Community Spirit

Two weeks ago, there were extremely high tides forcing the ocean waves over our seawall and flooding our patio. This is not the first time that Mother Nature has messed with us and it won’t be the last. So I decided to get serious and rebuild our sea wall, higher, wider and stronger. More importantly I decided to build it right this time, with sturdy top-quality redwood.

The first thing I did was purchase a DeWalt Chop Saw so that I could make smooth and straight cuts. The second thing I did was go down to Ganahl’s lumber yard and seek out a knowledgeable lumber expert to help me pick out the right kind of redwood. After explaining the different types of redwood available, and which stains and sealers would work best to protect it, he also shared some interesting trivia with me.

I found out that according to scientists, redwood trees have been around for over 240 million years. They are also the tallest trees in the world. In fact, there are approximately 50 redwood trees along the Pacific Coast that are now over 360’ tall. They are also crucial for maintaining a stable, human-friendly climate because studies show that coastal redwoods capture more carbon dioxide (CO2) from our vehicles than any other tree on Earth. So obviously we should try to protect our local redwood forests, but what isn’t obvious is how they protect themselves… in order to insure a long life.

You might know that redwood trees get their strength and long life from their roots. But what you might not know is that none of their roots are more than 1” in diameter. Those are tiny roots! So how do giant redwood trees stand so tall and strong with such tiny roots. Well, those tiny roots reach out underground and seek out other redwood tree roots. Once they find them they grab onto them and hold on tight forming a well-rooted, tight-knit community, that provides strength and the chance for a longer life.

And that got me thinking… What if people acted like redwood trees and spread out loving roots to their neighbors, friends and family. How much stronger could we be and how much happier would our entire community be, if we spread our roots and held on tight to each other instead of our material possessions. Who knows…. We might even live longer!

While the spirit of community was important on 

the frontier because neighbors were so few, 

it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many.

~ Lady Bird Johnson