The missing trees

When I moved to North Woodmere 38 years ago my backyard and the one behind my home had tall, magnificent trees that created shade. They provided privacy through our kitchen window. We could open our blinds and dine with a view of peaceful greenery. When my children were young they learned to walk and played in the backyard. We met there for afternoons of family get-togethers. Chairs were arranged in semi-circles as they played with the kids, talked of the past and enjoyed the shade. Photos from the 1980s show my son and daughter being hugged by those relatives, sitting and chatting while sipping iced tea and munching summertime snacks.
Those get-togethers went on for years until my parents moved to Florida. As they got older travel became too difficult each summer the backyard seemed bare without them. I spent many afternoons sitting under my tree reading, but painfully missing their company.
Years later storms struck with that seemed like a vengeance. One destroyed so many trees that the tree removers worked on my block for days carting away trunks and branches. The trees in my backyard and in the yard behind me fell like toothpicks. The shade from the sun was forever gone.
It is sad to think that the storms, possibly due to climate change, wiped away the beauty of  these trees in our neighborhood. Will the world of tomorrow be absent of trees inviting us to sit under them to enjoy our day?
A wonderful young couple moved into the house behind me. They cut down the remaining stumps of the trees left by the previous owners. They installed a beautiful white fence. As I look out my kitchen window for the 38th year I have a perfect view of their newly fixed-up home. There is nothing to block it; no shade from the heat of a hot Sunday afternoon, just grass, a fence and a once remembered time when trees were considered good to have.

Weinberger is a North Woodmere resident.