Monthly Progress #25

Half way into the first month of the third year after planting, the F. religiosa is beginning to grow vigorously. The pattern of growth is typical of this species' young plants: new branches emerge in the Spring at the nodes where the leaves fell off during the deciduous period that just finished. A family of Zamia furfuracea, a cycad native to southeastern Veracruz state in eastern Mexico with several male and female plants, is recently planted surrounding this ficus. This is a welcome addition to this area and it will bring more copious and regular watering during the hot months of Summer.

Two Years

Exactly two years after planting, the Ficus religiosa is taking its time to get established. Although semi-deciduous, it has dropped more leaves than usual because of a couple of intense cold fronts and the lack of copious rain. During the past week , several short lived rain storms have triggered many new growth that will refurnish the now bare branches. The tree is doing well despite its current appearance.

Monthly Progress # 23

Here is the Ficus 23 months after planting. When ground service in this area is late like it is the case now, the field is covered with wild flowers like this. Rain is still very scarce this year and new growth is expected to start soon.

Monthly Progress #22

At 22 month after planting, the Ficus religiosa is now in its dormant stage. A drought is being experienced here because rain has been very scarce to be almost nonexistent and weekly watering is welcome. The red ants are gone after a quick aggressive treatment.

Monthly Progress # 21

Here is a look at the Ficus religiosa 21-month after planting at this location. Again, the red ants have returned. These pests love to make their home right here and will need to be dealt with again. This ficus, being semi-deciduous, does slow its growth during this time when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody species during cold autumn/winter or dry season.

Second Anniversary-December 17th, 2012

Two full years have passed... Time is said to heal all wounds. That may be true for some wounds, but those that are deep and vast beyond limits are hidden in the deepest recesses but never erased from memory. These wounds awaken to reignite the pain that has long faded but forever remains to last an eternity... “No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without warning.” Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Monthly Progress # 19

It's going to be a full two year... and this is how the Ficus religiosa looks today. The red ants are gone after an aggressive treatment. Weekly monitoring is planned to deal with future returns of these pests.

Monthly Progress # 18

A year and a half after planting, the Ficus religiosa is looking fine. Red ants seem to like building nests around this young tree and a new colony was established again at the base near the tree trunk. An aggressive treatment was promptly administered and the problem was eliminated.

Monthly Progress # 17

The Ficus religiosa is now a handsome young tree full of life. It has new growths that effectively doubled the original height. Here it is at the beginning of the 17th month after planting at this location.

Monthly Progress # 16

It can be safely stated that this Ficus religiosa has "taken root." This young tree is putting out new growths that classically pattern the familiar growth of a sacred ficus tree: Branches bifurcate early from a low level of a robust trunk so that the mature tree is very broad while it can also get to be very tall. There are many new stems with sustained rapid growth that is expected to continue from now onward. Here is a new panoramic view showing the Bo tree in its now familiar surrounding. Click on the photo to enlarge.

High School Reunion Special Visit

The Bồ Đề tree is beginning to put out new growth vigorously. A new mulch was added a few days ago to keep the weeds at bay. On July 18th, which is today, a special visit to the tree was organized by a group of old classmates from Lân's high school days. They came to pay tribute to the spouse of a long time classmate. A heartfelt thanks to Dr. Patrick Griffith, Ph. D., Executive Director of the Montgomery Botanical Center who provided a private guided tour and golf cart transportation. Special thanks go to all who came to visit Maryse's tree, and to all those who could not be present, but were here in spirit.

In Memory of

The Ficus religiosa lives in the Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC) among peacocks, ibis, and other wild life species of fauna and flora. In MBC's Spring/Summer 2012 newsletter, Volume 20, Number 1, it acknowledged a generous contribution in memory of Maryse by the Foster Family Foundation. Thank you! Your kind gesture is deeply appreciated.

Monthly Progress # 14

At fourteenth month after planting, the F. religiosa is doing well. New growth continues to sprout from the lower trunk, slowly but steady. It still gets watered once weekly but the occasional downpours keep the surrounding moist most of the time. A new mulching is planned during the first week of July.

Monthly Progress #13

Here is today's look of the F. religiosa, thirteenth month at its home. Most of the new growth is concentrated around the lower trunk. With the frequent afternoon rain storms, growth surrounding the tree has progressed rapidly but the ficus is now expected to require much less care and it is expected to do well on its own. New photo will be posted again on June 17th next month.

Monthly Progress #12 - Year One

Exactly one year ago, on April 17th, 2011, the Ficus religiosa was planted here. After a year at its home, this sacred ficus tree is quietly growing. Most of the growth has been in the main tree trunk that has increased six fold in size. New branching is predominantly concentrated near the base and this tree is doing well as expected.

Favorite Tunes

Monthly Progress # 11

The Ficus religiosa is growing slowly but steadily. Work of expansion at MBC goes on around the tree and it requires very little care. Weekly, the water is turned on for about 15 minutes just to make sure the soil is not too dry. It is expected to have accelerated growth when more rain will arrive starting April this year.

Monthly Progress # 10

Growth continues steadily and the tree is doing very well. This is the tenth month after planting. All's well. Robin and Susan Shelley came to visit the tree on Valentine's Day, on Feb 14th. Thank you, Susan and Robin.

Monthly Progress # 9

The Ficus religiosa, after nine months at its home, has begun to show signs of being well established. Several new growths have branched from the top and the tree looks very healthy. As time goes by, the threat of ant invasion has lessened considerably. It is watered once weekly without any other special care. Once a month, new photos will be added so its growth can be monitored.

First Anniversary-December 17th, 2011

A year has passed since Maryse left this earth, leaving all her pain and suffering behind. That was a good thing, for her. But her beautiful memories live on in my heart and soul... It has been a difficult year for me with many downs and ups... more downs than ups that I could count. But life must go on...

Many of her friends did not have the opportunity to come say their last good-byes and this first year anniversary remembrance is dedicated to offer them a glimpse of the last rites given to her. Maryse's funeral services were held at Stanfill Funeral Homes, and I thank my friend Bill Martinez, its Director and owner, and his staff for having provided us with a beautiful setting for this sad event. All the fresh orchid flowers were sent from Thailand by my dear friend Banjong and my thanks go to him and to his wife, also my friend, Ratsuda. I thank Mieko and Rose, members of the local Ikebana society to which Maryse belonged, for having spent an entire evening to fashion the beautiful arrangements that adorned the entire space. Their labor continued and consumed their next half day of in-situ work. I thank my dear friend Keith and Maryse's kid brother Huy for the photos used in this video celebrating Maryse's first anniversary.

The service was scheduled on December 23rd, 2010 during a busy time of the year. I thank my in-laws, Rev. Theodore Lewis and Connie Houghton who have braved the busiest time for travel; and I thank my cousins Phuong from California and Phuc and his niece Mai who came from Canada to attend Maryse's service in Miami.

My dear nephew Herbie made a special trip from Denver to come MC'ing the service for his aunt and I thank him for his flawless work as master of ceremony. I thank all my dear friends, some of whom I have lost track for many years, who came to share my sorrow, and that of my daughter VyVy and my son Mac-Long; and all other members of my and of Maryse's family, among whom, Kim Phuong who traveled from Houston, and Diep from Philadelphia.

The catering service was provided by my friend Elizabeth's Catering by Lovables and I thank my daughter VyVy for enlisting her friend's service for the specially prepared food from Thailand.

Maryse's portrait was one of the many black and white I made for her and the distinctive new custom framing was done by my friend, the Godfather Bob Menconi. Bob and Monica, thank you!

My thanks are also extended to many other individuals, too numerous to mention here. Your expression of sympathy from near and far gave me the support that I needed.

Many of the objects you see in these photos are Maryse's personal favorite belongings. Some of them were special to her and they helped her cope with the darkest days and provided her with solace when she was not well. She was very proud of her paintings and some of them were displayed to accompany her during the service.

The music you hear was heard during the service which was Mozart's Requiem. It was requested by my daughter VyVy to use for her Mom. In this video, you hear two excerpts: Requiem and Lacrimosa, performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Herbert Von Karajan.

The second part of the video has photos taken during a commemorative planting of a tree in memory of Maryse. The original idea was from my friend Christiane Tyson (Chris) and I thank her for her thoughtfulness and her generosity to make arrangements for a special place of planting in the Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC) in Coral Gables. For this beautiful memorial, I thank Christiane and her husband, my friend, Christopher Tyson, who made a very special effort to come to the planting event that took place exactly four months after Maryse's passing, on April 17th, 2011. I thank Dr. Patrick Griffith, Executive Director of MBC to have personally provided all the material and his labor of love to nurse the Bodhi tree, whose scientific name is Ficus religiosa, in MBC's nurseries prior to planting.

The Bo tree that was planted belonged to Maryse and instead of it growing in her back yard, it is now growing in a beautiful, serene and spacious secluded part of MBC. This tree is given tender loving care by everyone at MBC and it is in the hands of botanical professionals who will make sure it will grow to its fullest potential. For this, I thank the staff of MBC who allows me to come visit often at times I feel the needs to be alone with my thoughts.

I thank my daughter VyVy, whom I love deeply and unconditionally, who traveled from her home in London to Miami to comfort me during a very trying time. Her husband Nathan could not find a way to leave London due to bad weather so this video is for him. Lastly, I thank my special son Mac-Long for being my life's companion.

Thank you for the time you spent visiting this site and for reading. When you have time, come to this space to take a leisure look at how Maryse's tree is doing. It will be a beautiful tree for all of us to see for many years to come.

Please click on the photo below to see the commemorative video in a new browser window that will start automatically after download. The photo shows Maryse's ficus tree as of December 13th, 2011.

Monthly Progress # 7

This is the seventh month since the Ficus religiosa was planted here. The battle against the red ants is over and the tree is doing very well although growth is slowed when Fall begun on 23rd of September. When it doesn't rain, the tree is watered at least once a week. Below is today's look from the familiar views.
This view is West...



... West-NorthWest...



... and NorthWest...

Happy Birthday 2011-#1

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Monthly Progress # 6

Half a year has gone by since Maryse's Bo tree was planted. Rainfall has been heavy for over a week here and the ficus tree is doing excellently. Many vigorous branches sprouted from the tree's trunk with many large and healthy leaves. The tree is doing very well.
This view is West...



... West-NorthWest...



... and NorthWest...

Remember Maryse

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Monthly Progress #5

This is the fifth month since the planting of the Bo tree at this location. 3/4 of the year has gone by since her passing... and Maryse is still sorely missed...

This view is West...

... West-NorthWest...

... and NorthWest...

Panoramic View

Here is a panoramic view from the location of Maryse's Ficus religiosa. The tree has now recovered well from the offending red ants and new growths resume on all branches including the younger new branches from the lower trunk.

Ficus religiosa

The Ficus religiosa is recovering from what we think is an aggressive invasion of the red ants. It is growing many healthy new branches in the lower portion of its trunk that is growing well. One has to be patient until the roots find their way to the water table for sustained growth.

These Foolish Things

Affectionate, loving and sentimental, Maryse always clung to her favorites and always very reluctant to changes. She did not want to replace her cell phone and kept it for several years together with her favorite ornate tiny purse that she had for decades. Her faithful cell phone is still in perfect working condition but no longer receives incoming calls nor can it make outgoing calls.


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These Foolish Things (Remind me of You)

Music: Jack Strachey
Lyrics: Eric Maschwitz
Vocalist: Nat King Cole

A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces,
An airline ticket to romantic places,
And still my heart has wings...
These foolish things remind me of you.

A tinkling piano in the next apartment,
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant,
A fairground's painted swings...
These foolish things remind me of you.

You came, you saw,
You conquered me.
When you did that to me,
I knew somehow this had to be.

The winds of March that made my heart a dancer,
A telephone that rings,
And who's to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of you clings...
These foolish things remind me of you.

The first daffodil and long excited cables,
And candle lights on little corner tables,
And still my heart has wings...
These foolish things remind me of you.

The park at evening when the bell has sounded,
The 'Ile-de-France' with all the gulls around it,
The beauty that is spring's...
These foolish things remind me of you.

How strange, how sweet
To find you still,
These things are dear to me,
They seem to bring you near to me.

The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations,
Silk stockings thrown aside, dance invitations.
Oh, how the ghost of you clings!
These foolish things remind me of you...

These foolish things remind me of you.

TLC

Maryse's tree is being attended to quite often these days... Today, follow up treatment to get rid of the red ant nest at the base is applied. A special solution to promote growth will be added in a few days. The tree is responding in kind by putting out new and healthy branches and we think that the treatment is working as expected. Thank you, Christine and Nora.

Monthly Progress #4

This day marks the fourth month since this Ficus religiosa was planted here. The past two weeks have been busy for us nursing this tree back to full growing form. The large red ant colony at the base of the tree was dealt with properly and hopefully they will either be eradicated or move somewhere else. New growth has returned and this tree is getting a lot of attention and care.

This view is West...

... West-NorthWest...

... and NorthWest...

We believe this tree will be beautiful and at home at this precise location. Once established, it will take care of itself...

Need TLC

Maryse's tree was doing very well... until recently when it started to drop leaves. We are looking into the problem, and suspect that the red ant hill at the base may be the cause. New growth began at the base of the tree but that may be signs of distress. This is a botanical center, so we should be able to understand and correct this problem.

Monthly Progress #3

Three months after planting, here is how Maryse's tree looks today. It has been raining on and off the past month and this area was weeded quite often to keep the bad growth at bay. New growths on the young tree appear consistently in new young leaves on new branches. Today, there is a flock of ibis feeding as seen in the West-Northwest view. The ficus tree is planted in the SE corner in the Southeast Expansion Area (SEA) of Montgomery Botanical center.
This view is West...

... West-NorthWest...

... and NorthWest...

Visiting this tree always evokes painful memories only I can experience.
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St. James Infirmary
Musician: Louis Armstrong
Music and Lyrics: Anonymous

Touch

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Touch
Music and Lyrics by Seal and Mark Batson
Vocalist: Seal

Without your touch I've been lost without the things I love
Without your kiss I've been dreaming of the things I miss

Your eyes, your mouth, your lips, your touch
(Your eyes), (your mouth), (your face), (your touch)

Who am I (Who am I)
There to tell (I'm not to tell)
What will be (what will be), no one knows, (still)
Who am I (I need to know)
There to tell (What time itself)
What will be (Will it show) well let it be

Each day we miss, I remember times I used to kiss
Your mouth (Your mouth), your eyes (your eyes), your face (your face), your touch (your touch)

But Who am I (Who am I)
There to tell (I'm not to tell)
what will be (What will be), well no one knows, (still)
Who am I (I need to know)
There to tell (What time itself)
what will be (Will it show) well let it be

(Still I need to know), (What time itself), (Will really show)
(Still I need to know), (What time itself), (Will really show)

And I say
Who am I (Who am I)
There to tell (I'm not to tell)
What will be (What will be) well, no one knows, (still)
Who am I (I need to know)
There to tell (What time itself)
what will be (Will it show) well let it be

Who am I (Who am I)
There to tell (I'm not to tell)
what will be (what will be), well no one knows, (still)
Who am I (I need to know)
There to tell (What time itself)
what will be (Will it show) Well let it be

Your mouth, your eyes, your face, your touch
Your touch, your touch, your touch, your touch.

Sweet Memories

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Sweet Memories
Vocalist: Willie Nelson
Music and Lyrics: Mickey Newbury (1968)

My world is like a river as dark as it is deep
Night after night the past slips in and gathers all my sleep
My days are just an endless stream of emptiness to me
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her memories
Sweet memories sweet memories...

She slipped into the silence of my dreams last night
Wandering from room to room turning on each light
Her laughter spills like water from the river to the sea
And I'm swept away from sadness clinging to her memories
Sweet memories sweet memories...

The Chimera

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The Transplant Foundation, Inc. played a major role in the last two years of Maryse's life. It published a periodic newsletter named "The Chimera" that provided news to its members and to the public at large. In its last publication, Issue 1 in the Spring of the year 2011, the Chimera's Memorials section contained acknowledgement of financial contributions made to the Foundation in the name of Marie Rose. Parts of that issue are excerpted and reproduced here as our expression of gratitude to everyone who had gracefully made such noble gestures. Thank you!


The Miami Herald also has an on line guest book that appears below. A special thank you goes to the kind words expressed therein.