Chapter 3: Feeling Ill

Now for two years, only a few leaves dot my branches which were once filled with oak leaves. My days are at an end. I’ve heard Mark tell his grandson, Jackson, that he thought Jackson’s grandchildren would see me. But now, they will see me what I will have been made into. Now it looks like Mark will outlive me for a few years. On February 19, 2021, a lumberman name John will harvest my limbs and trunk. I am not sad. I have always wanted to see what was beyond the horizon. John says he can turn me into what he calls “Live Edge” furniture. I will travel, too, and be a guest in a thousand homes and meet a thousand families, and live for another 200 years. I will have many horizons to enjoy. John says he can’t wait to see what beauty God has placed within me. He also says he’ll be able to count my rings and we will all know how old I am. Mark still rides his bicycle – just a little slower now. He too talks of longing to see new horizons – I hope he does. When he is finished, I wonder how many rings he will have.

That’s my story. I hope that you will become a part of my next 200 years.