Thanks to Gandolfo Corradino and this really beautiful message.
Dear Tobi,
I live in Virginia, USA, and my daughter and her husband have a house here in the Blandy Palheiro Estates. It overlooks Funchal and the sea.
As I sit here in their living room, looking out the french doors, I am looking straight at an old olive tree. It’s probably 50 or 60 years old. Could be much older. And I have fallen in love with this tree.
The tree stands there protecting the house, but also Funchal and the harbor, overlooking the sea. It is a silent sentinel, always on duty. On a day like today, with the winds getting increasingly stronger, howling at times, this tree has become for me, a metaphor for how to deal with life. You stand tall, and you take the blows. No matter what comes at you, no matter the storm, you silently absorb the blows And live for another day.
I realize I am romanticizing a tree. But I have always been fascinated by them. The way they grow, sometimes, straight, sometimes, crooked, ever upwards, even if at an angle. And then the various root structures, keeping them firmly planted in the ground.
This a beautiful tree, but as you can see from one of the pictures of the trunk, it’s been attacked and has sustained damage. And yet it stands there, still, doing its job, protecting the house and protecting Funchal.
Since my daughter has lived here, only part time for now, we have fallen in love with Madeira. And especially Funchal and this community. And I have especially fall in love with this olive tree.
When I am back in the states, I so look forward to the two or three emails a day of the Madeira Island News. Thank you so much for your fine work of keeping us posted on what is happening here, in spite of the fact that we live so many thousands of miles away.
From our family to yours, I’d like to wish you and your readership, a very merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year!