The Elm Principle By: J Brown

There are certain trees in my life that feel like close friends––none are an elm. Elm trees invoke strong emotions in St. Johns. Aside from the great American Elm (now a stump) in front of the Elm Motel, the emotions are usually not of pride, love, or admiration. I am talking about the invasive variety––the Siberian Elm. My house is surrounded by a large Siberian Elm forest (behind Dr. Platt’s dental office). I have skipped planting a garden the past two years, because my first garden here was a failure. The corn rows looked like a mathematically inconsistent bar graph––up and down. The theory is that the elm roots are reaching far under the garden, and slurping up needed nutrients and water. These elms have the ability to completely take over a yard, break-up foundations, and clog drain pipes. A freshly cut trunk today is an elm bush by next spring. However, because of the hard work my grandfather made in clearing some of these areas, regular maintenance would be sufficient, and not that difficult. Unfortunately, “regular” is a concept I regularly forget to employ; or everyone’s favorite phrase, “I don’t have time.” The Elm Principle is about priorities, and how life’s problems are often the result of not seeing clearly what things we can change and what things we should take in stride. Going to work “on the ranch” often meant going around the corner to do yard work at Grandpa Brown’s house (now Norman’s). On one particular day we were tasked with digging up the sewer line because a plumber’s snake and a bottle of Drano were no match to this backed-up pipe. I was astonished at the discovery we made. Little elm roots, forming a solid cylinder over 10 feet long, had worked themselves into the pipe through a hairline crack. I could not stop gawking at the tube-snake of roots, and wondering how it all happened. Grandpa didn’t seem that impressed, and prodded me (a nice way to put it) to get back to work. We purchased our house and property from my grandfather’s estate while he lived at Hinkson’s battling mobility issues and the onset of dementia. His handiwork and cultivation skills are evidenced everywhere on the property: 2 garden plots, grapes, fruit trees, cottonwoods, willows, golden locusts, ornamental grasses, coniferous shrubs surrounding the house, a rose garden, 5 different coniferous windbreaks of different varieties, 4 sheds, 2 large chain-link dog pens, various flower beds, and interestingly, cultivated stands of elm trees. Unlike me, he never skipped planting a full garden or two. Like most new owners of a home, I had questions about the house and yard: “Where is the water shut-off valve?” or “How does the sprinkler system work?” But the question that nagged at me the most: “Why did Grandpa leave so many elms?” During one of our last conversations, I finally asked him about the elms. After his meditative silence became uncomfortable, I interjected with my own impromptu theory: “Was it because you wanted to have the benefits of large trees until your other trees grew up to take their place?” More silence…but this time he made that click sound with his mouth when he’s thinking about something deeply. Finally, he answered, “uh huh,” with a nod, but his gaze and attention were already somewhere else. I realize now my motivation for the question was impure. My question was a criticism. The elms were a tangible representation of the stress, real and perceived, from feeling inadequate as an employee, a father, a husband, a son, or a grandson. So I resented the elms, which unfortunately led to resenting my grandpa. The spring cleaning to-do list was ambitious this year. In fact, most of the items were just roll-overs from years past. But this year I was armed with a new chain saw. Number one on the list: eliminate elm trees! In the area around a chain-link dog pen I soon found out that my chain saw was useless. As the trees have grown wider they have absorbed the chain-links into their bark. Making it too dangerous to run a chainsaw through them. I started to question (criticize) why anyone would use live trees for poles or why anyone would even want a dog! Bolt-cutters were needed to separate the fence from the trees. Frustrated, I feverishly slammed the handles together to clip one of the thick wires. My left hand was positioned such that I smashed one of my fingers between the handle and the tree. The pain rifled through my body. I dropped to my knees while squeezing my pulsating finger, put my face in the dirt, and let out––not more curses––but tears. The tears soon became sobs as the following questions pulsated my mind: “Why is this task so important? Will it bring you peace? Is your heart at war?” With my face in the dirt, I was awakened to my guilt. Grandpa had known for a long time, and I suspect he was still trying to teach me. There is no end to projects, or problems or even elms; elimination of them is an illusion, even a lie. Jesus told His Disciples of the great calamities and sorrow that would precede His second coming, but He counseled, “see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass.” He then used a tree (fig) to teach how to accept these things. Jesus said when the branch starts to put forth leaves “ye know that summer is nigh” (Matt. 24:32). In other words: when it’s summertime, there’s no point to complain about the heat. Soon after Grandpa died last Fall, I scoured through my letters, pictures, and journals for things about him. I didn’t have much, and letting go was harder than I anticipated. I finally found a letter he had sent me while I was on my mission, which included black and white photos of the Gaertner family he had baptized. They were the first family to join the church in the city of Ponta Grossa. Grandpa and I had served our missions in that same Brazilian city exactly 50 years apart from each other. When I visited Rosaldo Gaertner, the stake patriarch of one of the two stakes in that city, he showed me the same black and white photos of Grandpa hanging on his wall. Along with the reminder of our Brazil connection, the letter included the following counsel: “It is easy to get discouraged and then get all enthused. It is harder, but more important, to stay on a more even level, taking things in stride.”

 Other things I have come to learn from the Elm:

• -Shade from an elm feels just as good as shade from any other tree. 
• -The elm root system protects it and makes it everlasting.
•  -Elms block St. Johns wind, and dampen traffic noise from the highway.
•  -The elm prefers lots of sunlight, and poor soil that drains well (aka St. Johns). 
• -Elms create a private forest right in the middle of town.
•  -The elm forest is an imagination heaven for my kids. 
•  -The elm seeds can be roasted and served in fancy restaurants (Forage).
•  -Elms are the preferred tree for Japanese Bonzai artists.
•  -Grandpa Brown would likely say, “An elm tree is better than no tree.”