"...in life, in death, O Lord - Abide With Me"

Those much loved words of comfort and supplication from Abide with Me have risen to life at many memorial services and funerals since the 1847 lyrics of a man dying from tuberculosis met the melody of the composer in 1861, around the time of the U.S. Civil War.

How do wires connected to dead Sitka spruce relate to the hymn, "Abide with Me"?

Daily we walk the city streets where overhead lines bring telephone, electrical power, cable TV, and Internet to individual households. But only today did the illustration of the role of dearly departed friends and family come into sharp focus.

The strong upright tree trunk standing here long after its life has ended is something like a person loved by others who now lives no more. And yet the many relationships, memories, and other connections that touch on that person continue to live on. In other words, even the dead continue play a part in the lives of those left behind, much as this long-gone tree continues to connect the surrounding homes and businesses with services and survival: you don't have to be eternally present to exert a presence and provide meaning to others.