`WELL, PAL, HERE'S THOSE . . . TREES YOU ALWAYS WANTED' : FRIENDS HELP PROFESSOR'S LEGACY TAKE ROOT.Byline: Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
There will come a moment today when the eight neighbors living in the 16600 block of Tupper Street in North Hills will take a break from planting a tree on the parkway in front of each of their homes. A moment when they'll lean on their shovels, look up to the sky and have a few last words Last words are a person's final words before death. For a list of well known last words, see or use the link at right. Last words may refer to:
``Well, pal, here's those boulevard trees you always wanted on our block,'' L.A. City Fire Capt. Jan Bernard, a close friend and neighbor, will sum it up. Everyone will nod, and Clair O'Connell, Dick's widow, will say a few words, thanking everyone for chipping in to buy the trees and make this last community project of her husband's come true. Trees on Tupper Street. A final tribute to the neighborhood conscience and friend, Dick O'Connell. They were the second owners on the block in 1964, a young college professor and his wife, ready to start a family and enjoy the good life in a new tract of homes built in an old walnut grove Walnut Grove is the name of many communities in the US and Canada, including:
``Right from the start, all Dick really wanted to do in life was save the world,'' Clair says Friday, opening a letter from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, wanting to know if Dick was going to renew his membership. She puts it with the stack of other similar letters asking the same thing. ``He supported so many groups and charities, especially environmental causes,'' Clair says. ``Dick loved the environment. That's why planting these trees was so important to him. He would be thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. to see them now.'' It was early last year that they really got serious about the project, says Jan Bernard. The neighbors had talked about it long enough and decided now was the time to try to publicly lobby the other neighbors for trees. Dick would take all the houses on the even side of the street, and Jan the houses on the odd. The vote was unanimous - 8-0. ``Everyone agreed to pitch in to plant a tree on the parkway in front of their homes, and we were in the process of picking what kind of tree when Dick got sick,'' Jan said Friday. ``When he realized it was cancer, he asked me if I could complete the project if he didn't make it. Before I could, Dick passed away.'' Later, the neighbors would all get together again to chose the aristocrat tree from the pyrus calleryana family - Dick's personal choice for the boulevard tree because of its rich, purplish-red fall colors and early bloom bloom 1. the general appearance of the surface. In carcass meat it is the glistening, transparent effect and the gentle pink color that gives a good bloom to the carcass. It is the result of proper tissue hydration coupled with the correct proportions of fat, connective tissue and . ``Every time you looked out your window, there was Dick working in his yard and garden, landscaping it, always trying to make the block look more beautiful,'' says Elsie Larsen, who has lived on Tupper Street for 33 years. ``When Dick started talking about putting trees on the parkway, I told him, I'm 83, and not about to take care of a new tree. He laughed and said that the city would take care of it after five years. ``I said, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if I'll still be here in five years,'' she says, laughing bittersweetly. ``He was the most wonderful neighbor a person could have. ``He would always help me if I needed help, but even more important than that, Dick always had time for you, and that's so unusual nowadays.'' Jan Bernard agrees, half expecting to look up at Dick's house and see his old friend walking out the front door wearing that straw hat of his, with a handful of peanuts pea·nut n. 1. A prostrate southern Brazilian plant (Arachis hypogaea) widely cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions, having yellow flowers on stalks that bend over so that the seed pods ripen underground. 2. for the neighborhood crows. Clair O'Connell tells the story of the time in the '70s when it looked like there were going to be commercial flights coming in and out of Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. . ``People all around the airport were encouraged to take petitions around to be signed, and then taken to the Airport Commission meeting,'' she said. ``Dick and I did this, and without exception, every house we stopped at people would sign the petition, then say, but it isn't going to do any good. ``Dick would just smile, shake his head, and say, we'll see. Well, lo and behold be·hold v. be·held , be·hold·ing, be·holds v.tr. 1. a. To perceive by the visual faculty; see: beheld a tiny figure in the distance. b. , it did do some good. The commission voted against the flights.'' That was her husband, Clair says. Always fighting for causes and tilting at windmills This article is about an English idiom. For other uses, see Tilting at windmills (disambiguation). Tilting at windmills is an English idiom which means "attacking imaginary enemies." The word “tilt,” here, means “fight. . Trying to save his little corner of society as best he could - whether from drunk drivers or noisy jets. Trying to beautify his neighborhood with trees it never had. That's what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. today on Tupper Street, where every neighbor on the block is planting an aristocrat for Dick O'Connell. |
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