Washington, D.C.– Coming in from a long journey of 8599.9 miles or almost 18 hours, it was certainly invigorating to arrive at the beautiful capital of the United States and be welcomed by a glorious explosion of largely white cherry blossoms. The first thing I did was to get the camera and shoot the images.
My visit after five years was incredibly perfect timing. I am so grateful to be in D.C. at the peak of the cherry blossoms season. The flowers bloom only once a year, for a week and only during early spring. The tree is said to have existed for over 1,200 years.
Originally numbering around 3,020 from 12 varieties, the trees were gifts “of friendship” from the Japanese to the people of America in 1912. “In Japan, the flowering cherry tree, or Sakura is an exalted flowering plant.”
(How I wish I can think of our own native tree so treated with such deep awe and reverence. Can you? No wonder tree destroyers abound.)
According to Wikepdia, from 1913 to 1920, trees of the Somei-Yoshino variety, which comprised 1800 of the gift, were planted around the Tidal Basin. Trees of the other 11 cultivars, and the remaining Yoshinos, were planted in East Potomac Park. In 1927, a group of American school children re-enacted the initial planting.
While the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was busy filing in Cebu City the case against the officers of the WT Construction Inc. to hold them accountable for the removal of the 79 still-unaccounted for and missing trees along S. Osmeña Road, the populace congregated in the District of Columbia (D.C.) to savor a most enthralling yet ephemeral sight of whites and pinks dotting the landscape, especially in the Tidal Basin area. Families, lovers and friends flocked to witness one of nature’s many miracles. I am privileged to be among them.
Certainly in the list of my favorite cities in the United States, D.C. captivates the senses, as ever. Green and cool, it offers wide walkways, miles of hiking and biking trails, parks, clean waterways, many museums and a very efficient and accessible mass transportation system. It is not unusual to see habitués walking, jogging and biking at various times of the day amid a myriad of trees, lovely colorful flowers and birds gaily hopping and singing without a care in the world. These services are what we badly need in the urban cities of the Philippines.
I told my dear friend and host, Kiddie Lim, a long-time resident, that she is blessed to be in a livable place like D.C.
In this particular visit, I also notice more bikers almost everywhere. It is reported that in the past two years, the city put in biking infrastructure with an additional “11 miles of bicycle lanes and 10 miles of signed routes”.
D.C. is the first major city in the US with an innovative automated bike-sharing scheme. The Capital Bikeshare has 2,500 bikes available with 300 bike stations in DC. Virginia and Maryland.
In his blog, lawyer Franco Sarmiento who was based in D.C. for his LlM degree, urges visitors to “try Capital Bikeshare. Use it to go to visit the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial.
You can even use it to join one of the free group bike rides organized by this awesome bike shop called BicycleSPACE. (Check out the ride schedule at https://www.bicyclespacedc.com/rides-events/).
Franco further wistfully notes that, “I wished they had this bike-sharing program in Manila. With the onset of the new Makati-EDSA Bicycle lane, maybe someone ought to establish a bike-sharing program in the Metro.”
It seems the wishes of a growing number of citizens like Franco, Mishka, Monica and the road-sharing advocates have been heard. The much-welcome news is the Department of Transportation and Communications announcement that bus rapid transit, more walkways and car-less cities are being planned.
Will cities like Cebu follow soon? They should.
As a fervent optimist, I believe that dreams do come true and societal transformation can take place in one’s lifetime. Road-sharing, public spaces, walkways and bike lanes will be in place sooner than soon.
These developments augur well for the citizens’ deafening desire to live in a clean, low-carbon and sustainable way of life. With the climate change challenge and other crises that we are confronting, now is the best time for policymakers and citizens alike to plan and join forces for such to happen. It would be the best legacy to leave our children and their children.
As I write, I marvel at the visible transformation of the cherry tree. Shedding off the luxuriant flowers which are starting the process to fertilize the ground, green leaves have grown in their stead. This signals the beginning of a new phase yet still a continuation of life and living.
Just like the beautiful cherry blossoms, life is fascinating but so fleeting. And, we do not have the luxury of waiting forever for change to materialize. We have to act and take the essential steps to make our dreams and goals happen.
Now, not tomorrow.