Palm Tree Ride

by

Leo  Crocker Rogers

Life happened today.

It was about 110 in the shade so let us say 140 in the sun.

While walking outside, I heard a voice. ‘Hey mister." I looked ahead and no one was there, so I turned around, and no one. "Hey mister, up here." Did I feel like Abraham hearing God’s voice? Pretty close. I looked up. Would you have looked up? There, some 40 feet in the sky, was a man hanging from a palm tree. Of course, he was safety belted to the tree and was about to trim some palm fronds. From his belt, hung a three foot chain saw. He suggested I walk on the other side of the street. I walked to the other side of the street and under the shade of another tree, I watched him swing a rather thick and wide belt toward another palm tree about 15 feet away. He attempt the swings many time but could not get the belt to swing around the trunk of the other tree. It occurred to me that he might be trying to pull the other tree close enough that he would trim both from the tree he had already climbed. No, I said, I have seen what trees do when they are released from a tether. They swing violently. Surely, he would not take the risk. Then again, it was 140 degrees and avoiding another 40 foot climb was worth some risk. Finally, he gave up swinging the belt. What he did instead was to cast the belt into the top of the adjacent tree and snag it. He then pulled on it to bring the trees closer to one another. Can you imagine this man jumping from one tree to the other in order to avoid a 40 foot climb? I stayed to see how this played out. He began to bounce the trees together. It took all his strength, and he huffed and puffed. After a while he could see that he could get them some five feet apart. He stopped. He then circled the belt on the tree from which he was hanging. Then as he bounced the two trees together, he pulled up on the belt to shorten it so there was a closeness between the trees. He continued to do this until the two trees were latched to each other and very close. He yelled down to me. "I only have to climb once this way." "Roger that." I said. He then trimmed the top of the tree on which he was hanging. That done, I waited, silently. Was he going to jump to the other tree? I sure hoped not. He waited a while. I prayed that he would think deeply about his next more. His chain saw was silent and hanging from his belt. The trees were silent. This man was well built. Good large and well toned legs. Strong upper body. This was his life. I sure prayed it would continue to be. He pulled up his chain saw and pull started it. That was a good sign because he certainly would not jump trees with a fired up chain saw. He then reached as far as he could and began cutting off the fronds of the other tree. That was all well and good but how about the fronds on the far side of the tree? What to do? He pulled on the belt and forced the trees together even more, which took a mighty effort. Then with his free hand, he swung the chain saw toward the back side of the tree. Sure enough, he got a good cut. Nothing fell, but it was a cut. Time and time again he swung the chain saw. Apparently it was on throttle lock. It would swing out, cut, then swing back still cutting away. Boy was this ever a time not to have that saw get close to his leg or arm. He dodged it. Time and again he swung it and cut. And you know, he cut every frond. That tree was not trimmed as neatly as the other, but it was done. He shut down the saw. Then came the time of disconnect. He waited. He fussed with the belt a while. He was uneasy. He fussed some more. Finally, putting one arm around the tree gorilla style, and using the other to release the belt, he did. It was just like you would imaging. All that pent up energy of both trees was released, and the tree must have popped some 25 feel apart and violently so. He yelled so loudly that the entire neighborhood could hear him. It was wild. Burring his head into the tree with his cheek pressed into the trunk, he had both arms grabbing that tree for his life. The trees bounced and rebounded many times and finally settled to a stop. He dropped his head forward and let his body sag into the safety belt. He was bushed. Now that was an "E" ride at Disney Land!

He looked down at me. He was relieved and proud of himself. He yelled down to his wife that all was okay.

Can you imagine living with a man that does such things? Then again maybe you do, only your are the husband, and it is your wife that is doing something like that.

Life.