Sunday, June 24, 2012

Replant The Trees Or Die.

Trees, cool shade. Correct.

On those rare interludes between worshiping God, shooting some kind of gun, riding a horse or admiring drudge for its headlines, I like to take a stroll down to the Town Square. Take the back streets and gaze at the odd mansion, left behind from the days when cotton was king. 

Failed attempt at a "B&B".


Have a look at the various shacks along the route, some are occupied, Detroit style. Then end up at the old Gaol and Courthouse, sensibly fortified with steel shutters and bars. A relic of the days when Hill County was wilder than it is now.

Detroit Flava


After a pleasing breakfast of Ouevos Rancheros and Mexican House at Montes, stroll down one of the "main streets" off the Square and ask yourself, "Why, why, have they done this?"

Gaol


"Done what?" you ask. Chopped down all the trees of course, the ones that used to provide shade from the searing, oven-blast, relentless heat. 

Rip Out The Trees!!


They're gone now, thanks to the sheer genius of our town planners combined with the entrepeneurial brilliance of the few shops still left in Hillsboro. Apparently the trees were "bad for business" so they ripped them out when they replaced the sidewalks (pavements) earlier this year.

No Trees. Thriving Bidness.


But why replace the sidewalks? Anyone foolhardy enough to take the risk of actually walking down one while the sun is up will probably die, under the merciless glare of a pitiless sun.

I took the risk and survived, but only just. Hydrate -- beat the heat and...

Replant the trees, for goodness sake, while there's still a few of us left in this town to take advantage of the shade.

LSP





4 comments:

David Corey said...

Love that shaded tree line in the first photo. The downtown sidewalk, contrariwise, looks like a freshly formed scab.

LSP said...

The first photo (by the church) is perfect, things sadly degenerate as the tour progresses.

The syllogism runs something like this:

Texas is really hot.
We need to be cool.
Trees provide shade which is cool...

Therefore we'll rip out all the trees!

The "management" of the town is hard to fathom.

David Corey said...

Aristotle invented the "practical syllogism." Hillsboro, TX invented the "impractical syllogism." Quite a claim to fame.

LSP said...

A sort of "anti-syllogism" -- tempted to draw comparisons with TEC, but won't....