She’s almost 1900 years old and has never been Unilocaled before, so I decided to be gentle. The majestic and magnificent Methuselah Redwood watches silently as cars, bicycles, and motorcycles speed by on Skyline, oblivious and indifferent to their twenty-first century concerns. She has been around considerably longer than other local celebrities, like Neil Young, Joan Baez, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, or the late, great Tennessee Ernie Ford(I’m from WVa and have a soft spot for«Sixteen Tons»). All these folks make or have made this part of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Woodside their home(one of their homes, at least). So, since I had long ignored her like all the rest, I decided to spend some quality time with Ms. Methuselah one rainy winter morning. I walked up to the immense, fire-scarred base and watched the raindrops trickle down her thick and solid frame. I tried to spot her truncated top in the fog, but could not quite make it out. I pressed my hand reverently against her trunk and then furtively touched my lips to her rain-slicked, sinuous form. Getting no response, I quietly left the way that I had come, happy to have finally stopped to admire this miracle of nature, even if she seemed distinctly unaware of my presence, other than to splatter a few bits of water onto my upturned face. I’m a little too young for her, anyway.
