The Fallen Green Leaves: Zelley
As I search through my Family Trees and the trees of others,
if it was a song, it would be the saddest song of all. The
sound of a fallen green leaf of the family tree is the saddest sound of all.
Not to select one over another, it was the case of young
Herbert John Zelley dying in 1897 that was an important
factor that led me to appreciate family history and spend the last 15 years searching and communicating.
In his case, there was a storm, a large oak tree, and the
home by the waterfront. Suddenly, the tree crashed onto the roof of the abode and killed four year old Herbert. Such a
shame, and others were injured.
Of interest, about sixty years later, I came close to drowning
a short distance from where Herbert died. In my case,
two local children were playing on a sailboat when we swung out and slipped. At the time, I couldn't swim, but
remember going under the docked sailboat and servicing in front of the boat and nearly under the wharf (Gulp").
Then again, another sad case was the loss of a second cousin
(aged 18) in the 1941 Blitz of London. She was one of many
including other family members celebrating a birthday party.
But, the gift package from a bomber overhead put a sudden
end to the celebrations. Now that is so sad. The candles are the last thing that should be blown away at a birthday party, not the guests.
In closing, the saddest thought of all is thinking that
"the little grren leaf will never turn a golden brown
after it has has fallen down".
The flood of tears, teardrop by lonely teardrop,
will never wash away the pain and sorrow of the lost hopes, wishes, and dreams, for the potential of the young child
that falls down and becomes lost.
