Things I Hope for in 2024

 Strong old trees near the ocean and my house.

There are lots of things I hope for in 2024.

Peace.

Laughter. I read P.G. Wodehouse for laughter. The Code of the Woosters is a hoot. 

Puppy love. The love of a pup old or young.

Play. Play with pup. Play with friends.

Silliness. Never too much silliness in my life, it is always welcome. Related to play, see above.

Reading. In this way I enlarge my world and my experiences and my knowledge. Reading Greenlights I get to learn some things Matthew McConaughey shares. Look for those green lights in life, friends.

Spend time outdoors. Breathe deeply in that clean outdoor air and send out prayers of thanks for all good things.

Continue to make new friends, welcome new people into church, invite them for coffee.

Pray for my country to turn back to our roots of freedom and faith and to secure our borders.

Change my routine a bit. Visit our Boardwalk and ride the horses on the carousel. See Silliness and Play above.

Plant more flowers and flowering shrubs and plant another fruit tree. I am thinking an apple tree. 

Just some quick thoughts have created this list. What are some of your hopes for 2024?

You can plant historic trees' offspring

There is a company that creates offspring of famous trees from cuttings from the historic trees.

You can plant a tree that is the offspring of the Elvis Presley Southern Magnolia from the tree at Graceland, the Moon Sycamore grown from seeds taken to the moon and back in 1971 on Apollo XIV, and the Johnny Appleseed tree from the last remaining tree planted by him, which still grows on a farm in Ohio. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in the shade of a Live Oak tree in Selma, Alabama and that tree's offspring is available, and the Live Oak tree growing at the Alamo.


The American Forests Historic Tree Program at www.historictrees.org (800 320-8733) sells these precious trees and many more including the Walden Woods Red Maple and the Gettysburg Address Honey Locust.