Letter: The grand old cottonwoods

There have been many news articles and letters to the editor regarding the Lochiel cottonwoods, I was born and raised in the San Rafael Valley and lived in Lochiel the first 16 years if my life. My ancestors have lived in the area since the 1850s. If not for my physical limitations, I would have certainly joined the protest group. In the shade of those beautiful, stately trees, we held many community picnics and barbeques attended by residents of boths sides of the border. If one has not heard the "music" of those shimmering leaves and watched birds of many species fluttering in the branches, they have missed something exceptional. It deeply saddens me to see them destroyed for a totally unnecessary barrier, just to satisfy someone's petulant whim. I sympathsize with our neighbors, The Tohono O'odham, and pray they will be successful in their struggle against this unwarranted invasion of their land.