3 October 2008
3:45
Jackson Plaza, Willamette University, Salem, OR
I am sitting underneath the tree at the corner of Jackson Plaza where the mill stream meets the cement wall just a little ways down from the bridge next to Smith Auditorium. The grass is wet after a short shower and I am glad that my jacket is long to protect me from the streams of water running off each blade of grass. I look out the mill stream and can almost see the murky bottom peeping through the shallow stream. I have noticed that each weekend the mill stream becomes much shallower than it is during the week. During the weekend the mill stream seems to trickle through the rocks lining the bottom, but during the week the stream blazes through without trouble. I lean back against the tree and look out at the center of campus beneath the tree’s safety. I look up and see a tangle of branches criss-crossing here and there, winding together like knots. The bark is rough and moss seems to be creeping up near the base of the tree. I start to wonder what the roots below me look like, they are trapped on one side by the cement wall that cases the mill stream and all around is sidewalk and brick. These barriers are limiting the trees growing area, just like the tree near the Eastside Lawn.