George Harrison’s Memorial Tree Destroyed

If you ever wanted to know the definition of irony, I would have to say this story pretty much sums it up. Back in 2004, a 10 foot tall pine was planted to honor the memory former Beatle, George Harrison. On the plaque in front of the “Harrison tree” read “In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener.” It also included a quote from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; "For the forest to be green, each tree must be green" Here’s the irony part…the tree was actually killed by beetles, and I’m not talking about Paul and Ringo.

http://youtu.be/InQ15ryCFL4

Plans are in the works for a new one to be planted shortly. Harrison's last years were spent living in L.A. — he died there at 58 in late 2001, and was cremated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

The plaque (and the forthcoming tree) is located near the city's famous Griffith Observatory. The memorial now reads more as a eulogy to the tree that was:

On the day I was there, many tourists and visitors, in fact, walked right by it without noticing it at all. There is no signage that leads people to the tree, and the memorial plaque is near the ground and out-of-sight. Furthermore, I didn't see any buskers or fans with guitars either playing "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," or "My Sweet Lord" (or any of Harrison's many other well known songs). Instead, with my own private thoughts and reflections, I enjoyed that pine tree in peace just as George, I'm sure, would have wanted it.