of last year, I saw them tearing down my old apartment building. I had noticed that considerably most of the flowering trees were almost dead looking and had nothing and was shocked! I was wandering what had caused such things to happen. Even the next building B Apartment complex was being torn down by many people who were tearing it down rather carelessly. Many of the surrounding neighbors complained about the dust and noise. So the other neighboring complex C had a white vinyl covering and is being worked thusly.
I think from my guess is, the noise of the demolition, the buildings collapsing and such was the reason why the flowers were all dying. Because the same flowering trees that are located far away from all the noise and destruction are full in bloom and pretty. But still, the acorn is unexplainable why it is still barren.
After having lived 10 months outside, many of the elderly had become incapacitated to walk alone and would need canes or get help from their children – some even having had to stay at hospice or hospital at times was so saddening to see. But this is inevitable fate that comes. Even with diligent exercise and such, age progression is unstoppable. Who can defeat that natural occurrence? I think the reason why such populace had a spike in the elderly was because while away from the apartment, away from familiar neighbors, many had to difficulty getting exercise, unable to watch TV in their native language because such channels do not exist, so boredom and loneliness was the major factor.
Even with families around the children would have to go work so they would be alone all day – lonesome and to live from so far away then suddenly together would have had a major effect on their health.
As the demolition noise and the falling debris had covered the trees causing it to be stressed and to grow chemical reaction from the surroundings, their lives were affected greatly. (this was also never experienced by the trees before – rain in March so there are moss growing on the flowers as well)
Looking through the facts, it shows how much a plant’s livelihood is affected with its surroundings.
There is a final piece of proof, while the building C is still under remodelings in covered surroundings; there is one final, same flowering tree on the grounds. There were more of the there before but the reason is from the city of Saratoga the person in charge of the nature and preserve had decided the trees to be cut due to health issues. The only reason why this one is still there is because that tree was still deemed healthy enough. But when I visited that tree today, I noticed it had turned black and dead – no new saplings, no new flowers. This is the conclusion I had come to as unofficial expert. I’m just recording the facts.
(March 24th 2019) |
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Why?
In My Final Residence ((寓居處)