Blow! It's time for a showdown! You and me. I'm right here. Come and get me! You'll never sink this boat!

My dad had lots of opinions and words of wisdom that I remember from over the years. Some of it was good advice like always buy the heaviest head of lettuce you can find. Some of it was silly like never order a large ice cream because your taste buds will freeze half way and then you can't taste it anymore. (I googled that one and NOT TRUE!)


Today as I drove down Canton Center Road I was reminded of another piece of his advice. Never plant a Bradford Pear tree. The street I grew up on had a ton of these flowery trees lining the roads. You see them all over and they really look beautiful for the spring. Whenever I would comment on their beauty, my dad would tell me this: Communities plant them because they are cheap. They will look good for about ten years and then they get weak and fall apart. One good storm will break them down. He would say to get a Redbud or a Dogwood. Still pretty and much sturdier. When it came to plants and trees, my dad knew his stuff. He was a landscape architect by profession. He knew everything about every plant and tree there was including their Latin names. When I was at BYU and MSU and would find an unusual plant, I would mail him a leaf and he would identify it for me. I loved his plethora of knowledge on this subject.

Now when I see the Bradford Pear I get mad at the stupid weak trees. What a waste! Sometimes I think about how some people are like the Bradford Pear, unable to weather the storms. Maybe that's why my dad didn't like them. He wasn't weak and he NEVER bowed or split during the storms in his life.