Need a haircut? (So did the nangka!)

Monday, June 1, 2020
Some tree guys are trimming the huge banyan tree in a parking area beside our yard. It's been eaten by caterpillars. The neighbors ask if we're willing to pitch in some money, though taking the tree down to a single long trunk (6 men working 2 days) will be less than $300.

We have nothing to do with that tree, but many of our neighbors are older and not all are well off. We sometimes contribute a little to their projects of beautifying the neighborhood.

Can you see the two men (middle and right) clambering up the trunks? They're about 40' (13 meters) above the ground. No fear of heights there.

And then I remember the nangka (jackfruit) tree in our driveway. We don't get much fruit from it: the worms eat everything on the upper branches.

The huge spiny fruits (1-2' long) drop with deadly force. Two huge branches fell onto the driveway last year. We often have people park under the tree. Luckily no one's been struck by it yet.

Maybe while the men are working nearby, they can help us out. 6 guys show up to trim the tree. Here's what it looked like before - a magnificent tree that was past its useful height and had already dropped some big branches onto the roof and driveway ...

and here's after. I probably should just asked them to take the top off as well.

The men are quick, going up and down the branches with machetes and mattocks. I spot something crazy. They're wearing flip flops as they climb!

In an hour, they have trimmed branches and trunks. They avoid breaking any electrical wires that are threaded through the branches. They've cut the tree to a manageable height, where we can send someone up a bamboo ladder for fruit. I'm content.

I've seen this kind of brutal Indonesian-style pruning before. Sometimes the yardman takes the top 2/3 off a tree in a straight cross-cut off the top. And to our surprise, the tree regrows and thrives on hard cut-backs. Unbelievable.

The scariest thing is watching the men perch on the branches. (See the guy standing in the middle?) They haul their chainsaw up and down with a rope, cut just above the guys below who are chopping up the falling branches and loading them into their little pickup truck.

"Can you imagine, working and walking under a machete-wielding tree-pruner?" I ask W. Nope.

"Or being the guy holding up a ladder for another to climb up and bring down some branches caught in the tree?" Nope, not that either.

But they've done it a hundred times or more. No one gets hurt. Indonesians have an incredible spacial awareness of each other and nature. Once in a while the men yell their version of "hey, look out" so someone moves a bit to the right or left to prevent getting nailed by a falling branch.

They're fast, working, joking, and chattering together.

Night falls as they clean up leaves and other organic debris. Before we know it, they're done.

I made an enormous pot of soup in the morning: beans, lentils, carrots, and corn. Why? We had some for lunch but it seemed like a lot left. I had no idea - until now. Each man takes a bag of soup and some of Ibu Apong's marvelous cookies.

There's just a little pile of logs when they're through. They pull out of the gate eating the cookies and waving a cheery goodbye. They'll be back for the logs tomorrow.

The mango tree and other plants under the nangka are barely holding on. In the shade of the ever-expanding tree, they have not grown well. Now that the tall spread is trimmed, they will get more light, air, and water. Will they thrive? I hope so.

A parallel occurs to me: a strong leader often shades those near him or her. In full strength, a big tree requires many resources, so it pulls the nutrients from the soil and keeps everything else around it small.

An alpha leader can be like that in an organization.

• Do you know a person with such strong gifts, talents, abilities, proven experience, and ideas that they prevent others from thriving? = They can do it all better than you can. And they do.
• Who is coming up behind you, who has never had a chance to develop near your limelight? = Just because you're good at some things, doesn't mean you need to be doing everything yourself.
• Or do you have to get out from someone else's shadow to fulfill you own promise? = How long are you willing to wait until that obstacle is severely pruned back or taken away?

The trees under the shade of the nangka are weak and spindly. The former tenant said the mango tree is marvelous but we have never had any fruit from it. Let's see if coming out from under the shadow lets them grow strong and tall in their own right.

Read more:
*Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Isaiah 44:8

*What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Matthew 10:27

Moravian Prayer: Patient and loving God, we praise your name for your continued presence and power with us this day. Continue to speak your words to us so that we may be your witnesses throughout this day and forevermore. Amen.