WHY "CONFESSIONS TO A TREE"?

WHY "CONFESSIONS TO A TREE"?

In January 2009, the only computer in our house was a secondhand one given to us by a friend.  Not only that, but we also had dial-up internet service.

The reasons? One was the financial situation.  However, the most important reason was our desire to not succumb to the consumerism surrounding us.

However, it eventually became clear that things would have to change at home in order for us to keep up with the rapid changes of the times. So, one day my wife came home with a package in her hands. Not used to seeing shopping packages at home, my daughter and I looked at her with curiosity.

My wife placed the package on a table. She opened it. And then we saw that it was a MacBook Pro laptop. While setting it up, she said, "Let’s not move it from here.”  We knew from her assertive voice that this was where the computer would be based.

The place allocated for the laptop was a small table located in the living room, next to the piano, and up against a window overlooking a green area of the yard.

Around the same time, my wife cancelled the frustratingly slow dial-up internet service, and signed up for high speed internet. The arrival of fast internet service changed some things in our family’s routines. Especially mine.

I've always been a morning person, but since then, from four o'clock each morning, I spend a good chunk of time on the computer, until it is time for me to awake my wife and daughter for work and school.

During these early mornings, and for a good part of my weekends, I write for different projects that I have in mind. I spend hours and hours sitting in front of the computer, the table, and the window. And as anyone who writes knows very well, there are also endless moments when the inspiration, or the word, or the correct piece of information do not come to mind. At these times I look out through the window.

And what do I see?

A tree.

Exactly fourteen feet from my window stands a tall, strong tree. From looking at it so much, we have become friends. It is not very different from any other relationship in life: sharing time with someone often leads to becoming good companions. There have been hours of insomnia, and hours of either too much or too little inspiration. Hours of looking at the tree, and searching for answers. 

This new blog seeks to capture in black and white a set of memories, thoughts, and ideas that fill my head up every day. Up until this time I have been “writing” about these issues in my mind. But they are always displaced from my memory to make way for new thoughts, and eventually are erased from my mind without ever becoming “saved files”.

A few days ago I finished my project writing about the history of José Gálvez Football Club. Today I start “Confessions to a Tree”. Memories, reflections, anecdotes and occurrences of everyday life will be its central themes.

And it will be a pleasure to have your company. 

Wish me luck.

New Hampshire, USA

October 2011

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