In ancient times, according to Book VII of The History of Herodotus, the rules Xerxes I, known as Xerxes the Great, was marching to Greece. As he traveled through the countryside, Herodotus recounts, Xerxes “came across a plane-tree of such beauty that he was moved to decorate it with golden ornaments and to appoint a guardian for it in perpetuity.”

I’ve seen trees like that myself. So beautiful, that if I could, I would deck them with golden ornaments and appoint guardians so that they would be protected forever.

Since I’ve read about what Xerxes did, I’ve watched out for those trees more carefully.