Mother Nature Had the Last Word . . .

Over a year ago, Alabama Power informed some of Jacksonville, Alabama’s residents that they planned to remove some of the trees that were on the right-of-way, which were threatening power lines. Two residents, one with a history of being an activist, decided that they did not want the trees in front of their houses cut by the power company and proceeded to fight.

Their first course of action was to give interviews to the local media, including television and newspapers. That continued until the power company set a date for the "execution" of the beloved trees. Those were fighting words for the owners. When the power company arrived, not only did they find the controversial trees, but they found the owners of the trees chained to the trunk! I wasn't there but I can almost imagine holding hands and singing "We shall, we shall, we shall not be moved . . ."

A stay of execution was given to the trees, and the lawyers were called in. After a court hearing, the judge ruled in favor of the tree owners, even though the trees were on a legal right-of-way and did not belong to them. I'd love to know how much money was spent in man hours and court costs in the matter of the beloved trees.

Months have passed and to be honest, I'd forgotten about the tree saga until my daughter found an article about it on the second page of the local "paper." The title of the article read "Disputed Jacksonville Tree Downed by Wind, Rain".

I couldn't help but laugh. After all that "to-do" about the tree, it falls down because of the weather. The Power Company had told the owners that it would happen, and it did. I wonder what they said to Alabama Power when they responded to the 9-1-1 call? I guess Mother Nature had the last word . . .