To my friends and family,

I was hoping to convey to the many people who have overwhelmingly poured out their love and kindness what events have taken place since September 17.

I wish you could have all walked with me through these events because if you had, you would have been spiritually uplifted from the things we saw and heard, and your lives forever changed, as ours were.

As many of you know we left the Saturday after the funeral to go to California to see where David Nathan died. We were there until the following Wednesday and were in a different city each night. We attended memorial services in each place we went.

We soon realized that there were many people from all walks of life who represented the same cause Nathan did-to stop the destruction of the beautiful ancient redwood forest. As I understand it, most of the damage has occurred over the last 10 years, and there is only four percent of the 140-million acres that once stood tall.

This was the first time I had ever set foot in a redwood forest, and it took that to make me fully understand why so many have put themselves on the frontlines to protect these magnificent trees. I felt as if I were walking on holy ground.

We heard many stories of how Nathan touched so many people. One that grips my heart is how he had told one of his friends that he never felt he would live very long and that he was a young man with an old soul. There were songs and poems and letters of admiration written for him and these were shared with us at these memorial services.

I am so proud to have had this wonderful young man, my son, for 24 years.

Thank you for all your love and kindness through one of the saddest times we will ever experience.

-CINDY ALLSBROOKS