The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1948-04-22
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BY Hal Clark

I've waited quite a while to
write this column about the bum
blebee tree.
+. + * =
The Bumblebee tree lives in my
back yard. It has lived there
since early spring year ago.
= + 4 +
We named it the Bumblebee
tree because during the war there
were a lot of little signs on the
walls of the air depot hangers OF
the nation.
i * =
The little signs said, in effect:
Engineers and designers have
definitely proven that the bum
blebee is aerodynamically ILL
constructed and incapable of
flight. E. --...
i :. Is X
Fortunately the little humble
bee does not know this and, in
his ignorance, keeps right on
flying and making little honey
every day" .-. -.
II 4 + y +
We dug out the Bumblebee tree
from Dick and June Rector's back
yard. It was big and it was heavy.
Joe Heggen finally came over and
hauled it in his truck to our
home in Green Homes. It was
about all we could do to lift it
and put it on the truck bed.
y + Is -
We had hole all waiting for
it. We planted it, tamping the
soil closely around the roots, and
began to give it lot of water ev-
cry day. .
= = - ...a
Many of my doleful neighbors
came over to take a look. and
prophesied the trees
early demise.
4 S. = --.....s
It'll never grow" they chorus
ed. cts too big for transplant
ing"
Because we need back yard
shade the way a drowning man
needs air. I WINGED internally at
each remark and kept on hoping
hat the tree couldn't hear what
they were saying. And that it
would, lacking the wisdom of my
keep right on growing
because it didn't have the intelli-
sence to die.
= **
Now the Bumblebee tree is leaf
ing and lacing all over the place.
= + r
To me that vindication is re-
ward enough for the time I've
spent almost taking its pulse and
its limbs in the earnest
nope that it would ignorantly re-
ute the sophisticated defeatism of
'ur neighborhood diagnosticians.
! IS
Yes, the Bumbletree in my
ard wasn't smart enough to know
t couldn't do it.
; HsHH
Now you all know that the
arthest thing from my thoughts at
my time is to point a moral.
So don't think I'm pointing if |
Jay that we could use a lot more
If that philosophy around our
own.
4
We've got a toddler-trapping
open ditch running right through
he center of Kennewick. I don't |
Know who, and I don't know |
where, and / don't know when
,ut one of these days that ditch |
S going to kill another child!
It might help if we were too
lumb to know that it isn't possible
o fence or cover it.
II + +
Our water situation is tempo
arily under control. State hy- |
raulic engineers have certified
S safety. The PP&L is making a
omplete engineering survey of its
,ater system. The KenneWick IT.
cation District has employed an
ngineer to make a similar study
its system.
4: Il 4 & s.-.. ..-....
The city council has approved
lie employment of an engineer to
lake an overall study of the two
1stemS.
i = = III .sz- -. Es.-
They've approved it, but SO far
ley haven't hired him.
Il ** s..
Deliberative processes are fine.
only quarrel with them when
ley become too deliberate.
j. i = m
Maybe it's all right wait un-
/ the returns are in from the
Pal studies; from state health
ithoritieS; from committees.
Il Is -
But / write here and now in this
,lumn that appears every week
noer my name, so you will know
lat ii is my personal opinion and
ot necessarily the thinking of the
lnat we will not have
.ttled our water problem until
e nave single, unified supply
protected water for the men
J.. wU..,en and kids of this town.
!: :: {: +
What happened once can hap
EN- again. say that with no in
.nl 10 reflect upon the fine men
no are managing the two water
:. TENS.
X 1