Chapter Two
Many years ago (33) in a land called Hewitt, Texas, Donna and I purchased a house on a wooded lot. This wooded lot consisted of two clumps of trees that resembled tall bushes more than trees.
In the year 1979 when we were looking for a house the realtor showed us this house and she kept referring to it as the house with the wooded lot. In fact the trees were in front of the porch and were probably Hack Berry trees. I always assumed there may have been a fence there at one time and these “trees” were in the fence line. The contractor left them there so we had the house with the wooded lot. Truth was, if you looked up or down the street none of the houses had a tree in the front yard. There was a couple trees in some back yards but very few of those.
A few years went by and the trees grew tall enough they made shade. They were not the best looking trees but there was some shade. One year we were on vacation (vacation in those years consisted of visiting relatives in Missouri) and when we returned home one of the trees was laying in the yard. A neighbor came over and said there was a bad storm and the tree was blown over and it was in part, lying on the roof of our house. He said he and another neighbor knew we were gone so they pulled the tree off the roof. The roof was undamaged. I cut the tree up and loaded it on my trailer to be hauled to the city dump.
I decided that the other tree should be removed. This tree was about 8 feet from the house and it leaned slightly toward the house. It was about 12 inches at the base and I knew if it fell on the house it could cause damage.
On a Saturday morning I decided to show my proficiency with a chain saw. I removed the lower limbs (those I could reach from the ground) and then studied the tree. Recalling the teaching of Cap Miller I decided on one slanted cut that should cause the tree to move/fall downward parallel to the house missing the roof. I probably should have removed some of the upper limbs before starting the cut at the base which would have moved the weight away from the house.
With the first angled cut complete I was ready to make the last cut. I noticed the neighbor, his wife and kid up the street from us was in the yard watching this idiot “me” try to fall a tree without hitting the house. I have noticed that when I do something that is not exactly right or risky others see or know about it. When I do something perfectly correct nobody knows.
I took a deep breath and pulled the rope on the chain saw. The saw roared to life. I took one last look and decided I was doing the right thing. I cut into the back side of the tree about 4 inches deep, then I backed away to be sure the tree was not moving. I moved back to the tree placing the bar of the chain saw back into the cut I began to cut again all the time listening for that tell-tell sound of the tree cracking. The wood of the tree breaks as it begins to move making a cracking sound. I shut the saw off and stepped back from the tree. It made the cracking sound a few more times and then I could see it moving toward the house. As the first cut closed due to the tree moving, the angle of the cut turned the tree and it fell parallel to the house. The neighbors turned and went back into their house disappointed that I was successful.
I cut the tree limbs off the tree. Everything but the main body of the tree trunk was cut in 2 foot long pieces. As luck would have it a fellow in a pickup truck stopped and offered to haul the tree away for $30.00. That meant, I would not have to load it on my trailer and haul it to the city then unload it there. We agreed on $30.00 and he loaded all but the main trunk which had not been cut into pieces yet. The fellow asked if I could pay him for the job and he would come back tomorrow to get the trunk (the most difficult part of the tree). I agreed and paid him. I know it was a stupid move on my part but everyone knows “I am generous to a fault”. You are right, dumb or stupid is more appropriate that generous. To make a short story longer, he did not come back and I still had to cut the trunk in pieces and hall it off.
From the no longer gullible mind of Don Ford
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