How do I know what I know?

How do I know what I know?

 

As a teenager, for a time, I had this recurring thought. How can I know what’s true if I’m never certain I answered all the questions? Epistemology, the philosophy that seeks to determine what is knowledge and how we obtain it, deals with these types of concerns. Key to answering these questions is first determining what is reality?

Epistemological relativists wonder if what we see, hear or touch is the actual reality or is reality how we determine it to be through our own private understanding and intelligence? Is aging an absolute or can we live forever if we just obtain the right knowledge? Can we create our own reality and prefer to live in only that one? We have virtual reality and now metaverse. Who’s to say it can’t become our own separate world with our own logic and determination of what is good for us? 

 Conceptual relativism, a branch of epistemology, states there are no absolute principles that sustain a standard belief through rationality or confirmation. People from different cultures with different languages can have unique core ideas and experiences that lead them to different beliefs about the world. There is no right or wrong belief just what is perceived to be true. 

With science epistemological relativism will dodge declaring certain observable facts consistently seen over time as true by assuming more information is out there. Some will talk about space aliens beginning the evolutionary process rather than the idea of a God who started the Big Bang. On and on it goes with each new fact discovered there are a thousand what if’s to be asked. It’s the same dilemma I had as a teenager. It’s impossible to find anything firm and lasting to stand on. 

Epistemological realism believes the world as it is, exists by itself, and is independent of how we perceive it to be. All life and the complex interrelationships, all the laws and principles inherent and woven within reality, all exist separately before we even discover they exist. They are fixed, if not our beliefs about the world couldn’t be true since true belief tells us how things are. In other words the world outside of ourselves is a mind-independent reality.

If reality is an illusion or at best just one’s individual perception of facts which are always subject to change because the truth is always out there, then how can modern science be so successful? When will the preponderance of observable, proveable facts be so great that the mantra will become the truth is actually here now?

Epistemological realism norms of understanding reality by having observable evidence of natural phenomenon experienced through the senses being consistently the same over time and using logic to explain it have taught us so much especially about the natural world. Have cars ever stopped running because gasoline no longer was combustible or steel suddenly became like cardboard and buildings collapsed?

If the natural world is so intricately designed and controlled by laws could there be universal laws true in all times and places that govern the behavior of man? Are these laws observable, consistent over all time and places and logically reasonable? Ask a conceptual relativist if there are no absolute standards of human behavior after their car has been stolen or they have lived in a  communist country?

When someone says there is no right or wrong it’s just what’s true for you, ask them if what Hitler believed was true for him? What about Pol Pot in Cambodia who killed millions or Stalin another mass murderer? Were their actions okay because what they believed was true for them? How can we survive and prosper when people say it doesn’t matter what you think as long as you feel it is true? Statements like that just do not correspond with reality. 

Epistemology digs deep to discover the basic origins of knowledge so we can determine if it’s valid. An epistemological realist believes certain basic beginning ideas or first principles are  true and valid for all times in the physical world and in morality. Epistemological relativists may  agree on some absolute principles of nature with certain caveats but never on absolute moral principles.

That’s really interesting because they act like there are moral absolutes when they support communism or profess to be atheists but attack a Christian or capitalist for their beliefs. Carefully following a person’s assumptions back you can find what assumption or first principle is the very foundation of all their beliefs. Going back you will see where they made wrong conclusions or just flat out lied and reaching the beginning really know what’s in their heart.

A conceptual relativist would be unable to use this process. How could they even challenge the assumptions having to do with moral judgments when they think whatever you believe is true for you? They wouldn’t be able to look back at history to compare the results of different behaviors and make value judgments. Every generation would have to struggle through life making mistakes and creating their own hell because it would be judgmental or old-fashioned if someone dared tell them they were doing something wrong.

I can’t see how someone could live this way. It would be very difficult and dystopian if played out in society. How would I even know what questions to ask because they would always be changing as people evolved? So I’d have to forget about wondering if I asked all the questions. I’d get to the second or third question and have to start over again as the dystopian world dictated. First principles sound kind of reassuring like theirs some kind of truth and permanency.

So I decided maybe I could find the answer to my question as a teenager and find reassurance if I learned more about first principles so I decided to investigate. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher during the Classical period of ancient Greece, said a first principle is the first basis by which a thing is known and can not be broken down through deduction any further.  

He believed all things in nature are caused and part of a long chain of causes stretching backward. These long chains must have a starting point because causal chains cannot be infinite in length. I was born because of my parents who were born because of their parents and I could go back to the very first parents. But where did they come from? Where did everything come from? What or who caused all this? Could this be the very, very first cause? 

Ancient religions believed in a chaotic world of warring and capricious gods controlling nature as they wished. Judaism was the first religion to believe in one supreme God, intelligent designer, creator, ruler and judge of the world. Years later, St.Thomas of Aquinas, said he believed the first cause is God and the result is the world and every human, animal, and plant on earth. The effect: order, direction, coherence and predictability.  

 Judaism also believed in the principle of divine reason and creative order being the essence and fabric of our world and the universe. Even early Greek philosophers intuitively believed the world could be understood. This core belief or first principle drives science in its quest for knowledge and understanding of everything in the universe. 

Science relies on facts and first principles you can see, touch and hear over time that fit together into scientific laws and theories. They are reality itself and backed by scientists like Einstein, Newton and Hubble. Seeing how laws fit together into coherent, logical systems called theories gives me confidence in something I can stand on.

A first principle fact that light becomes more red as it moves away led to the Redshift Theory in 1915. This led Edwin Hubble, chief astronomer at Mt. Wilson Observatory, to discover the Law of Cosmic Expansion in 1929. Then in the early 1960’s, Robert Dicke, an astronomer and physicist, at Princeton University discovered remnant radiation called cosmic microwave background from the early formation of the universe which lead to the Big Bang Theory.

The Third Law of Motion, a first principle discovered by Isaac Newton, states for every action there is an equal reaction. Could the first action have been the Big Bang and what kind of action is capable of creating beings capable of thought. Many have conceded the Big Bang but have they honestly investigated and analyzed all of the effects of the Big Bang and the implications of who or what started everything?

For example many scientists ignore discoveries in microbiology showing the awesome complexity of life at the cellular level. The discovery that DNA is like a computer program transmitting mind bending amounts of information directing and regulating biological processes in the cell and between cells seems to go right over their head. Bill Gates himself said, “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.”

If Bill Gates says software was created by man then who or what created DNA which is far, far more advanced than any software ever made? Could mindless undirected matter over eons of time through chance mutations have made DNA which is in every living thing and determines its form and function? 

Could the answer to how and possibly who caused the world and all its inhabitants to come into existence be the ultimate first principle of all first principles? The answer would determine how we view life itself…how we feel about ourselves and the ultimate end game whether we are conscious of it or not. What is the meaning of life and how do we determine it? Do we make up our own rules without thinking through the consequences or admit we are flawed and limited in need of help? Could that be God?

Voltaire, French philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment in the Eighteenth Century said “If God did not exist it would be necessary to invent him.” He also said “it is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being.” Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin had similar beliefs. 

Maybe I can never be certain if I asked all the questions …  maybe you have to get to the point where you have asked all your questions and simply just have to believe? What do you think?

 

 

 

   

 

Dear Allison

Dear Allison

 

It was so nice to see you and talk some. I’m glad we were able to see where we lived and your old high school. Then seeing the old wooden park where we spent so much time when you were young was surreal.

You’re right about how the past can seem like someone else lived it. That seems to happen to me a lot when I look back. People and places sometimes blend together and ten years seems like three. Nothing is distinct and important things to remember are lost. So I decided to write about our time together when you were young to preserve some of those memories. 

The first thing that comes to mind is amazement that I ever became a father. All signs seemed to indicate I would be a lifelong bachelor as I wandered awkwardly through life. But there I found myself watching you be born. You were wrinkled with a thick shock of black hair and very pink and I didn’t know if that was normal but in that moment you stole my heart. Silently I was saying to myself I’m a father, I’m a father, I’m a father like I couldn’t believe what my eyes were telling me.

Then me and your mother took you home and I kept looking at your small dark eyes and thinking this is the first time she has ever seen sky or trees or butterflies … what is she feeling or thinking?  I felt a profound sense of the wonder of life as we rode along on your first day of being in the world. Then when I carried you into the house I felt this overwhelming sense of wanting to protect you.

You slept so much that first week then you began staying up during the day. One day I came home from work and you smiled at me for the first time. All my weariness left me. You were soon crawling all over the house and one day came into my office and I picked you up and you said your first words. Me and your mom were so excited we told all our friends.

Every day you were becoming more curious, exploring light sockets and opening cabinets. Birds fascinated you as they landed and took off from the patio. You would sit at the sliding glass door mesmerized as your little brown eyes saw butterflies and squirrels scampering across the yard. The crawling became partial standing then falling and as the weeks passed you became able to walk five or six steps before falling.

One day your mother and I were raking and you tottered toward us across the grass in a red and white eskimo suit. Somehow you lost your balance and fell face forward onto a pile of leaves then amazingly popped right up. We just smiled and laughed. It was really a sweet moment. Then a few months later you stomped into my office wearing my boots and smiling I thought to myself that’s my girl.

You grew so much the next several years and I was amazed how you absorbed everything you saw. Everyone could tell you were very bright. New words came out of your mouth everyday and you used the T.V. remote all by yourself. You even started putting movies into the VCR and were able to make your own sandwiches.

I remember when you first went down a slide…your eyes showed fear as I guided you down then at the bottom you smiled as you touched the ground. Then there was the pure delight in your eyes as I pushed you in the swing for the first time and tried to imagine what you were experiencing. Those were golden times and they will be forever alive in my memories.

You began making sentences and said some funny things when we were out and about and saw some of my friends. One time you told me a car had a sunburn because the paint was faded then pointed out a flat tire and said it needed a band aid.

Then came the questions. You wanted to know if grandpa’s hair was white because of the shampoo he used then you asked me what it was like getting old and I was only in my early forties. Also you asked me why the sky was blue. I said it was because God wanted it that way then somehow we got into talking about why the grass was green.

About this time I began looking for a place for you to attend preschool. Some of them were just so crowded and chaotic and I could see the fear on your face so I checked out others. They seemed so sterile and the staff seemed nonchalant. Then there was the Methodist School Center which seemed to make so much sense and I had a good feeling about it. 

I remember that first day your mother brought you out to the kitchen dressed in your sharp little uniform and made you oatmeal while I packed your lunch. Driving to the Center I thought about how this was part of the process which would lead you to one day moving away. Along with happiness I felt some sadness and somehow wished I could freeze that moment in time.

The Methodist School Center was the perfect place for you. It was very organized and the staff was friendly and professional. You were learning numbers and words in a small class and spending time playing and socializing with other little kids. It was a very kind and nurturing environment and it was there you made your first best friend, Maddie.

Before long I was taking you, Maddie, and her twin brother to the wooden park. The three of you would spend hours climbing or crawling through the wooden structure pretending it was an ancient kingdom.

Carefully balancing yourselves you would step along a row of upright tires knowing below was boiling oil then you crawled through the wooden space watching for the big, bad ogre that would chase you down the wooden steps. Sometimes it was giant spiders that chased you across the tube bridge. It was so amazing watching your little mind develop. It was magical.

Then in the second grade I sometimes took you two and some friends up to the Christmas House after school. We’d walk down a winding hall past Jack and the Giant who seemed to be grabbing toward you with his long arms then there was Cinderella and the evil stepmother. I’d hear little squeals or see mouths wide open and eyes staring in wonder. After that it might be Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Santa Claus and his helpers. 

Then there was a room that had a miniature town circa the 1950’s that included a fire station, and a car dealership with a sports car in the showroom. Down a tiny road a lady was skating circles on a pond. The other side of the room was a Dickens English village with cobblestone lanes and snow covered thatch roofs and a man with a black top hat sitting on a horse drawn carriage. I would stand there imagining and almost feel I was living in those towns. 

On the way out I would buy everyone a chocolate truffle then we would step out into a brisk wind with large pecan limbs swaying. That night delivering pizza I would sometimes visualize those towns then before your bedtime I would call and feel all warm inside hearing your excitement from talking with daddy.  

Sometimes it would be just me and you. I remember weekends going to the Weeki Wachee attraction where we went on the riverboat cruise then watched the Bird and Snake shows. Then in the underwater theater we watched the mermaids perform their show. At the end a mermaid made a free dive deep into the spring. Suspenseful music would play then suddenly your eyes would light up in amazement when she reappeared. I really loved your reaction.

You also had a very playful side. When you were around seven you programmed my phone to sound like a cat when it rang. I kept looking out the window but you and Maddie just played dumb. I even went outside and when I came back you had a little smirk and I realized what you did. I just shook my head and smiled. Then at grandpa’s you hid his keys and slyly found them under a bush. That’s what made his hair white not the shampoo.

Approaching the teenage years things began to change. Your bedroom door was often shut with a do not disturb message. You had emotional moments that would erupt then a while later you calmed down and said you were sorry. Suddenly my car looked old and ugly and you didn’t want  me to drop you off at school. 

Then I remember when you said you had a boyfriend. My voice went up an octave as I said what!  I must have looked like a real goof because you and Maddie laughed. That night at the skating rink I watched from a distance as you talked to a boy. Also you became very conscious of how you looked and suddenly were buying all your clothes with Maddy at the Aeropostale store.

Your mother and I had divorced a few years before and about this time she started getting serious with a guy. It was really rough especially when she spent weekends with him and brought you along. Then sometimes she left you with him and his kids all day while she worked nearby. Those were long and sad weekends for me as I worried about you.

It was a dark, confusing period for both of us, especially you and I’m still haunted by it though less frequently with time. I failed you miserably but because you appear to be working through that and finding peace it encourages me to start letting go myself. I pray every night that all these feelings and memories will soon be resolved and healed and we can walk together in the bright, loving light of the present.

You were so brave and strong during that period. You didn’t withdraw and give up but kept fighting and living life. Though I didn’t always approve of your behavior I was very proud of how you always made good grades even taking the most advanced classes. Then there was the calendar you used to organize and plan every detail of your life. That gave me faith you would come out the other end okay and you’ve definitely done that exponentially.

The teenage years also came with some nice surprises especially when you joined the Drama club your freshman year and when you were in your first play I was blown away. As you stood in front of that packed audience and spoke perfectly a two minute monologue I was so proud. Somehow my shy little girl had become a beautiful butterfly.

I was also proud of how you treated other people. You expressed to me your dislike of the high school popularity game that was so shallow. I admired your fairness and you did have one of the most eclectic groups of friends from every race and economic background. You seemed very empathetic toward those looked down upon and went out of your way to be friends with them. 

However you did create some anxious times for me like when you called me and said you were exploring  small caves on private property with friends. I’m very claustrophobic. Then when you were a sophomore we bought you a car and there were a lot of anxious moments when you were somewhere driving after dark. 

I thought it was ingenious how you packed your car with friends so you always had money for gas. It was like you had your own travel agency. Things came to a head though when you started making 80 mile junkets across the state to the beach. Your mom was very concerned about insurance coverage for your friends so we set new rules for your travel agency limiting the distance of your excursions.

The years passed quickly and you were a senior in high school. We were like two ships passing in the night, rarely talking and living our separate lives. It was understandable since you were taking advanced calculus and trigonometry. You were also involved in outside activities like being in a creative dance group at a local church.

By your senior year you had taken all the right courses, done well on your college entrance tests and were bi-lingual in Spanish. You and your friends had been speaking Spanish at lunch all through high school. You had been seeing your academic advisor regularly and had chosen a major and was looking at colleges. How did I ever have such a grounded, level headed kid?  

I remember when me and your mom walked beside you across the football field on Senior night and I was surprised afterwards when you asked me to meet you at Applebee’s. I thought you would go some place with your mother.

That meant so much to me. We hadn’t talked very much in months and it was so special to have a really nice conversation. You brought up your plans for college and we discussed the pros and cons of going to a local junior college versus going away to a large University. I was delighted to find what a nice, intelligent, level headed woman you were becoming. You wound up going away to college that Fall and later graduated and have been working several years at your first job.

We’ve come a long way together from that day I first held you at the hospital. I can remember the giggles, the laughs, the smiles and even the feelings they gave me. Also the experience of pure happiness of seeing you grow into the woman you have become who I am so proud to call my daughter. In a part of me you will always be my little girl. I pray everyday you will have a long and happy life.

P.S. Let’s meet some time at Applebee’s.

 

                                      Love, 

                                                Dad

                                    

 

 

 

  

Goodbye Yesterday

Murder in Crawfordville

 

 

                                                                          Chapter 1

 

For years, people in Wakulla County, Florida saw a phenomenon called the Wakulla Volcano. Large plumes of sometimes black or white smoke could be seen rising out of Wacissa swamp deep in what was later Apalachicola National Forest. Further north in Tallahassee it could be seen at times with brightened shafts of white or green smoke causing locals to think it was Indians or smugglers. The more imaginative thought it was the Devil stirring red hot pots of bubbling tar. Mysteriously it stopped after the Charleston, South Carolina earthquake of 1886.

 

September 10th, 1944

Jimmy Dukes sat on the edge of his bed tying his high-top tennis shoes as morning light streamed through the side windows and shined on the Cleveland Indians pennant above his bed. He was a pitcher for the Bankers, a little league team sponsored by the First National Bank of Crawfordville, and had always dreamed of playing in the majors like his hero Bob Feller.

It was Saturday and Jimmy couldn’t wait for the day to begin so he could meet his best friend Billy Dawson at the courthouse. His mom was still sleeping so he creeped softly across the wooden bedroom floor then down the hall to the kitchen in the back. He got a box of corn flakes from the white cabinet above the counter and emptied them in a bowl then poured on milk. At the table he sprinkled on several spoons of sugar from a bowl.

Sam, their nine month old German Shepherd, stood at the back screen door as a soft breeze blew into the kitchen. Jimmy who was 12 had lived in this house all his life. A screened in front porch opened onto a small living room then a hallway with bedrooms on each side ran down the center of the house. In the back was the kitchen and another porch. An almost constant breeze blew down the hallway and into all the rooms.

Jimmy took a bite thinking about what he would find in the drainage ditch. He had a collection of hand blown bottles that were turquoise, light rose and even purple. They were mainly old medicine bottles but a few were liquor and they all had cork stoppers. He took a bite and reached in his pocket feeling the dollar his mom had given him. Since his dad died, she had worked at the A&P grocery store while his brother Bobby worked part time until he went into the Army in September, 1943.

He finished eating and put the dishes in the sink then creeped softly back to his room. Opening the top drawer of the bureau by the front wall he got his collection of baseball cards and spread them on the bed. He and Bobby would call out the name of a player and the other would give a statistic like batting average or home runs. Naming a pitcher’s e.r.a. for a certain year would mean a night off from washing dishes.

Jimmy searched through the cards finding Bob Feller often called Rapid Robert because of his fast ball. He had an opening day no hitter in 1941 and his e.r.a. of 3.15 was the best in baseball that year. Joe DiMaggio, center fielder for the Yankees, hit in a record 56 consecutive games that same year. He looked a little longer then put them up and reached under his bed for his glove and tennis ball. Then walking across the room to the bookcase next to Bobby’s bed he reached above it for his Cleveland Indians cap hanging on a nail.

Walking softly into the hall he glanced at the kitchen clock above the screen door. He still had a little time so he carefully opened the front door and walked out across the yard and down the steps onto the brick street. He took a windup bringing his leg high in the air like Bob Feller then threw the tennis ball at the front steps and caught the rebound. About thirty minutes later he put the glove and ball on the front porch. 

Walking down Palm Street he went past small wooden houses with front porches and turned right on Orange Avenue going under a huge oak tree with hanging moss then past houses with palm trees and old cars in front. Cutting through the Crawfordville Elementary playground he then walked around the side of the two-story brick building onto the front lawn which sloped gently toward Tangerine Street. He turned right then several blocks later saw Billy sitting in front of the courthouse. Sneaking up behind he put his hands on his shoulders making him jump.

 Jimmy started laughing. 

“Why do you always do that?” Billy frowned pushing up his black framed glasses.

“Because I like to.” He grinned.

They had been best friends since anyone could remember. Through cub scouts and boy scouts they had always been together and even played on the same Little League team. 

“You got the shovel?”

“Right here.” Billy held it up. “You got the bag?”

“Yep.” He smiled.

They walked past the courthouse with two Royal palms and a large oak tree in front then crossed Alabama street. It was in the low eighties as they walked in the shade of huge moss hanging oak trees past old homes with wrap around porches. It was so nice being outside after being in class all week. After walking down the gently sloping sidewalk for about fifteen minutes they crossed over Tangerine and were walking down Citrus Avenue, a side street.

“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.“ Jimmy yelled.

 They pushed and grabbed each other while they walked.

 “You stepped on a crack.” Billy’s black hair was plastered down.

 “No, I didn’t.”

 “Slugs.” Billy yelled.

 People were stepping onto the covered platform of the train depot.  

“Okay.” Jimmy frowned, turning up his shirt sleeve, then Billy smacked him.

 Billy stepped on a crack.

“My turn.” Jimmy smiled then landed his fist. 

They went back and forth several times.

“You want to give up?” Billy grinned. 

Jimmy was rubbing his red arm.

“No way.”

“You want to call it a tie?” 

People were on benches on the platform.

“Okay but you quit first.” 

“No, I didn’t.” Billy had on a white tee shirt.

“Yes, you did.”

“You boys stop arguing.” Mr. Meeks, the train depot supervisor, stood on the covered platform glaring.

They put their heads down and turned right onto a dirt path beside the drainage ditch. After about fifty yards they stopped. The ditch was about ten yards wide, fifteen feet deep and the bottom and sides were matted with plants and vines. Tires were strewn about and everywhere were bottles and trash. Thick woods were on the right and on the other side was a field with high grass and weeds.

“You sure you want to do this?” Billy saw trash covered with flies.

“Why not this is going to be fun!” 

 Carefully they climbed down to the bottom and took turns swinging the shovel knocking down plants and vines, and putting bottles in a pile. A three-foot yellow corn snake crawled from a hole near Billy who tried to catch it before it slithered into some bushes. They began looking at the bottles swatting away flies as they threw away the ones they didn’t like.

“Look at this one.” Jimmy held a light rose bottle. 

The sun was beating down. 

 “Probably held laudanum.” 

“What’s that?”  Sweat was running down Jimmy’s back. 

“It’s what people took before aspirin.”

Jimmy put it in a burlap bag.

They collected more bottles then began digging along the sides with the shovel. Sweat soaked their tee shirts as Jimmy rolled over rocks and Billy stood with the shovel raised above his head.

“I saw something shiny.”

Jimmy got down on his knees and felt around in the brown soil. His fingers wrapped around a small hard object which he wiped on his blue jeans. He then held it up in the light.

“What is it?” Billy’s hair hung in his face. 

“It’s some kind of cross.” 

He handed it to Billy who examined it for a few seconds.

“Doesn’t look like any cross I’ve ever seen.”  

Something snapped above them and they saw a man in a Hawaiian shirt standing by a pine tree. Billy stuffed the cross in his pocket and grabbed the bag while Jimmy got the shovel. They scurried up the side and ran all the way to the train depot before stopping.

 “Do you see him?” Billy said between breaths as they looked down the ditch.

“I don’t see anything.” 

 They looked at each other for a second.

 “Let’s get out of here.” Billy’s eyes were bulging.

They walked and ran until they reached the courthouse and sat on a bench in front by the sidewalk. Their clothes and faces were streaked with dirt.

“That guy’s crazy.” Jimmy looked down the street. 

The Hawaiian Dream or Dream for short was a short pudgy man with a fondness for Hawaiian shirts and thick black cigars.

“Why do you think he’s following us?”

“Maybe it’s the cross.” Jimmy wiped his face with his shirt. “You still got it?”

“Yeah.” Billy took it out of his pocket.

Moss hung from the oak above them.

“Let me see it .. It’s got strange symbols on it.”

“Maybe it’s some kind of secret code.” Billy pushed up his glasses.

“It feels kinda creepy.” Jimmy handed it back.

A lady carrying a grocery sack walked past them.

“We better take this to Uncle Joe.” 

“Right.”

They looked down the street a few moments as a breeze rattled through the Royal palms.

“What are you doing this afternoon?” Billy’s black glasses were crooked.

“Gotta mow the yard … what about you?”

“I gotta book to read.”

“Sherlock Holmes?” Jimmy brushed some dirt off his jeans.

“Yeah.”

“Of course.” Jimmy smiled.

 They sat for a little while watching cars and people.

 “You ready to go?”  Billy squinted at the bright sun.

“Yeah.”

They stood and started walking down the sidewalk toward the school. Across the street was Connie’s Drug Store with a soda fountain that made really great chocolate malts. Teenagers hung out there a lot. Next to Connie’s was Ginger’s Department Store then there was the Zephyr movie theater and the A&P where Jimmy’s mom worked. The sun was directly overhead when they walked up to the police station but no one was there.

“I guess I’ll have to keep this till Monday.”

Two girls came out of Nick’s café and started giggling and pointing at the muddy boys who looked away. Betty Lovette was in Jimmy’s sixth grade class and wanted to be his girlfriend while Cindy Jones was in Mrs. Allen’s class. The boys walked past the Dixie barbershop with their heads down then turned left on Oak.

“Isn’t that your girlfriend?”

“Betty Lovette?” Jimmy frowned. 

“Yeah Betty Lovette.”

Mary’s Boarding house with dark green awnings was on their right.

“I don’t know, maybe.” 

“I heard she passed you a note.” Billy grinned. 

“So?” Jimmy kicked a rock. 

“She’s kind of cute.”

“You think so?” He smiled slightly.

Yellow butterflies fluttered above a vacant lot.

“Yeah.” 

“Do you like Cindy? 

“She’s got cooties.” 

“How do you know?” 

“She drank at the water fountain after Helen Dobbs.” Billy blew his nose.

“That doesn’t give you cooties.” Jimmy frowned.

 They passed a house with a rusty roof. 

“Helen Dobbs has had cooties since the fourth grade.” 

“You don’t get cooties from a water fountain!” 

“You do if you touch it after someone.” Billy adjusted his glasses.

They stopped in front of an old two story house.

“No, you have to touch someone to get them.” Jimmy almost yelled.

“Not with a carrier, you have to have a cootie shot for them.” 

“You’re crazy!” 

A truck passed them.

“That’s why I always have a cootie shot.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” He put his hands in the air.

A few minutes later they stood in front of Billy’s house. 

“I’ll see you Monday… don’t forget the cross.”

“I won’t ..see you later alligator.” He shot a goofy smile. 

“In a while crocodile.” 

Jimmy heard the plopping of sneakers as Billy ran up the sidewalk to the front door and went inside. About ten minutes later he was home.

 

 

Trees

We climb them, jump from them and sometimes get married by them. They come in all kinds of colors, heights, widths and textures and we drive by them everyday not knowing their names. It’s trees. Wonderful shade giving, wind blocking beautiful trees. Now I’ll tell you some of their names and a few interesting things about them.

 

Sabal palms also known as sabal palmetto, cabbage palm and swamp cabbage grow all along the Southeastern coastline of the United States. They are even found along Virginia and stretch southward along the coastal States all through Florida and hug the Gulf coastal plains into Texas. Salt resistant they can even grow when the lower portion is submerged at high tide. Also they’ve been observed withstanding temperatures as low as 8.6 degrees fahrenheit.

The tallest can reach ninety feet and are sometimes called Century palms because it’s thought they can live up to two to three hundred years. They begin forming the round palm leaf top at about 25 feet as the dead palm fronds fall off

leaving the “basketweave” caused by the flat, jutting “Y” shaped leaf bases that go up the tree. It loses all the leaf bases as it reaches maturity leaving a rough, fibrous trunk surface.

The top of the tree or heart where the young green palm fronds begin developing is called the terminal bud. As the fronds grow outward the bud or heart gets larger and can be eaten like the center of an artichoke of cabbage. However, cutting out the heart kills the tree. 

The straight round trunks have been used as pilings for docks and for building forts and in the past brooms and scrubbing brushes were made from the palm fronds. Sabal palms are also the state tree of Florida and South Carolina and are on both State flags. On rare occasions the trunk will fork and have two round tops which looks kind of strange.

People sometimes wonder why palm trees bend. It is thought that sand erosion and wind may be the cause but there is another interesting possibility I’ll cover later in this article. Before moving on to other trees I’d just like to say Sabal palms are one of my favorite trees. The graceful way they sway silhouetted against the flat Gulf with an orange sun dipping in the water brings back gentle memories of Fall. 

 The next tree is the Wild Date Palm known by botanists as phoenix sylvestris. Native to India and Pakistan it is found in flat lands subject to monsoons and in the United States it grows in areas where the temperature doesn’t fall below 15 degrees.

Slow growing they can reach heights of 50 feet with the top leafy part reaching diameters of 25 feet. The trunk is generally thicker than a Sabal palm with widths reaching up to one and a half feet and possible two feet. The branch or petiole that grows from the trunk is approximately 3 feet long and pointed. This grows into the leaflets or palms that grow on opposite sides of the branch.

The entire length of the branch from the trunk to the tip can reach 10 feet and the blue green palms or leaflets can reach up to 18 inches and are long and wispy. Along the thick trunk are flattened oblong bumps that curve out then down slightly. An elephant’s toenails come to mind and the grey texture of the trunk looks like the foot and leg.

A twisting mat of yellowish roots reach out of the top where the branches grow out of the trunk. These are called inflorescences and at the top of them small white blossoms grow. There ovated fruit about an inch long grow in orange clusters and turn dark red to purple when ripe. In India sugar as well as alcohol is made from the flowers and the fruit is made into jelly or preserves.

Whenever I see a Wild Date Palm I imagine a man in white turban and baggy white clothes riding by on a huge grey elephant.

 

 

Southern Live Oak

 

This tree grows from southeastern Virginia then down along the North Carolina coastal area. They spread out more inland in South Carolina, grow across Southern Georgia and all of Florida. From Florida they grow along the Gulf Coast and spread out in the interior of Texas.

It’s also called the Virginia live oak, Plateau oak and Escarpment live oak. They are classified as nearly evergreen even though they replace their small dark green leaves over a period of a few weeks in Spring. Their narrow pointed acorns provide food for a wide variety of wildlife including birds, squirrels and black bears. The grey moss that hangs down from their limbs is used for bird nests.

Southern Live Oaks are fast growing but slow down with age and their trunks may reach close to full diameter within 70 years. When live oaks have enough room to grow their massive anaconda like limbs can create tree canopies or crowns 150 feet in diameter. That is close to fifty yards or half the length of a football field. Even larger canopies are possible since they never stop growing and some trees in the U.S. are estimated between several hundred to over a thousand years old.

 

 

 

      Some interesting facts:

 

• Live oaks were used to make the curved part of the hull in old sailing ships
• The USS Constitution made of tough Southern Live Oak survived numerous cannon shots in the War of 1812 and was nicknamed “Old Ironsides”.
• Indians bent young Live Oak limbs to make trail markers.
• Wind can cause young live oak trunks to twist in order to provide more strength. They continue to be twisted even as the tree grows older.
• When crowded among other trees Live Oaks will grow their limbs toward sunlight sometimes making unusual twists and bends. This is also generally true of other trees.

 

Some notable Southern Live Oaks

 

• “The Seven Sisters Oak”

 Located in Mandeville, Louisiana it’s age is estimated between 500 and 1000 years old. It was determined the largest U.S. Southern Live Oak in 2016. It’s girth at half a meter of height was 39.6 feet and it’s height was 57 feet. In 2019 it’s canopy or limb spread exceeded 153 feet.

 

      *     “Cellon Oak”

 

This is the largest recorded Live Oak in Florida and is the logo of Alachua County. It’s girth is 30 feet, height is 85 feet and the canopy or crown is 160 feet.

 

• “Angel Oak”

 

Located on Jones Island near Charleston, South Carolina it is named after the Angel family estate. It is estimated at 400 to 500 years old and is 66.5 feet tall with a girth of 28 feet. It’s branch length or crown is 187 feet making it the largest in the U.S.

 

       *    “Big Tree”

 

This is possibly the oldest Southern Live Oak or even tree in the world. The Texas Forest Service first estimated it to be over a thousand years old then it was more recently estimated as closer to 2,000 years old. Located near Lamar, Texas and close to the Gulf of Mexico it survived a brutal Union Naval bombardment in the Civil War that leveled Lamar leaving only an old Catholic chapel and the “Big Tree”.

Climatologists believe it has survived somewhere between 40 and 50 major hurricanes and numerous floods, droughts, floods, droughts and wildfires. It’s girth or circumference is over 35 feet and the height is over 45 feet. The crown is spread 90 feet. It’s girth makes it the second largest Live Oak in Texas which is unusual because the almost constant Gulf breeze limits the height of coastal Live Oaks.

One thing I really like about Live Oaks is early mornings and white shafts of light streaming through the branches. Puts me in mind of stain glass windows in churches and the great Transcendent.

 

Bald Cypress 

 

Also called Swamp Cypress, Gulf Cypress and Tidewater Red Cypress or just Red Cypress it is the State Tree of Louisiana. It is found in swampy areas along the southern coastline of the U.S. It has a dark reddish color compared to white and yellow Cypress in drier areas and can reach heights up to 145 feet with a trunk diameter of three to six feet. 

Often surrounded by Cypress knees, knobby, brown root like structures that stick out of the water, the tree’s bark is greyish to reddish brown and is thin and fibrous giving it a stringy texture. It’s lacy russet needles ,which are long, stringy like leaves, drop in the Winter and the tree grows new green needles in the Spring.

It is often used for building. The original doors of St. Peter’s Basilica were cypress and over 1,100 years old when torn down in the 1500s for reconstruction. The reason for the durability is because the tree has an oil called cypressene that preserves the wood from insects and decay. The oil is not sticky so the wood can be sanded and easily worked. 

These qualities allow it to be made into furniture such as cedar chests which can last for centuries and have a very nice smell. Just ask someone that has owned one. Sometimes the wood will have scattered darker spots caused by fungi and it is called pecky cypress. This is often used for walls and furniture because it gives a rustic, weathered look.

The general consensus is that cypress knees make the tree more stable in the often loose, muddy soil. It was long thought that the knees help bring more oxygen into the tree but laboratory tests have debunked that. Mangrove trees have a similar structure. 

So there you have it, a brief exploration of trees and maybe next time when you pass one you will know it’s name and appreciate a little more those silent sentinels that seem to watch over our daily lives.