A Tree Grows In Chicago

When I was a kid the neighbor's yard was the place to be. During the summer it was large enough to host softball games and in the winter it could hold an army of snowmen that would rival the Terracotta Army. At one point the yard was home to several fruiting the pear tree you see in the photo is all that remains of what was once an expansive lawn and mini orchard.

 

 Many of the tree's lower branches are broken from our attempts to climb it or attaching homemade swings to them. While playing if you needed a snack in the summer all you had to do was either climb or jump high enough to reach a pear.

The property has changed hands over the years and the last owner decided to pave over the yard and turn it into parking for the residents. I wasn't living here when it happened and one day after being gone for a while I come home to see that the yard I spent a large part of my childhood playing in is now just a parking lot with fourteen parking spaces.

It always brings a smile to my face when I hear the sounds of ripened pears crashing on the cars parked below it. I grin ear to ear when I hear the car owners moan and curse as they find a new dent on their cars. In my mind I imagine the tree does it on purpose to avenge the loss of his home.