Dear Reader:

When Brooke, Jackson, and I went to New York City (five years ago-2012) to see the Broadway Show…The Jersey Boys… we had a ball. We, also, wanted to go see the Twin Towers Memorial Park (Ground Zero) and Museum.

I had braced myself for the fountains and names of those who died on September 11, 2001 but I wasn’t prepared to have an emotional “meltdown” over the Survivor Tree. Before I even knew the history of this amazing tree that survived the “un-survivable” I fell in love with it. I literally stood there mesmerized and I felt the greatest sense of hope flow through me.

I was at my lowest point, both physically and spiritually, having decided to quit chemo and just take a break from treatments when this little tree seemed to beckon me to just ‘hold on’ …something out there was waiting for me. (And it was ….a new drug that kept me stabilized for almost four years!)

I was just coming off my last chemo infusion feeling extremely tired but just seeing this tree and later reading the true remarkable story behind its survival put me in tears of happiness and hope again. I felt like this was my tree and it stood on sacred ground. 

A month after the collapse of the Twin Towers, workers on the site discovered a few green leaves showing through the gray concrete and ash. Clearing the debris, they found a badly injured Callery Pear Tree. She was rescued, taken to a nursery outside the city, and put in the care of Richie, a City Parks Worker. No one was sure if she would live. But the following spring, a dove built a nest in her branches and new green buds appeared.

Over the years, the tree, although still bearing scars, grew tall and strong. She is planted in a place of honor on the 9/11 Memorial Plaza and now known as “The 9/11 Survivor Tree.

What got me thinking about the Survivor Tree again was the cooler weather…it was fall when we first went to New York City. Then yesterday Brooke saw an article on it and sent it to me. The memories came flooding back.

Two years ago Brooke and I visited her son Henry in NYC and returned to the Survivor Tree once again. What a happy reunion!

As I pulled more articles I found a happy surprise! Just last month Charleston was selected to be one of three recipients chosen to be home for the Survivor Tree seedlings. What an honor! (Brooke and I both looked for more information on the planting of these seedlings around Charleston but to date we haven’t discovered any more information…if any of you have more news do send it to me!)

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2017 Survivor Tree Seedling Recipients Announced

Manchester, Charleston and Haiti — three otherwise disparate communities all recently impacted by violence or extreme destruction — have been honored by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum with the offering of Survivor Tree seedlings. The three communities have committed to nurturing these trees to serve as inspiring landmarks symbolizing resiliency and hope.

“The Survivor Tree embodies the strength and resilience demonstrated by our nation after the September 11, 2001, attacks,” 9/11 Memorial & Museum President Alice M. Greenwald said. “The seedlings distributed through this annual program provide hope and the promise of renewal to communities that have endured unimaginable hardship and suffering like Manchester, Charleston and Haiti.”

In Manchester, 22 people, including young adults and children, were killed in a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert. In Charleston, nine parishioners were killed in a shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during evening worship.

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti, leading to more than 1,000 deaths and causing overwhelming destruction throughout the country. The Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. will accept the Survivor Tree seedling on behalf of its country.

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I can’t think of a more perfect gift to give someone fighting a tough health, financial, career, family, or personal obstacle looming in their path…A seedling from the most famous “Survivor Tree.” Here is a description of it when one of the rescue workers decided it, alone, could be saved…the only tree left.

From beneath ruins, 9/11 rescue workers found an extensively damaged yet still alive Callery pear tree. Its roots and limbs were snapped, trunk blackened by smoldering rubble, yet it was still barely alive.

This tree, a survivor of 9/11 was found in October of 2001 and brought shortly thereafter to the Parks Department’s Arthur Ross Nursery in the Bronx to be replanted. The Callery pear tree was nursed back to health from eight feet tall to 30 feet tall. The tree was returned in 2010 to the National September 11 Memorial and became known as the “Survivor Tree.”

The Survivor Tree is just one symbol of resilience, rebirth, and survival in the face of immense destruction and hate. The tree, which was planted in the 1970’s was charred and mangled, yet bounced back in full healthy form to bloom again every spring.

A short video on the Survivor Tree Seedling Program- really interesting!

The Survivor Tree Seedling Program – YouTube

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So until tomorrow… I had to smile at this card I was sent in the mail. We should move on when we are stuck in a quandary for too long but then, sometimes, someone else helps us move out of a disastrous situation like the Survivor Tree and plants us just where we need to bloom.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

*Thank so many of you for your encouraging words and prayers concerning my new oncologist appointment. It was definitely different and I didn’t see any familiar faces until after my appointment so it felt funny. It will take time to adjust to someone new but the doctor was quite nice and made some changes to my medication treatments that she thinks will improve my low hemoglobin levels/chance for infection before flu season and winter comes around.

I am, also, on a mini-vacation from one of my drugs and then when I return for my next appointment the dosage will be lowered. Hopefully this will prove to be a good path to follow to prevent infection. Again, thank you for your support!

School pictures of the Dingle Bro’s…too precious! Lachlan and Rutledge