I'm careful !!

spreaderman · Mar 24, 2003

I used to work at a Farmers Coop here locally and about 8 years ago, there was this one elderly man that came in very regularly, nice man, the type that was active, always doing something. He said as he was leaving one day he was going to cut down a tree, I offered to him "I'll cut the tree for you" ... I knew he was old, mid 70's but he said " I'M CAREFUL " very quickly, he said he could do it, the next day we heard that he was dead , a tree fell on him and crush him. At the accident site they said that there was scrapes where he tried to dig or pull his way out from under it, one of the last things that I heard him say was, I'm careful......... I made myself a promise to help and to almost insist to the elderly to let me help them, I'll help for little or no money to keep this from happening again. I just thought that I would share this story with others, it might help someone

Tim Gardner · Mar 24, 2003

That is really sad. Sounds like the old guy went down fighting. I guess that is better than going out in a hospital or retirement home.

geofore · Mar 26, 2003

older folks

Don't just insist, go help them. I have an older friend who is disabled and he had a ladder up againt an old elm and when the ladder ran out he nailed 2x4's to climb even higher and he was going to take this one down with his Sears electric chainsaw. Stubburn guy, I did the tree for him. 42" ABH, hollow the first 17' to the croutch, hung over his home a good 37'. You couldn't tell it was hollow because the hole was in the top of the croutch and until it split you would not have known how bad it was. I cabled right leader to the left leader and tied myself into the left as I cut the right lead, half way into the cut, "CRACK" it left the tree splitting the lead out from under me just missing the house, I bounched over to the left leader. I climbed down to explain to him why he would have been dead if he was up there with his electric saw. If he had been up there and not cabled the tree he would have rode it down into the house taking out part of the livingroom and all of the kitchen. He said he was always careful when he did something he thought was dangerous. He would have Carefulled himself into the next world.

I've been cutting him firewood every year since to keep him from cutting trees. He is a good friend and worth keeping around.

lync · Mar 27, 2003

old

Last year I had my bathroom wall papered by an old timer. He was great with the stuff. We got talking and he mentioned that had to cut a limb off a tree that was shading his pool so his grandchildren would not be cold in the water. I told him I was a climber and offered to do the pruning for free, since he did such a great job in my bathroom. He declined stateing that he was a painter for 50 years and very confident on a ladder. I warned him of the risks.

Two months later he calls me and asks if I want him to wall paper my bathroom. I told him that he had already done the job. He appoligized and told me that he had found my phone number in his truck and didn't remember doing my bathroom.

He added, that the day he finished ay my house he borrowed a chainsaw from a friend, climbed one of his painting ladders and cut the branch. He never made an under cut so the branch swung as he sawed through the top, and swept the ladder out from under him. Concusion /broken ribs/ and a month in the hospital/2 months out of work. Pretty tough on a 65 yr. old body.

Man did I feel guilty, but I never said to him "I told you so".
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!
I guess I'll be that stubborn when I'm his age.