8 comments/ 15170 views/ 0 favorites Fauna, Flora, Fern, and Frank By: andtheend Elderly couple donates their land for a public park on Earth Day. Earth Day had a different meaning for Fern and Frank. Married for more than sixty years and in poor health for the last ten years, they made a pact. A man on a mission for all that Fern had done for him throughout their lives together, the cooking, the cleaning, the caring, and the loving support she gave him, Frank would do for Fern what she was now too frail and too feeble to do for herself. Donating their land on Earth Day for a public park was their first step in the process and a final tribute to one another, as well as a lasting memory to their beloved neighborhood. Before they had grown old and lost their health, their life wasn't always as sedentary for Fern and Frank. On a good day, Frank was still mobile enough to go out and do the grocery shopping and he'd take Fern with him in her wheelchair, whenever she was feeling up to getting some air. Before they had become ill, they were always out and about and proactive in their community. Now, they seldom venture out for fear of falling, a death sentence at their age, if breaking a hip bone, more so for Frank because, then, who'd care for Fern? Nearing the end of their lives, waiting for the inevitableness of death, the light of their sunrise dimming with blurry darkness, before turning to the black of midnight, they had not much more to live for and to look forward to, other than more aches and pains, and more sadness from reading in the obituaries about an old, dear friend or a close relative dying. It had been a long and wonderful life, but if being a shut-in, unable to go out, and bedridden with illnesses, is all they had to look forward to, then there wasn't much sense with living more of life. Tired, weak, and weary, expecting it, almost looking forward to it, they were ready to die. When they were younger, they always hoped to live to a ripe, old age, but now that they were at that ripe, old age, it was painful to watch their friends and family die, many of whom were younger than they were. It hit them harder when someone younger died, before them, and the death of a celebrity always surprised them, especially when they were older than they were, when they died. Their deaths punctuated the soon to be inevitable, such as Ed McMahon, Bea Arthur, and Ted Kennedy, dying recently, just to name a few. The celebrities younger, at the time, than they were, still expecting Publisher's Clearing House with Ed McMahon to show up at their door, while holding a check for ten million dollars to give them for winning the contest, his demise hit them hard. It more bothered them that they were too old and too frail to drive across town to pay their final respects to a good friend or a close family member that had suddenly departed or succumbed, after a long illness. Now, hiding in their home, watching the world pass by their small house from behind Fern's dusty, lace curtains, her mother's curtains, that Fern always took pride in washing, starching, and ironing, she could no longer maintain their care. Their infirmities and maladies denied them the simple pleasure of even taking a walk on a sunny day and reconnecting with their old friends, who still lived in their neighborhood. Being able to take a walk was the one thing, more than anything else, that they missed the most. When they walked, they always walked holding hands, while talking. Their favorite pastime, walking and talking, they've had more than sixty years of handholding and going through life together. A simple pleasure, they never tired of feeling the connection they had for one another, when holding hands. Besides, holding hands was something they loved doing and always did, even while sitting on the sofa together and watching television. Now, too old to safely walk unescorted they were relegated to watch their neighbors from their kitchen window. Holding hands was a big deal back then that too many of the younger people wouldn't understand today. Unfortunately, now, should they fall, every surface in their neighborhood was hard concrete and fatal. Unless they drove somewhere else to walk, a better neighborhood, perhaps, there was no safe place to walk that had soft grass. They used to have a small neighborhood park to walk to but, after the park had been taken over by homeless people, prostitutes, drug dealers, used as a trash dump and infested with rats, the city sold the land to a developer to put up another absentee landlord slum apartment. Sometimes feeling like prisoners in their own home, especially on those pleasant days, when they weren't able to go out for a walk, wanting to go out but sitting at home bored, made them feel, as if they were just waiting to die. In the meantime, as a diversion, on those sunny days, when they tired of being home alone, they struggled to think of what they could do to leave something everlasting and self-sustaining behind upon their demise. Only, much like everyone else in their small community and those communities that surrounded their community, they were poor. All they had was their small house, an old car, some antique furniture pieces that were passed down from their mothers and grandmothers, and the land they had out back behind their house. Certainly, the antique furniture was worth some money at auction, but Fern could never imagine parting with furniture that had always been in her family or in his family. Mentioned in their will, they always figured they'd leave it to a family member, but too many of their family, those who they thought about leaving the furniture to, were dying before them. Life wasn't always like this for them. Coming together at a time when the world was coming apart, their life began with them being separated. They were happy that they were finally reunited again, after being apart for nearly two years. One lost without the other, and not knowing if they'd ever meet again, after finding their true love and realizing the life they wanted to share, something too many people never find, it was difficult for Frank to let go of Fern to do his duty and serve his country during World War II. They fell in love at a chaotic time and a difficult period. It was a time of death, devastation, and destruction, when the world was at war. With the Germans conquering most of Europe without a fight and Japan bombing Pearl Harbor, it was a time when people didn't know if they'd survive. After the war, it was a time when the real Commander in Chief, Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of only 4 five-star generals in the history of the United States Army, was in charge of the country, as President of the United States. It was a time when all young men were either wearing a uniform or removing one; patriotic pride never ran higher. Frank had finished his fighting. Done with the war, done with his tour of duty, and done serving his country, as a proud and decorated soldier, a veteran of World War II, it was his time to forget the past and continue forward with the future. It was his time for love, instead of hate and living life, instead of waiting for death. He had met Fern at a USO dance and they married, just before he shipped overseas to France. Never having been out of the country, never having been on a plane, he was just a kid, still wet behind the ears. What did he know? All he knew was that he loved Fern and was already missing her. She wrote him nearly every day, impatiently waiting for his reply, as well as his safe return. It was her tender love letters that sustained him through what he had to endure, away at war and killing men, an enemy he didn't even know, while watching his buddies dying, with some of them taking the bullets that were meant for him. Starting their life together, long before there was even such a commemorative day as Earth Day, they didn't need a special day to remind them to be in tune with their natural surroundings and kind to their planet. Deeply religious, they had already been touched by the beauty of nature and by all things good that God had put forth on this green Earth for their use. Having been born during the Roaring '20's and, even as children, having already experienced the very good times, along with the very bad, they were taught by their parents, who had lived through the Great Depression, to appreciate whatever was given them and to be thankful for whatever they had. Ingrained with the belief in the balance of nature that carried through in the harmony of their lives, they cared more for their environment than most of their younger, live for today, unappreciative and oblivious neighbors. Ahead of their time in their protective concern for the preservation of the ecology, it was an obligation reinforced by their Protestant Puritan philosophy, no doubt. Their religion set the table for how they viewed their roles as citizens not only of their neighborhood but also of the world. In doing their part and their fair share, long before there were well worn terms such as global warming, social responsibility, recycling, and carbon footprints, it was their waste not want not, use it up, make do, and do without values that carried their responsibilities over to them being private environmental conservationists and role models to others in their community. Without even realizing it, long before anyone ever heard of such a thing as an environmental conservationist, they were already doing their part in helping to preserve the planet by not wasting natural resources. Responding to the public push from Lady Bird Johnson in the '60's to help keep America beautiful by not dumping trash along the highway, they always drove a small, fuel efficient car, at a time when bigger was better in America. When we think about it now, it's an absolute abomination that we had to have the wife of the President of the United States, along with billboard ads of an American Indian crying, to stop people from dumping their bags of trash and garbage along the highway. Without needing to change their lives to make the small sacrifices they needed to do their part to help save the planet, they always walked with a smaller carbon footprint, anyway, than did most during those decades of conspicuous consumption and wasteful excess. Back then, most people were obviously to the ecology and conservationism. It was a real tragedy for them to endure, when those who didn't even care about their own neighborhood, never mind the rest of the world, used their backyard as their own personal dumping ground. Other than to post no dumping signs on their private property and to call the police to report the offenders, whenever he saw someone dumping trash, Frank was already too old, too slow, too weak, and too weary to do anything more about it than to yell out his kitchen window at them. Even though he hadn't dumped any of the trash and garbage, he stopped calling the police, when the city fined him for dumping and ordered him to clean up his land. Certainly, it wasn't fair, but he understood the logic behind it. There wasn't much he could do about it, but to pay the fine and to clean up, after those who had dumped on his property, only to have them continue to use his backyard as their dump again and again. Finally fed up with trying to keep his land free of trash and garbage, it was then that they thought of what they could do to leave something everlasting and self-sustaining behind. Earth Day was the day they decided to officially donate their land to the city for the creation of a public park. It was a grand idea with a grand plan and Frank and Fern were both so very excited by the prospect of the idea that they told all their friends and neighbors. Only, in this time of budget cuts and financial crisis, would the city agree to set aside the monies needed to build a public park in this community that vandalized whatever improvements the city made? Nonetheless, it was worth a try. With permits in hand, Frank went before the City Council and had the unanimous approval of every City Councilor and the final approval of the Mayor. Those neighbors, who were present at the city council meeting, gave Frank a standing ovation and the City Council President had to bang the gavel several times to finally gain orderly control of the proceedings. Without realizing all that his donation of land would do, he was the first to take a stand to claim back the neighborhood. Instantly, Frank had become a shining star, a champion, and a hero in his neighborhood, at a time, when there were only criminals, absentee landlords, and crocked politicians. From the conception of his idea on the previous Earth Day, it took exactly one year to the day to draw up the plans, obtain the building permits, have it approved by the city, and for the city to build it. Frank and Fern weren't sure if they'd live to see their park through to completion but, in watching the process and progress, it gave them something to do from their kitchen window on those days, when they were unable to go outside. The promise of a new public park gave them renewed hope for a new tomorrow. Excited about going for a stroll on the soft grass, while holding hands and talking, wanting to see the park finished gave them something to look forward to and to live, if only, for one more day. Their generous gift of land meant more to the neighborhood than a parcel of trash filled land meant to Frank and Fern. In a neighborhood so ravaged by criminals, when all there is to look forward to each day is crime and corruption, a turning point in the community, the neighbors were all quick to understand the ramifications of such a giving and generous gift. Now their children would have someplace safe to play, other than out in the street. A neighborhood consumed with blight and abandoned houses, drugs and drug dealers, prostitution and prostitutes, and crime and police sirens, there was a sudden excitement about having a public park in a community that was so decimated by poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness. So desperate for something good to happen to break the cycle of despair and change the status quo from bad to good, when people are so beaten down, it doesn't take much of a gesture for them to grasp at any straw to help them pull themselves up and to make a positive change to help others do the same. It was after the local newspaper reported the land donation that an excitement that hadn't hit this community, since a celebrity, someone who had grown up here, gotten out and made good, and revisited his or her old birthplace, gave a good glow to a bad neighborhood. Suddenly, as if turning on the power, after it had been unplugged for a very long time, there was an electric energy in the air that energized everyone. Even the newspaper, not wanting to pull the plug on such a positive story, glad to report anything but another assault, rape, murder, or arson investigation, latched onto Frank and Fern and wouldn't let go of their good Samaritan story. The power of positive thought was just what this neighborhood needed and switching from the negativity of reporting crime that has desensitized everyone, anyway, the progress accounts and subsequent stories about Frank and Fern's land donation for the purpose of a public park, along with a back story of Frank and Fern, were selling more newspapers. With the newspaper accounts comparing the haves and the have nots and comparing this community to other more affluent communities, reading much like a Charles Dickens saga, A Tale Of Two Cities, with it was the best of times and it was the worst of times theme, everyone was following the story, especially after the newspaper put it Online for those throughout the country and throughout the world to read and follow. Their story appeared in the newspaper weekly, updating the neighbors and the neighborhood on the progress of their newly proposed public park. Columnists from other newspapers around the world wrote regular columns about how this one gesture was helping to not only save a neighborhood but also helping to rebuild a community. The reporter who interviewed Frank and Fern and the newspaper that published their photos on the front page, followed up the public park story by highlighting the love story of Frank and Fern, during World War II. It was a tender and touching story and one that sold a lot of newspapers. Only, much like how the Senator McCain and the Republicans had latched onto Joe the plumber, during the presidential campaign, it wasn't until President Obama made an off the cuff comment during an interview that this country needed more people like Frank and Fern that, suddenly, the whole country turned their heads wanting to know who they were and how to embrace this elderly couple. A snowball growing larger with each roll, after the President's comment, as an aside, a tiny tidbit story at the end of the nightly news broadcast, Frank and Fern was picked up by the national news, when Diane Sawyer took an interest in a small neighborhood that was not far from her Manhattan penthouse. Suddenly, there were satellite trucks parked on the street, while interviewing Frank and Fern and showing a live feed segment of their donated land. Promising to return with the completion of the park, another New York icon, Andy Rooney, took an interest in Frank and Fern's story, and 60 Minutes wanted to do a piece on them, as well. Something good that this country needed during a time of economic despair, the story had long legs and just wouldn't die. Making a donation on behalf of the park, Oprah had Frank and Fern on Skype and played their faces, along with their story across the country. What had started out as just a parcel of donated land snowballed, grew, and morphed into a monumental effort, a community campaign, once the entire neighborhood got wind of it and through their support behind it. Now the whole world was watching, but it soured Frank that no one took interest in his neighborhood before. There were a lot of good people who lived here and each one of them had just as much of an interesting story as they had. Only, just as this community had been ignored for so long, too long, everyone else who lived here had been ignored, too. Everyone was excited by the idea of something new and modern in their neighborhood, instead of something old and broken in their lives. The public donation of land gave the neighbors not only something to talk about but also something to make them look forward to and feel good about; it was more than just a park, after all. It was a sign of change, a symbol of Christian spirit, and something they all needed to have happen to take them out of their doldrums. The park was something that would personally effect all who lived here. It gave those who lived here hope that their neighborhood had turned a corner and reversed direction from a downward spiral of decimation to an upward climb towards urban reclamation. It had been a long and difficult drought, one filled with crime and poverty and one that gradually worsened and lasted for nearly 30 years. This plan for a neighborhood park, tucked away in the middle of the inner city, was just the thing that the neighborhood and the neighbors needed to get them out of their funk and out of their huddled houses. The proposed park captured everyone's interest and suddenly made those, who lived here and who feared leaving their homes, more active in their community. It was magical. It was inspirational. It was a Godsend. With Frank and Fern reluctantly taking center stage and setting the example, it was the miracle that this neighborhood needed and that gave the residents hope, along with the reason and the excuse they all were looking for to change their lives for the better. The park was an adrenaline injection to a dying community. Finally, there'd be a place for the kids to safely play and a place for families to gather with other families. This reconnection of people talking with their neighbors and coming out in their neighborhood, instead of shunning their neighbors and hiding in their homes, was just what was needed to spark a communal, positive change. Fauna, Flora, Fern, and Frank Suddenly, Frank and Fern were neighborhood celebrities and people, who had never even spoken to them before, said hello, wished them well, engaged them in conversation, left them baked goods, retrieved their newspaper for them, and helped him with Fern's wheelchair, whenever spotting Frank loading her in the car for her doctor's visit. Local stores gave them free merchandise, personal service, discounted their purchases, and gave them free home delivery. With everyone reaping the rewards of their gift of land, the neighborhood had been invigorated by Frank and Fern's unselfish generosity and the dividends were paying forward to all by enlivening everyone in a renewed awakening of community spirit and realistic hope that tomorrow would be a better day. Wanting their neighborhood goodwill to continue, suddenly, people shopped locally, instead of getting in their cars and driving to the mall. As if awakened from a coma or a long winter of hibernation, there was a marked change over the community and the people who lived there. It was Frank and Fern, who had given everyone hope by breathing new life into a dying neighborhood. Maybe it was after seeing the disrepair of their homes on national television that sparked their motivation, but residents suddenly took more pride in their homes and even stopped to pick up trash off the sidewalks and the street. From fences, to siding, to roofs, to windows, there was a sudden reemergence of people painting, patching, repairing, and fixing what needed to be done and taking pride in where they lived. Afraid to tread in their neighborhood before, a neighborhood that didn't want police interference and that didn't trust the police to give them fair treatment, even the police kept their distance for fear of inciting a riot and making matters worse. Where the police had turned a blind eye and limited their protection to entering this part of town before, only entering in force, when absolutely necessary to maintain the safety of the innocent public, there was a sudden rash of police presence, surveillance, raids, and even a cop walking the beat. Now the police worked in conjunction with community and religious leaders to clean up and arrest the human dirt that littered their streets. Drug dealers were rounded up and prostitutes and their Johns were routinely targeted and arrested. Organizing a neighborhood watch program, the residents and authorities worked together by anonymously texting the police of illegal activities. After the neighbors and the police made it impossible for drug dealers and prostitutes to do their dirty business in their neighborhood, the criminals were either summarily arrested or they voluntarily moved elsewhere. Now, with the neighborhood rid of much of the criminal element and evil that preyed upon their children, families filled the streets. Because of the neighborhood crime cleanup and the proposed public park, business owners, who talked about burglar alarms, security devices, and break-ins, were now talking about sponsoring Little League, Pop Warner Football, and basketball teams. Something they haven't had in more than thirty years, inner city sports teams had disappeared, when some of the longtime and more affluent residents, those who had helped sponsor them, abandoned their city for other, safer neighborhoods and the country. Now, instead of loitering on street corners and getting into trouble with the police, there were after school sports programs for the neighborhood youth. Soon to have a place to go to play organized sports, even the teenagers, the hardest group to reach, would rather play ball than steal cars, do drugs, and get into trouble. Those who had abandoned the city for the country, the people who worked in the city and commuted to the country, between the higher cost of gas and the positive changes made public with the neighborhood cleanup, were returning. There was a resurgence of urban living over rural living. Those who had forsaken the convenience of city living for the safe, quiet peacefulness of the country were returning in droves to inject a higher level of urban living to a part of town that had already seen the worst of times and that were now changing for the better in readiness to experience the best of times. Real estate prices, once depressed by abandon homes, burnt out shells, foreclosures, and closed businesses, were rebounding, when those young urban professionals moved back to the city to lend their moneyed hand by scooping up bargain properties and refurbishing them. Much in the way of a vacant lot suddenly growing lush grass with the advent of Spring, with a resurgence of new homeowners paying the city real estate taxes, the trickle down that Frank and Fern's land donation had started and was still continuing and had become a waterfall of positive changes. Now, with an influx of new residents and with shopkeepers wanting to take advantage of the new, influx of an affluent customer base, businesses were reclaiming those shops that had for rent signs taped to their windows and had long since abandoned the community. As if chomping at the bit, waiting to help their old community, those who once lived in the neighborhood and made it out, and had become successful, were making donations in the name Frank and Fern and the city's new public park. Businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and professional athletes, who hailed from this neighborhood, were now motivated to help defray the cost of building a dugout, seating stands, and a scoreboard for the baseball field and adding floodlights to the park. Local businessmen and businesswomen offered to help buy sporting equipment for those inner city kids, who couldn't afford the cost of baseball gloves, basketballs, uniforms, hats, balls, and bats and the transportation needed to shuttle them to other parts of the city for them to participate in interleague play. It's a beautiful thing, when people come together for a unified purpose and for the good of others. With budget cuts and tax shortfalls, the city had little extra money to pay their teachers, firefighters, and policemen. The last thing on their budgeted agenda was a public park they feared would be vandalized by hoodlums, as soon as it was constructed. They had been down that road before with other improvements they made in this community, only to have whatever they did destroyed by vandals overnight. Yet, Frank and Fern handed the city the deed to their land for free with the only string attached being that the land be used to build a public park. This time was different. This time the residents offered their support to help preserve the park by watch dogging it to keep it out of the hands of vandals. It was a different community climate now with people helping one another and watching out for one another, instead of hiding in their homes not helping and not getting involved for fear of retaliation. It was this unselfish commitment to the community, the investment that Frank and Fern made to their neighbors and to their neighborhood, that motivated others to take more responsibility for where they lived. Now, with the support of the entire community, there was a positive feeling that this proposed new park was more than just a park but a symbol of community spirit and a beacon of hope for change and the promise of a new beginning. Neighbors, who once stayed in their houses and locked their doors, were now out and about and willing to step up and take responsibility not only for their new park but also for the entire neighborhood. Those who lived here wanted to lend a helping hand in making sure that the park wasn't destroyed, by those who didn't understand what this park meant to a neighborhood that had been ignored by the city, disenfranchised from the rest of the state, and left on its own to wither and die. Fortunately, detail oriented, in that regard from his career in working with drafting blueprints, long since retired, as a machinist, Frank personally supervised everything to perfection. He already had everything laid out on paper and the city engineers and inspectors approved his plan, not an easy feat to do. Placed on the fast track, the construction project was scheduled immediately, as soon as the spring thawed the ground. Frank and Fern had a twelve acre parcel of land out behind their house that they bought sixty years ago, when they built their house. When they were first married and when they bought the land, figuring they'd build a house for their children, after they had them and after they were grown, married, and ready. Not knowing how many children they'd have three or four and only having had the one child, a son, they bought the twelve acres of land, at a time when there was nothing but empty lots with big distances between houses, unlike the congestion of the neighborhood today. Land was cheap and not zoned back then, after the war, and Frank was given no stipulation to build on his land, so he didn't. Tempted to sell his land more than once to one developer or another, Frank hung onto it figuring he'd do something with it one day. It was different back then with families living together and close by, instead of being spread out all over the country and all over the world. A time before the personal computer, cell phones, and the Internet, the world, confined to one neighborhood, was a smaller place back then. On the condition that the city turn the land into a public park, they could have it. The city agreed and had already cleared the land of chest high weeds, litter, and the garbage and the trash that residents had dumped there over the years. There was a collection of tires, mattresses, odd furniture, a refrigerator, television sets, even a rusty bathtub. Then, they brought in big Earth machines to dump more sand, gravel, and dirt to level the land, and unrolled sod to use for the playing fields. Suddenly changing from a dream to a reality, a trash dump to a playing field, Frank's backyard was beginning to look more like a park than an eyesore. If you build it, they will come was never truer than what happened to this neighborhood and for this park. What a difference a year has made. Frank and Fern had a vision and it soothed their souls to see their land finally used in the way it was intended and meant to have been used all this time. Every morning and afternoon, he and Fern would sit by the kitchen window, while having their breakfast and lunch to watch the transformation of his wasted backyard turned into a public park. They'd imagine all the kids who'd play in their park, the grandchildren they never had the opportunity to have. With an excitement lost to old age and now temporarily reinvigorated in helping to transform their neighborhood, their park gave them the reason to open their eyes for one more day. They talked about the park in the morning and talked about the park late at night, just before retiring to bed. As much as it was to the community, this donation of land had been a blessing to Frank and Fern, a wonder drug, and an elixir that injected them with new life and a valid reason to continue living. The city had already installed the floodlights and the chain link fence that surrounded the park. Then they installed the water fountains, the jungle gym, the swings, and the slide. Children were already using that part of the park, while waiting for the city to complete the rest of it. Finally, with the help of donations, there was a basketball court in one corner, a bocce court and a horseshoe pit in another, and a baseball field in middle, with a wide open expanse at the far end, the end that abutted Frank and Fern's house, deemed to be used as a combination soccer and football field. An outdoor soft track made of rubber from recycled tires ran around the entire outside perimeter of the parcel of land that kids could lap or neighbors could walk. From conception to completion, one year to the day, the plan was to complete the park by Earth Day, April 22nd, for a very public dedication attended by celebrities. A green park made from mostly recycled materials, even the governor, wanting to grab some free press and maybe, even, take some of the credit away for the creation of the park from Frank and Fern for himself, was rumored to attend. Land that Frank and Fern could no longer afford to pay the taxes on, it was a never used plot of land anyway. It was land worth not much to them but, since the land was located in the inner city, it was a valuable parcel of land to others. More than a few times, they had been offered a decent amount of money to sell the land to a real estate developer, but rather than have a developer build another unsupervised slum on the land, rather than forfeiting his land to the city for eventual unpaid taxes, Frank and Fern took control of their destiny and donated the land, so long as it was protected and earmarked for public park use. Once a nice neighborhood of families, more rural than urban back then, when Frank and Fern moved here more than sixty years ago, the land would have been worth so much more had it been located elsewhere in the inner city and not in this crime troubled ghetto, of all places. Nonetheless, Frank's desire to give something back to his neighbors, people he had shared this neighborhood with all of his married life to Fern, was something he was determined to do. What better plan than to make his trash filled backyard a public park, where he and Fern could watch the children play from their kitchen window? It was the perfect plan. Every day, while Fern watched from her wheelchair pushed out to the back porch, Frank supervised the planting of the flowerbeds, the annuals and the perennials. Taking Fern's experienced opinion, as to which plant and flower to choose and for what reason to choose them, on her behalf, he personally picked out every flower, shrub, and bush that had been donated by the local nursery and/or paid for by public donations that were to be planted. Without her having to leave the house, giving her instructions from the back porch or the kitchen window, and taking her mind off the fatal health problems she had and the pain she suffered, he was happy that he could keep her directly and indirectly occupied and involved in the creation of the park in this way. Consumed with excitement and a love for life, instead of beaten down by illness and pain, it was a Godsend to see her in the way that she was ten years ago. Better than any doctor's prescription, this public park was the best temporary medication he could have given her. Knowing that he was doing the right thing and doing right by her, seeing Fern like this, ignoring his everyday maladies to improve her spirits, gave Frank the motivation and energy that he needed to continue and succeed. The bit of land where people first entered the park would have lots curb appeal with flowers and bushes everywhere, along with an eight foot high fountain tucked in the corner. Yet, the back entrance of the park was to be a lush garden like oasis and a private place where all the city's fauna could gather, the birds, the bees, the chipmunks, the raccoons, and the squirrels. Away from the sporting activities of the children, behind and nearer to the football and soccer field than to the baseball field, basketball court, bocce court, and jungle gym, and the part nearer to the back of Frank and Fern's house, they wanted a secluded area and a private place for themselves, where they could sit and enjoy the park without having to walk a long way to get to it and without having to be bothered by other people, if they didn't have the energy to socialize and just wanted to sit, instead. With the hole already dug by his city's Public Works Department's backhoe, the piece d'resistance was on its way and soon to be delivered. A good sized oak tree delivered from the nursery on of all days, Earth Day, their very special day of days and the day of the dedication of the park. Once grown to maturity, this oak tree would grow to monstrous proportions and fill the rear of the park with new life. To be replanted again and deeply rooted in the ground, still growing with much more yet to grow and with a long time yet to mature, this tree would be here for a very long time giving shade, shelter, and daily testimony that Frank and Fern were here. Planted so close to their kitchen window that they could nearly reach out and touch it, but not so close that it couldn't take root and continue to grow, they couldn't wait for the oak tree to be planted. As a symbol of the strength of their love, what better tribute to Earth Day than to plant a tree? Frank had used the money from their burial fund to help pay for the oak tree and some of the special lush, privacy landscaping they wanted the park to have. They wouldn't be needing that burial fund anymore, anyway. Besides, they may as well spend it on the park, since they had no one to leave what little money they had anyway. Scheduled to come home from his 13 month tour of duty, caught in an ambush two weeks before being discharged, giving his life to save the lives of others in his charge, their only child, Frank Jr., had died a hero in the last days of Viet Nam, more than forty years ago. Frank lost interest in a lot of things when his son died that fateful day and he turned to the bottle to help him through his darkest hours. With both of them suffering something they never thought they'd experience, parents burying their only child, it was a horrific time for them and their marriage nearly failed because of it. The city council voted and the mayor approved. In recognition of Frank and Fern's generosity and in honor to their son, a local hero, the city dedicated a park bench with a brass plaque, to be located in front of the replanted oak tree. Conveniently located, so that Frank and Fern could just step out their back door and have a place to sit, the honor brought tears of joy to their eyes to imagine how beautiful it will be, once the oak tree filled the empty space and they'd have a private place to sit there and enjoy the park. There was no better place on Earth than here to them, sitting on this dedicated park bench, beneath a soon to be delivered and replanted shady, oak tree in a neighborhood public park, that they donated the land for and helped to create with their vision and by the generosity to their beloved neighborhood. Just before the oak tree was to be delivered and just before the dedication ceremonies was to take place, Frank told everyone that Fern's health had taken a turn for the worse, which it had, and that they were going away to see a specialist, which they weren't. Now that the park was completed, now that Fern felt there were no other reason for her to live, no doubt, she was dying. There wasn't anything more that anyone could do for her, other than to make her comfortable during her last days on Earth. The one thing that made her forget her pain and her misery, was watching the construction of the park that her beloved Frank had built for her and other than seeing the oak tree put in place, there was nothing more to see. The park was done. Their dream of leaving something everlasting and self-sustaining behind was finished. They lied when they told their friends and neighbors that they were going out west for awhile to stay with relatives and soak up the warm, dry air until Fern's health improved. Begging off offers from friends and grateful neighbors to drive them to the airport, they lied when they told them that, because of the early hour of their flight, they had already arranged for transportation to the terminal. Then, when they returned, they'd finally see the completed park. They were sorry to miss the dedication, but Fern's health and medical care was more important than posturing for pictures for the newspaper and taking credit for something they needed to do, anyway. Typical of Frank, he was like that, not wanting or expecting anything in return for a good deed done. Fauna, Flora, Fern, and Frank In the early morning hours, under the cover of darkness, before the sun had risen and when everyone was still asleep, Frank wheeled Fern out the kitchen to the back porch door. Once there, he struggled to help her to her feet and lent her his shoulder for her to lean upon. From the sheer dead weight of her, it was then that he realized that he was so tired and so old but not so tired and so old that, for once, he couldn't shoulder her burden. After the death of their son and after burying her boy, too, she wasn't as heavy as the burden that Fern had carried in helping him get over his dependency on alcohol, even when she was having to carry the same burden alone and without his help and support. Cooking him special meals, taking him back and forth to the doctor for his appointments and for his therapy, and sitting with him in the hospital, she wasn't as heavy as the care she had given him in nursing him back to health, after he suffered both his heart attacks. She wasn't as heavy as all the support she had given him without complaint, as his loving wife, his tender lover, and his best friend through more than sixty years of happy wedded bliss. When he thought about all that she had done for him, this was his time to return the favor and do something good for her. This was all her idea, after all, only unable to do any of it, he did it for her. Suddenly invigorated by a lifetime of good memories of having Fern in his life, when he remembered all the good times and all of her help and support she gave him through the bad times, always there for him, she wasn't heavy at all. As her lawfully wedded husband, she was his loving wife and the love of his life. Energized by all the happiness she had given him and recharged, with his heart now so happy that their dream of a public park had finally become their reality, in essence, she was as light as a feather. There together, before the dedication and before the park was crowded with people, and before the oak tree was replanted, they walked out to view and enjoy their new park alone and to sit on their son's soon to be dedicated bench, before anyone else was there to ruin their final plan. They held hands, talked softly, kissed, and hugged. Seeing their silhouette in the moonlight, by their furtive interactions, if you didn't know they were octogenarians, you'd think they were teenagers stealing a moment together, while their parents still slept in bed. Sitting there, as lovers, in front of the deep hole where the oak tree would soon be replanted, they couldn't wait to see the completed park. Frank got up and left Fern for a moment to move her wheelchair back in the house. He left a note on the kitchen table telling everyone that they wouldn't be back and thanking all involved for helping to create this beautiful park. Knowing they wouldn't find his note for weeks, months, maybe, and even then, wouldn't put two and two together, he secured the backdoor. Then, energized with adrenaline for what he needed to do, he returned to Fern and helped her down the deep hole first. Frail and weak, she was lighter than he remembered her being on their Honeymoon, when he carried her over the threshold of the Honeymoon Suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. That luxurious hotel was such a grand place back then, and they had such a memorable time. Already sleepy from having taken so many of her sleeping pills, she was ready for her long deep sleep. Not wanting to continue to live without her, with a fistful of sleeping tablets and a big gulp of water, Frank climbed down in the hole and rested beside her. Arranging their bodies intimately in a fetal and spooning position, they'd soon fall asleep together. Insight of their son's bench, beneath the soon to be replanted oak tree, he pulled the pre-arranged blanket of dirt across to hide their bodies, and joined his wife forever. Right on time, the first thing in the morning, they never heard the beep, beep, beep of the backing up truck arrive. They were already eternally sleeping. As if all had gathered there for their funeral to bade them their final farewell and as if all were there to give them their grateful good-byes, in witness of all their unsuspecting friends and longtime neighbors, the oak tree was delivered and slowly, carefully, and ceremoniously replanted in the hole where Fern and Frank perpetually rested. The oak tree, the crowning glory of this public park, would serve as their tombstone, as well as their tree of life. Unable to leave their neighborhood, no longer having the money to bury themselves, where else would they want to be buried than here? Watching them from Heaven, looking down at them from their lofty perch, if only their friends and neighbors knew that Frank and Fern were there, too, and had planned all of this. The city mounted the plaque at the entrance of the park announcing to everyone that the land had been donated to the city by Fern and Frank. Only, Fern and Frank weren't there in person to receive their thanks from the city council members, the mayor, their friends, and their neighbors, nor where they there, when the governor cut the ribbon and shook hands with all the celebrities that had come to see the completed park, after following the public display of generosity. With everyone there wanting to see the rebirth of this neighborhood, surely, Frank and Fern were there, too, in spirit and would be there forever, thereafter, to celebrate every Earth Day in their new public park.