Roots in Two Places

One of my favorite trees on TCU’s campus stands alone right outside of Sadler. Its dark barky trunk stretches upward before splitting into long branches. These branches reach out in every direction, like veins spreading across the sky. Its crown is wide and healthy, revealing whoever planted the tree chose a good depth. During the winter months, the branches are mostly bare. What remains is something just as beautiful to me: small twiggy branches draping downward under the weight of the seed pods. 

Tree outside Sadler: 

 

I took a second glance at this tree earlier this semester when I realized it reminded me of another place entirely. 

Last year while studying abroad in Rome, I often took long walks along the Tiber River. The riverbanks were lined with tall plane trees. Bark peeled away, revealing smooth trunks beneath. Their branches stretched over the sidewalk and water, forming a canopy above the path. Even when bare in the winter, they gave the city a quiet liveliness that matched the ancient buildings and pale Roman sky. The branches curved and twisted overhead while the river moved steadily beside them.

Plane Trees in Rome: 


The tree outside Sadler looks strikingly similar. It has the same smooth bark and wide-reaching branches. Standing beneath it brings me back to those quiet walks along the Tiber.

That is probably the extent that Fort Worth feels like Rome. And the rest of campus moves quickly around it. Students cross University between classes, always in a hurry to reach the next place. Nearby flower beds are filled with rows of tulips just beginning to bloom. One flower had opened before the others, standing slightly taller than the rest of the bed. Its red petals were still tidy and upright, the first sign that spring was coming (in addition to it being 80 degrees outside). As the seasons change, the petals begin to spread outward, transforming the tight shape of a new bloom into something explosive and dramatic.




It is easy to walk across campus without noticing any of this. Most days I move from one building to the next with thoughts clouding my mind, barely aware of the landscape around me. Aldo Leopold writes about how people often move through land without truly seeing it. Developing what he calls a land ethic begins with something simple: paying attention to the world around us. That awareness can begin with something small, like noticing a tree. 

Standing beneath the Sadler tree reminds me to slow down and enjoy the present moment. It brings me back to Rome, a chapter of my life that I remember fondly. At the same time, it grounds me here at TCU, where another landscape quietly surrounds everyday life.

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