Three Maple Trees (part three a)

For almost ten years those three maples were a corporeal presence for me whether walking or driving past them. The road is narrow to begin with, and the trees were literally contiguous to the pavement, so when driving, for me especially when driving home, they loomed as treacherous objects, and that’s one reason why they may no longer be there. They were a danger to traffic.

I moved here in June of 1994 after separating from my wife. It was a difficult time. My daughter remained with her and I missed her greatly. Pleasant Valley was therapy. Its natural setting was a curative and my almost nightly summer walks along the river did much for my damaged psyche.

I live on the second floor of an apartment building and directly downstairs from me lived an older couple who were very loud. They ran a printing business out of their bedroom, and at 3 AM I could hear modems dialing and printers snapping and whirring away. They were originally from Texas and were larger than life in that Texas kind of way, especially when in New England. Liam was an amateur historian and Betsy was once a practicing lawyer. Liam would tell me some local history and Betsy just talked about whatever was on her mind. They were interesting characters to say the least.

Across the hall from them lived Jim. I was never sure but I think he had a machine shop in his apartment. He was always doing things with metal, including welding. He had a sailboat that he kept on the river, and that was his passion. From early spring to late fall, he was down by the river, clearing the reeds that were dauntless and cutting the grass that grew like wildfire in that damp environment. And when he wasn’t landscaping, he was sailing on the river.

-part one
-part two