July/August 1998 - email1
The tree, or as I call it -- me

It began years ago... I was looking for light, or as I call it -- knowledge. Though, everyday, I had to look somewhere new for the light. It was moving, almost hiding from me. That got me to open my mind and to look in new directions. Because of that, I've grown, or as I call it -- learned.

Now, 22 years later, I don't recognize myself. I recall watching parts of me falling off... It feels that those parts have stayed with me, though in a different way. For as time went by I felt bigger, stronger! Those parts never left me, they simply became a part of my trunk, or as I call it -- my past.

Well, what's done is done.

What I'm doing now is looking for more light, or as I call it -- exploring or trying new things. This new light is everywhere! My branches, or as I call them -- memories, are becoming more and more abundant everyday.

When I look at my branches I see many things. But the first thing I see is all of my buds, or as I call them -- friends. That makes me bloom, or as I call it -- smile. So lucky I am to have each and every branch and bud as a part of me,  that I can hardly keep from blooming. I hope that they can bloom forever.

So, to you, the reader, the listener, or as I call you -- friend,  thank you for being a bud on the tree, or as I call it -- me.

Dedicated to you, my friend.

Humbly submitted by Gary Ploski July 3, 1998
- posted by garyploski @ 7/14/1998 09:48:00 PM