Unmanaged Facebook Post
I met Dave during the Cathedral Park sHellNo Flotilla. He came Backbone Campaign's action camp on Vashon this summer and we had some great discussions. Dave has a beautiful smile and a spirit that sings with generosity. He leaned some repelling skills. Read the story of how he's earned the name Lorax Dave.
And BTW Dave is down and the trees still stand. Thank you Lorax Dave.
The finish update to this story at
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/273551-149326-tree-huggers-save-the-giant-sequoias
William Moyer
posted
on
Backbone Campaign's Facebook page
{"facebook_url"=>"http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153578662771963&id=10152331957391963", "content"=>"I met Dave during the Cathedral Park sHellNo Flotilla. He came Backbone Campaign's action camp on Vashon this summer and we had some great discussions. Dave has a beautiful smile and a spirit that sings with generosity. He leaned some repelling skills. Read the story of how he's earned the name Lorax Dave. \n\nAnd BTW Dave is down and the trees still stand. Thank you Lorax Dave. \nThe finish update to this story at http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/273551-149326-tree-huggers-save-the-giant-sequoias", "facebook_attachment"=>{"picture"=>"https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-0/s130x130/12032945_963226323728016_5845338703410073445_n.jpg?oh=989756ae71f2e55333f297ebde27f505&oe=568D3DD6", "link"=>"https://www.facebook.com/PortlandRedwoods/photos/a.911538152230167.1073741828.909652269085422/963226323728016/?type=3", "name"=>"Save the Portland Redwoods - \"Save The Giants\"", "caption"=>nil, "description"=>"IN PRAISE OF LORAX DAVE, THE TREE SITTER:\n\nAfter Monday, when the neighborhood stood beneath the trees, defied arrest, and turned away the chainsaws, we all wondered what would come next. On Tuesday, citizens arrived early from all over the city, ready to do it again. One of those people was a guy named Dave. He smiled a lot and sat under the trees for several hours talking with the new friends he met there. Then, he said, \"You know what, I have like one more thing I need to do for the rest of the month. I'm going to go do it and then I'm coming back here and not leaving until these trees are safe.\" We weren't sure what he meant by that, and perhaps neither was he. He returned that afternoon with a friend and the two of them started tossing ropes up in the trees. Many of us wondered how this was going to go down. By 2pm he was up there 50 feet above in the branches, sitting in a climbing harness. We figured he'd come down at night to sleep, but he rigged up a hammock and stayed there. A team of supporters rotated in and out, hoisting up supplies. People from the neighborhood cooked him meals, children arrived from other towns with gifts for the guy up in the tree known as Lorax Dave. But how long could he stay up there? Last night his support team rigged up an awesome platform and finally Dave could stretch his legs and stand up. It rained hard at night but he stayed dry under a tarp. Early in the morning dozens of police stormed the site and evicted his support team. They told Dave to come down. He said, \"No thanks.\" and didn't speak to them again. A ridiculous number of police arrived, over 50, and blocked off our street, refusing to let supporters near the giant trees. But people and news crews streamed in through side paths as supportive neighbors ushered them in. We all shouted encouragement to Dave who waved down at us. The mayor called Vic the developer downtown for a meeting, and we got hopeful, but then, while a deal was being brokered, Everett Custom Homes sent in a crew of men with chainsaws. Protestors locked arms and wouldn't let them in. Things calmed down as the police became resigned to the idea that Lorax Dave was going nowhere. And then, the developer lowered his asking price and a deal was put in place to sell the property and save the giant sequoia trees. We all have a fingers crossed that this works out, and meanwhile Lorax Dave is still up there in that tree.\nPeople make fun of hippies and tree huggers all the time, and we're sure there are plenty of folks who don't support illegally camping out in a tree. But you know what? These trees would be gone now if it weren't for Dave and his crew. They'd be sad giant stumps waiting for removal to make room for a huge house. But thanks to Dave, they are still here, and we hope that he and his crew can bring their friends here, and their kids, and their kids's kids, to see these trees, and when they do, they can say, \"hey, you know what? I helped save these Giants. If it weren't for me, someone would have cut them down.\"\n\nTHANK YOU LORAX DAVE. WE LOVE YOU.", "icon"=>nil, "type"=>"photo"}}
