The middle aged woman had tears in her eyes as she looked at the downed white ash tree. The 80 year old tree had dominated her family's Adirondack cabin at Sacandaga Lake for years and now it would be gone, the victim of a harsh upstate NY storm. In truth, the old tree had been diseased for years and her husband Bob had pestered Ann to have the tree cut down. But she couldn't do that.
Too many memories were tied to the tree. The old rope swing was still attached to the long limb that used to stretch out toward the lake and Ann cried as she held the rope.
"We will plant a new one," her husband assured her. She nodded but inside she knew that a new tree would never replace her prized white ash. Those memories were just too strong. But she smiled at her husband and nodded in agreement. What other choice did she have?
The storm had destroyed her favorite part of the camp but it could not take away her cherished recollections of those special summers as a youth.
The End
Author’s Bio: Tom Schmidt is a Chemical Engineer working in medical diagnostics in upstate New York. He enjoys creative writing and has been published on www.short-story.me, www.fatherstars.com, www.short-humour.org.uk, and overmydeadbody.com in the past. Tom can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..