And all that the Lorax left here in this mess
was a small pile of rocks, with one word…
UNLESS.
It’s that time of year again. The time when I tell you I don’t want any more stuff and I’m not giving you any.
And, while you’re struggling to tie that scrawny pine sapling with the big carbon footprint onto the top of your car this year, please take a moment to think about the bastard quiver tree, of which there are fewer than 200 left on earth.
I love this tree. It could almost be a Truffula Tree. (Remember The Lorax?)
Being a forward-thinking creature (and a bit of an idealist, if you ask me), the Lorax saved a single Truffula Tree seed after all the trees had been chopped down.
The Lorax spoke for the trees because “the trees have no tongues.” But if the bastard quiver tree doesn’t do it for you, there are plenty of species with cute faces, your own included, that you can help save by making a donation to Conservation International.
Do you think it was Dr. Seuss who inspired the Global Crop Diversity Trust to build a vault in an Arctic mountain into which they are currently placing the seeds of all known food crops?
Makes you nervous when life gets all sci-fi, doesn’t it? I hope it does, anyway.
I’m adding this for Claudia because of her comment on this post. Set aside your classist attitudes about fake trees and go get one. There are 30-35 million Christmas trees sold in the US every year, and 73 million more will be planted this year. What if we just let them grow? Trees suck the crap out of the air, you know? Some day, when there aren’t enough trees left to cut them down just for fun, when there’s no more petroleum to make the plastic for the fake trees, your grandkids will cherish that fake tree you bought way back in 2007.
This year, like the last several years, I won’t have a tree. Once again this year, my only gift to the adults on my list will be a donation in their names to CI. And, like last year, I’m still hoping the recipients of my gifts will choose the planet over “stuff” when doing their own shopping.
I just keep on dreaming.
Addendum December 5: From now until Dec. 31st, CI will match your donations dollar for dollar up to their limit of $5 million. Double your gift!
But I need a new camera! ;-)
[my s/o: "buy one yourself", 'dear' ]
Btw: I’m donating to Doctors without borders. My family decided that 1 gift (max 20 euro) each would be sufficient to make Christmas a non-commercial event.
Good for you and your family and I’m glad to know you’re donating to Doctors w/o Borders. Vincent and I were talking the other day about how people dispose of their disposable income and I was saying if they just took the money they spent on stuff they didn’t need and donated it to a worthy cause the world would be so much better a place. Vincent posted these great stats the other day about the cost of the Iraq war to the US and how many children that money would feed and educate here: http://vincent.knobil.free.fr/sknoblog/?p=409 He jokingly said the money spent on boob jobs in the US alone would probably feed all the kids in the world. What a world we live in.
And don’t feel guilty about the camera. You’re a photographer! Congrats on your Expatica publication, BTW! Your s/o, like so many people, obviously dismisses the Internet for an inferior parallel universe. I just pity them.
5 years now, fake tree. I know. Corny. But it’s a NICE fake tree, and I don’t kill others while using it. This Christmas it’s all about my two nieces and nephew who lost their mother, my sister, in July. Giving this year will consist of love, compassion, support and laughter.
You know, Claudia, I erased a whole paragraph about fake trees as an alternative. You make me think I should have left it in. We had a fake tree when I was a kid. It was the 60s/70s when everything fake was OK. Who am I kidding, I have white trash roots. But still, in that era, it wasn’t uncommon. I can tell you that my Christmases were no less magical than any other kid’s. It really seems like that’s what people should do. Go out and buy one when they go on sale this year and just call it a day. —- I just can’t even begin to come up with words about losing your sister. Read my post “Betsy’s Jeep.” I can’t imagine losing a beloved sibling. Just the thought breaks my heart and my heart breaks for you and those kids.
You should put the fake tree paragraph back in. I’ll even promise to post a picture of mine when it’s up, just to prove that fake CAN look real (just like fake boobs though, just don’t touch it).
As for the kids and my sister, let’s just say that it gave me a reason to re-prioritize MY world. My wants this Christmas are QUITE different from my wants LAST year. I like to say that from her death I learned to become a better person. I like to think she’d appreciate that somehow. I sure know her kids do. :)
It’s back in there, Claudia. Another of my posts was about how a loss like yours can change you. I understand. I subscribe to your blog, so I’ll be looking for your beautiful tree picture!
your grandkids will cherish that fake tree you bought way back in 2007.”"”
HA! An eco-friendly heirloom. Positively PERFECT~~ YEAH!
It’s hard to imagine a world where that would be the case, but these days, when I think of my kid’s kids’ future, I just see scenes from Soylent Green. Minus the horrific frikkin’ ascot.
As promised:
http://kysstherayne.livejournal.com/15749.html