Letter To The Editor – Not Just A Tree

To the Editor:
“And so this is Christmas.”
Five years ago my husband was diagnosed with a lethal and horrible cancer, pancreatic cancer. The odds of living longer than one year with this disease is almost unheard of. Instead of giving in to all the horror stories of this type of cancer, he decided to continue living his life, making our home on the hill everything that he envisioned 17 years earlier when he first built it. He used his time building new cabinets and a new laundry room, calling it his “therapy” during his rough radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The cabinets and the laundry room were completed at about the same time that he completed his treatments. Feeling a new surge of hope, he set out to plant and nourish small Colorado blue spruce trees that in the last five years have grown to about 5 feet in height. He loved those trees and would speak of the time “30 years from now” when they would have to be trimmed down so as not to interfere with the magnificent view that we have from our deck. He died on March 8, 2009.
So you can imagine my hurt and disdain when I drove into my yard on Saturday, December 19, to find that someone had cut down one of those beautiful trees (the biggest and bluest) sometime between the time that my friend had plowed my driveway last week to Saturday morning. My first thought was one that my late husband Richard would have had which would have been that the person who stole the tree probably had a family and had no means of purchasing a tree. (A beautiful thought for a fleeting moment!) Then, I realized that this was no more than pure vandalism, theft and trespassing on my property. Was I ripped? You bet I was, and I still am!
If that person needed a Christmas tree and didn’t have the means to get one he or she could have asked me for the money to get a tree. That I would have gladly given. But this person not only stole a tree from my property but also took away something from my children and grandchildren that Richard gave to us. Those trees represented hope to us during his illness and continued to be a source of conversation regarding the tender care he gave those trees when he was in need of tender care himself. And so in taking the tree from my properly something more was stolen, my faith and hope in my fellow man and any spirit my family and I had left for the holidays this year, our first without Richard.
So to the person or persons who  stole this tree I ask only that you put beautiful lights on it and enjoy its calming and pure sense of holiday spirit. And as an extra bonus to you as a result of your inexpensive and beautiful find, I want you to know that the State Police have been called and have investigated the scene and are aware of your actions. Oh yes, and by the way, in case you’re not up on legal terms of the law, vandalism (destroying my tree), trespassing (coming onto my property without my permission) and stealing my tree (theft – a felony) are all causes for arrest.
If this person or persons is ever apprehended, rest assured I have a police report on file attesting to my loss, and I will use it against the despicable person or persons who did this. Yes, the GRINCH did steal Christmas for my family this year!
Mary Lou Brown & Family
Robinson Hollow Road
Stephentown