Tree and Question of the Day: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?

I'd put images in this post if I had the time, but since we're engaging the imagination here, just imagine there are trees to look at. Oh, hell, never mind, you superficial, shallow blog "reader", here's your damn tree!

image by peachygreen under Creative Commons


Now that you've had a chance to look at your pretty tree picture, can we please get on with it? Thank you!

You'll notice, by the way, that that is a redwood, and I have a reason for selecting it, as you'll soon see. First though, an explanation of the title of this post. Tree is a new Skeptical Eye series (we've got more of those than I can count now) all about, you guessed it, trees! It could be funny, serious, or just plain stupid, but it will be about trees. So, this begins the new series and is also a Question of the Day post.

So, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Answer honestly, now. Make Barbara Walters proud.


While you're coming up with your answer, let me go down memory lane for what inspired this post. A number of years ago, I worked for a mortgage company, and a co-worker who was a friend of mine asked this very question. I took it very seriously and was thinking of what tree I'd be, and came up with one that I figured represented strength, longevity and a wide view of the world (it's a tall tree).

I turned to her and said "Giant Redwood".

I did not get the response I was expecting. You see, she had come to see me as some kind of comedic genius based on my amazing gift of humor, so she must have thought I was still laughing it up, because she burst out laughing. She made some kind of sexual, reference, I think. Lucky she liked that sort of thing, or that might have been my own Herman Cain moment.

I let it go and didn't let on that I wasn't in on the joke. After all, I'd rather be known as a funny man than as a wise or profound thinker.