The Bone Tree

Ever been driving down a long country road with houses splattered here and there?

Almost all them old houses planted trees around the place as a windbreak. But if you look a little closer, you’ll notice something.

Just about every one of those houses has a tree that looks like it’s ready to drop all its limbs and give up.

That’s the bone tree.

Now you might think that’s the one that got hit by lightning a few times. And down here I can’t blame you for thinking so.

But look again.

That bone tree is usually the closest tree to the side kitchen door. Or if the wife was a bit particular, a little further off.

That tree most likely hasn’t ever been struck by lightning.

No.

That’s the tree the men skinned their catfish on, and chopped chicken necks at. The one where somebody drove a nail in years ago to hang a lantern or a bucket.

There’s more blood in the roots of that tree than most battlefields ever saw.

So next time you’re passing one of those old places out on a country road and you see that tired-looking tree standing there…

Think about it a moment.

Then thank it.