I have always been driven. I’m sure that my modus operand is the negative result of my parents moving to Mt. Lebanon. It was a golden ghetto financially and educationally. As with most things, success comes when we suffer in some manner.

Hence, the article is about someone born in America around the time of the

American Revolution. We all have heard many stories and legends about John Chapman. Well, that was his given name, but he acquired the name Johnny Appleseed.

Johnny Appleseed

I don’t know another person who personally planted more apple trees from seeds that matured into apple trees than Chapman.

What drove Chapman? He didn’t spend most of his life casting apple seeds all over the American frontier just for fun. He was driven for money. Chapman had a game plan. He would go to the frontier and plant apple trees. Several years later, as the trees matured, he would get money from the new settlers for the apple trees he planted on their new homestead.

Chapman’s apple trees didn’t bear eating apples, but they did produce apples for hard cider and applejack, a type of brandy. While planting seeds for apple trees, he planted his theological beliefs. Over the decades, Chapman had over 1,200 acres of trees in his various nurseries.

In many ways, Chapman and I have similar interests. I enjoy making things grow. He grew more than mere apple trees. He was into growing medicinal plants from seeds. I started a Christmas cactus. It grew quite well for years, except it never bloomed, whether on Christmas or any other day. Strangely, the first bloom appeared on January 20. Perhaps it was wishing me a Happy Birthday. However, only one other bloom is emerging.

I also recently tried to grow a loofah vine. It isn’t a tree but part of the cucumber family. I use loofah when taking baths. Early each morning, after sweating 30 minutes in a sauna at Southlake Y, I come home and exercise for another half hour on my elliptical trainer. For several days, I noticed small black things on the floor of my bathtub while taking a shower. What was littering my tub were loofah seeds. The Johnny Apple in me tried to grow some of the seeds...without any results.

Like Chapman, I never give up trying. While eating a mango, I was impressed by its large seed. So, I researched mango tree growing on the Internet. This is what I thought was a mango seed. However, I needed an expert on planting mango seeds.

The mango expert showed me how to remove the outer casing and get to the seed, which was still large.

Johnny Appleseed did not have to face removing the outer casing of apple seeds. I did as I was told and wrapped the seed in a towel.

It has been a week since I attempted to germinate the mango seed. This is my mango seed’s progress. As I unwrapped the seed encased in its shell, it fell out. My first thought was, “I’m free at last.”

The mango tree expert suggests continuing to wrap it in a wet towel for several weeks until it develops more of a root sign. The circled area is the beginning of the root system. I’ll probably wait until Valentine’s Day.

So, what have you learned from this article about Chapman and me? The first is to dream dreams. Bobby Kennedy is the most important mentor in my life. He said, “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.” We need to use that as a mantra by which we live. Bobby was fortunate to live in America and was born into a family of wealth. However, he reached out to those without money, freedom, and suffering. Chapman also reached out to all the people with compassion and care.

Chapman especially talked to people who bought his apple tree seeds or trees about giving them what he understood about caring not just for apple trees but for each other. My mantra is, “It is in giving that we get.” In my essay about receiving a box of Christmas gifts from her, please read what I wrote regarding my joy in her gifts. I asked Ti Ti who was happier, the giver or the receiver. She replied, “It means a lot to know the gifts made you happy. As for who is happier, I’d say it’s a tie! Seeing you delighted makes my heart so full, and I couldn’t ask for more.” Every time that I read her comment, I tear up.