Alcoholic post by tree climbers for tree climbers. AKA nobody gets it and thats OK.

CoreyYLTG

Treehouser
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Jul 14, 2016
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Ohio
I went to Iraq as an infantryman(Non gender based Infantry Human as its called these days) in 2006. I came home in 2008. That being said I was privileged by my nation to take part in what would become know as "The Surge". It. friggin'. Sucked. I hung out and partied with our local and beloved insurgents for about 18 months through 2007 when the U.S. Army had the highest KIA/WIA of all years of the war. Afterwards I was able to take a huge shit on the bare chest that is stop-loss due to an injury that flagged me for deployment and snag a discharge. I made my way home and tried to explain to everyone who would listen for about a month what I had been through and came to realize that 1)Nobody gave a shit 2)People who didn't understand but tried to act like they did just friggin' suck.

Being as that I cannot remember a time in my life I couldn't weld(Thanks Dad!) I got a job as a millwright post Army. My pre-military life mostly consisted of working on cars and building stuff from steel. It paid well but I ended up working a corporate job at around 20 different plants up and down the east coast. By working about 90 hours a week, missing my daughters birthday 4 years in a row, and living in hotels while my family pretty much fended for themselves I grew to hate my job. I was making about $110,000 a year as a 25 year old. One of the few times I was home A tree crew showed up across the street and I saw this guy do something amazing.

He threw on a saddle and some spurs and just frigged up this tree. (I know now that he actually frigged the tree up when he spurred up it and did a bunch of peel cuts, he was pruning it and absolutely frigged up that tree, but at the time I thought it was awesome.) So out of nowhere I left my job and bought a bunch of saws and a saddle.

I applied the same concept of perpetual eduction to my newfound career as I did to my millwright job and the military and progressed rapidly. I'm still absolutely friggin' shit at what I do but can sling it without friggin' much up these days. After trying to explain the military stuff and hitting a wall I don't even try with tree work.

Tree work is very similar to combat. You can do everything right and still get killed. People who have not been a climber absolutely cannot understand what it is to go up there. They can't, and thats OK. It is OK because frig you that's why. Other climbers will understand what it is, but no matter what you do to put the right words in the right order to explain what it is to somebody who hasn't been up there is a waste of time.

Your friends, your wife, your kids, literally anyone you try and explain what you do to, cannot understand. They absolutely can't. Don't get mad, don't get bent out of shape. You wanting a non tree climber to understand what you do is the same as me wanting a non-veteran to understand combat. Both are like showing a crazy porn to a virgin to explain sex. If you take a pick on a crane and intend to make it butt heavy but it ends up brush heavy, it tips, breaks in half, and you almost die, talk about it to other climbers and leave it at work. If you go home and try to explain it to your wife she will nod her head and ask if you got dog food on the way home.Not because she doesn't love you, but because she has no idea what your talking about.
 
Heavy post! Sounds like you found an excellent career now.

You must love August's vids, some of which try to convey what it is like up there to non climbers, even though, it can't really be done.

Cool part about how you saw a tree climber and it blew your mind. I can relate totally. Sometimes to this day if I see even a merely decent climber, it pumps me up, lol.
 
Have you ever been to any climbing seminars or competitions? They can be a huge help and inspiration to climbers on the way up.
 
You mentioned watching a climber frig up a tree blew your mind, somehow it brought this vid to mind, maybe you'll get a kick out of it-



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Lf70yhU3BM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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Heavy post! Sounds like you found an excellent career now.

You must love August's vids, some of which try to convey what it is like up there to non climbers, even though, it can't really be done.

Cool part about how you saw a tree climber and it blew your mind. I can relate totally. Sometimes to this day if I see even a merely decent climber, it pumps me up, lol.

I have a huge amount of respect for August. He does some pretty OK tree work and definitely loves his family. I hate that I'm saying this, but I relate to Reg C more. I gather that August owns a reputable company, and Reg C is playing hired gun. Doing huge dead battered bullshit trees for a flat rate is more my speed than what August does. Don't get me wrong August does some amazing stuff but getting a call at 23 hundred hours to show up at 07:30 for an absolute train wreck four days a week is more my speed. August seems to be great at making a plan, but Reg C seems better at hip shooting. Maybe it's just my perspective, but that is my opinion. It is worth almost as much as you paid for it here.
 
:popcorn:

Reg has his own company now, he doesn't sub anymore afaik.
 
This seems like one of those threads that starts off a little confusing and gets more so as it goes along. :)
 
You nailed it,this same subject has been mentioned many times by both August and Reg as well as many professional alike myself included. It's why the treehouse Rocks so Hard,Camaraderie/comradery is here...
 
Me? I didn't get no shirt yet. He makes things for his mother, very nicely done too, lined skirts and things. When his skills are polished enough I'll order a suit, don't know where I might wear it though, except at my funeral.
 
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