A tree grows in the 70s…
A long time ago when the world was simpler…there was a tree that grew in the 70s. It was plastic with plastic oranges and lemons. A family cherished the tree because it reminded them of what kind of possibilities lay ahead of them in America.
I will spare you all of the pictures of me in front of this tree; however, I wanted to write the story of the tree...We no longer have this infamous tree, so I feel that it is important to keep this tree alive. This tree has haunted my dreams lately and I have not been able to sleep so I am compelled to write this story.
The sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. A man was walking down the street in a torn and tattered shirt with plaid bell-bottoms. He was misunderstood from the start, especially in this ensemble, along with his dark skin, accent and comb over. Prejudice exists in all forms…. people look at you like you are scum, like a piece of crap. What can you do? Should we fight for what we believe in? Or should we just sit there and take it? Do we know whom to trust? We can trust a little but 100%, I don’t think so…do people really stab us in the back all the while smiling in our faces?
This man does not think like this…he maintains his integrity and does what he thinks is right and works hard to prove that his move to America was the right thing to do. He continues to tiredly to walk down the street squinting from the bright sun all the while looking for something to tell him that he has done the right thing. He sees a sign in the window of a restaurant that reads; “Now hiring” his eyes light up with anticipation because cooking is his passion. He sees a nice older gentleman with kind eyes and inquires about the job. The bell-bottomed fellow explains his past experience of cooking in Italy and explains how his knowledge will be of value to the store. The older gentleman agrees to give him the job. The bell-bottomed fellow feels alive and finally feels like he is doing right by his family. He goes home and tells his wife about the great day he has and she smiles and gives him a hug… “Our luck has finally changed”
Fast-forward 5 years. He is no longer the bell-bottomed fellow because it is now the 80s and the bell-bottoms have disappeared along with disco. (Oh well!) We will refer to him as the man with no name. The man with no name has been waking up every morning rain or shine working through sickness and pain for this kind fellow (the manager). He does not have a car and dredges through it all for his family. The man with no name takes pride in his work and receives accolades from customers and vendors regarding his hard work and dedication regarding his dishes and his creations. One day his manager asks him to train a young man…which turns out to be the manager’s cousin…the man with no name does this with great pride because he likes the young man and wants to make sure that this young man receives all of the knowledge that he can give him. “If you do good things, good things will come to you.” This is what the man with no name says to his young daughter.
Hmmmm…..fast-forward one year. The sun is shining brightly and the man with no name sees the sun as all the possibilities that America has laid in front of him. He walks in to find his manager in front of him with a distraught look on his face and hands him an envelope. The manager asks the man with no name to sit down on this raggedy chair and begins to tell him that he has to be let go because “his business is not doing so good”. The man with no name genuinely feels sorry for his manager and accepts the envelope with a handshake and hugs and wishes him all the best. The manager is touched by the man with no name’s genuine display of caring and says wait right here. The manager leaves and returns with a Plastic Tree of Oranges and Lemons. The manager says please take this home with you. The man with no name looks at him and says, “Thank you” and leaves with his last check and tree. While he is leaving he sees the cousin working wearing his old apron and he feels a pain in his heart…does he think that he has been lied to…yes he does but what can he do…. along with his sweet gullible-ness he has a bad temper. He does all he can do not to go back in there and beat them up for taking food out of his family’s mouth.
During this internal struggle, calmness washes over the man with no name and he thinks to himself that all will be well again because he has learned something and if you do good things, good things will come to you. The man with no name walks home dragging this tree with him the entire way and tells his wife (unknowingly to the mother and father their oldest daughter is listening to the story)…his wife is distraught and cries because she saw this coming and could not break it to her husband…why hurt his pride…he was 25 years older and the man of the house…he should know better. “We will get through this as a family…” The man with no name takes this tree and places it proudly in their apartment…he tells his daughter again… “Do good things and good things will come to you.”
The morale of the story is … don’t let others bring you down with their plastic words and smiles…forget those that give you lemons and if there is nothing you can do about being squeezed the key is knowing that you are being squeezed and always think of the oranges that life will bring your way. All you can do is what is right in your heart and go with it….“Do good things and good things will come to you.”
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