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       #Post#: 217289--------------------------------------------------
       Marcescence
       By: LabPartner Date: November 7, 2023, 3:34 pm
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       Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/7/2023
       [quote]Hasn’t it been a lovely fall? Weather-wise, at least. The
       news, not so much. Still, Monday was sultry and beautiful — I
       had a fire going in the backyard when my wife came home from
       work, and we enjoyed a rare November weenie roast. Hot dogs just
       taste better grilled over an open fire.
       Over the past few weeks, when the trees were aflame themselves,
       all orange and yellow and red, it was almost possible to forget
       what’s coming. The three months of bitterness and cold. Maybe
       four. Five, tops.
       The leaves are mostly fallen now, the branches quite bare. The
       bright colors once above us now turned to dun and lining the
       gutter, a sodden mass.
       Opinion
       Except of course for those oaks and beeches and other varieties
       of trees that are marcescent — not a word that gets in the paper
       much. Marcescence is the ability of certain trees to hold onto
       their leaves.
       Nobody is sure exactly why they do it. Though scientists have
       been studying this tree business for a long time, botanists
       aren’t sure what value marcescence has: perhaps something to do
       with tree growth, as younger trees tend to be more marcescent
       than older. Maybe the leaves shield the tender branches from the
       killing wind. Maybe they provide a second wave of mulch.
       Holding on is an undervalued quality. We’re so fixated on fame,
       we forget about tenacity. Neil Young was wrong; it’s better to
       fade away than to burn out.
       Once you notice them, it’s easy to feel solidarity with those
       lingering leaves. To cheer them on. There’s a poignant Tom Waits
       song, “Last Leaf,” where the plucky flat arboreal appendage
       speaks. “I’m the last leaf on the tree,” it sings. “The autumn
       took the rest/But they won’t take me.” Kinda like being among
       the last regular columnists for a daily newspaper in Chicago.
       Waits also has a song called “Hold On.” That sounds like a plan.
       Defy the wind. Sometimes the best you can do is squinch your
       eyes shut, cling to that branch with all your might, and wait
       for better days.[/quote]
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