Emily died today; it was a violent death but over fairly quick. And now she lies chopped into blocks lying in a trailer on the Cordova Bay Plaza property. It is kind of symbolic that she went first in the demolition process as a sacrifice to all our hopes and hard work, meetings, letters and research; Emily became our symbol because of her age, her history, her endurance while we fought to keep her and our village atmosphere and community.
We fought while others told us, “it is time to move into the 21st century; the old ways are gone; who cares about an old tree, who cares about the crows who used to roost there and shout at us, about the people who used to rest in her shade, who cares about the other wildlife that used to freely roam this area”?
It is all about more traffic, more pavement, more pricey condos, more big-box grocery stores, more people, more noise and pollution…after all, this is the 21st century.
Goodbye, Emily.
Val Boswell
Saanich