Fidelis usque ad mortem

Seems if you say to God, in so many words, "Bring it on!" -- as I did Saturday in mocking the weather forecast -- he complies.

No explanation otherwise for why he chose to knock down this 75-year-old willow tree (and several nearby neighbors on the Storrow Lagoon) from the Charles River Esplanade in the fast, wicked storm that came through Sunday afternoon:

(Photo Credit: Claudia)

Boundless sadness. 

This tree was a companion my entire 11 years in Boston.  Many a Sunday afternoon during grad school, I went out with my assigned novels to lean against its trunk and read. Alan and I played frisbee next to it during his first visit in 2001. Of course, I've walked and run under its shade several hundred times; it's a prime path intersection between 2 tidal pools, one of the loveliest respites in the park.

In fact, on my 7-miler yesterday afternoon at 2:30, I ran under it twice -- fidelis usque ad mortem.

I biked over before work this morning to capture the scene before chainsaws could get to it.  Sadness was universal --the walkers -- runners -- bikers -- nearly all who stopped to gape at the exposed roots, taller than a tall man standing on another tall man's shoulders. I think we were all trying to envision the bare loneliness and uninterrupted vista of MIT after its remnants are cut away, since most of the trees in the center of this picture all fell on their ends -- 75 years standing, gone in a few minutes.

Boundless sadness.

Update:  Here's a Boston.com story with more details. The area is called Otis Grove, and they confirmed 3 of the 5 trees are beyond repair. Giant loss.