So what do I do for my 500th Unilocal review? How about something a little personal, in my own back yard? I love trees, as does my mother. Being born out in Grapeland Texas, and taking a wagon into town to visit the grocery store once a month, as an infant, my Mom spent a lot of time looking at trees.(The 1940’s) Which could explain why she became a world famous painter, oil painting teacher certified in the Bob Ross technique, and has painted thousands of landscape scenes with enduring focus on the trees. That could be why I like trees as well. The Hanging Tree in Old Town Coldspring Texas(est as Coonskin Texas in 1847, then later Firemans Hill, then Cold Springs, now Coldspring), is in my back yard. No, we don’t own it, but if you walk down to one of the many natural springs that Coldspring is named after, and then walk up the hill just a few hundred paces(about 5 minutes from my bedroom and computer, haha), you will find this perhaps 300 year old oak tree. In typical Texas tradition, lore, style and fact, many men met their fate here. Within walking distance, and a final meal away from the 1887 Jail House(which still exists as a museum), cowboys and outlaws went to meet God or whatever maker they believed in, at the end of a rope around their neck, strung up on this very tree. As the aging plaque at the base of the«Hanging Tree» clearly states; «This tree was once used to dispense Justice.»(See my photos from yesterday) I have many favorite trees in my life. One which I saw planted when I was in 1st grade at Paradise School in Modesto California, which is now a giant tree. Others that we planted from seedlings on our own property in California, and in fact a northern California Redwoods tree was purchased and dedicated to my Mom for her civil service(the thing is over 400 feet tall!). Another is the 240 year old oak in my(legal) backyard which I own to this day. But this one right here, to me, is one of my top 10 favorite trees in the world. You can find me laying under it, reading a book, often. And there’s usually no one else around. This is my tree. It’s just outside my property line, but I have claimed it, as I am sure many other have as well over the last three centuries. In fact in some cases, it has claimed them and their eternal souls. We can only hope that they all received a fair trail and were truly guilty. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth to simply watch the sun go down. I can’t really knock the old system of justice. If a person is guilty of a grave crime(like against a woman), hang em. Hang em high before sun down. Greg D 500th Unilocal Review May 15th2009 Old Towne Coldspring, Texas
