Diplomas and Certificates

Grant’s Diplomas and Awards 

We arranged our diplomas and awards on the office walls. Grant contemplated his, with his Ph D from Cornell in the center, surrounded by other diplomas (high school, bachelors, masters), his Eagle Scout medal, the UF Palm Study award, and his UM Employee of the Year plaque, and said that wall summed up his life. He said it seemed like a lot of work for a few pieces of paper and some shiny bits of metal. I think that’s harsh.

The wall shows his official life. What doesn’t show there is his being a husband, a father, now a grandfather, a member of his neighborhood and community. Equally as valuable but without certificates.

My area has my Ga Tech diploma and my Phi Kappa Phi honor society recognition. I guess my Naples High School diploma was never framed. Too late now. I also hung the certificate for my National Geographic Society life-time membership that Steve gave to me in 1972. An extravagant gift I still appreciate. My father was also a life member in NGS. I think his certificate is packed in his sea chest. Odd things to keep.

Ever since we had Kirsten from Green Isles Garden come to begin the redesign of our yard, I’ve been thinking more about lifespans, mostly my own. Yes, I do want to plant a couple of cypress at the water front, even though I will never see them grown. I know it’s a good idea, but it makes me sad. I can remember one day, Mrs. Miller, our neighbor in Fort Lauderdale, telling me not to laugh as she planted a grapefruit tree.

She and her husband had moved to their property in the early 1950’s and lived in the little writer’s retreat there while their big house was designed. There was a huge oak tree in the middle of the waterfront that would have to be cut down before their house got built. After a while, they became used to the little cottage and loved the tree, so the new house was never built. They subdivided the riverfront to create my lot. All along, Mrs. Miller wanted a grapefruit tree. I think she was in her mid-seventies the day she finally planted it. They moved to assisted living a couple of years later. Renters found the house plans in some papers and gave them to me to give to the Millers, but by then, they had both died. I enjoyed her grapefruit and remembered my kind neighbor.

Now there is a huge two-story house on the lot. When we sold our house, the grapefruit tree was still there, shaded by a huge tropical almond so it didn’t bare much fruit by then. I don’t think the new people even know about it.

I guess I’ll tell Kirsten to proceed with some plants that will take a while to grow, but mostly I think I’ll pick ones that mature fairly quickly. I’d like to enjoy them as long as possible.