A Tree Grows.....

The book club book today was Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”, written in 1943 about an immigrant family in Brooklyn at the start of the 20th century and through WWI.       For some reason this old book (labeled by the Library of Congress in 3 categories: “Brooklyn”, “Poor People”, and “Girls”,  is curiously very popular today because I couldn’t get it from the library in any form.      My mother had this book…I read it many years ago —it’s kind of a “coming of age” novel, very autobiographical, about German immigrants barely scratching out an existence in this “small town” but rich in family.   The symbolic tree is “Ailanthus Altissima” or Ghetto Palm or Tree of Hell and is extremely hardy, thriving in low light, being cut off, burned or very disturbed soil,

 My Dad lived in Brooklyn from about 1915, having come over from Sweden with his family at about age 12.  We visited many times when I was a kid…I do wish I could ask him questions about that period.  He had lots of stories about when he was a little older. His Dad’s side of the family is the one I know the least about… I might have to ask Connections or Musings for help and break down and try ancestry.com.  

This viburnum tree has been in front of our condo since we moved in almost 30 years ago.. for many years it was an ungainly stick, (with heavenly smelling blossoms in December)  but recently was pruned and looks better than it ever has..the blossoms are past their peak and its starting to leaf out but I liked this with my next door neighbor in the window.   She’s 96, recently had a heart attack, can't remember who we are, but I find myself constantly checking to make sure she’s sitting there one more day.