My fall

[PCTREE]

99% of the time, i check with100% body weight on a new system, before disconnecting a slacked, old system.

I did too. As crane cabled up and my weight came off of my lanyard I undid it like thousands of times before.
this was our 4th day in brutal heat after a storm. However I had been running the crane for a couple of days so figured I was fresher than the others. I was feeling good that day too. Not a worry in the world . In a word “complacent “

 

[cory]

Damn.

Btw: You young guys on your way up in the biz- buy a crane, they pay for themselves easily . I'm not buying one cuz I'm too old and where I keep my trucks it wouldn't work out and i don't feel like finding a new yard. But yeah, they are money makers. I really wish I had done something on it 10 years ago. Even a brand new crane, it'll pay for itself. I rent a 55t for 8hrs=$1680.00 and always make excellent money on crane day, but hey, if I had my own, paying for it would not be difficult.

 

[Burnham]

Took me 2 weeks to figure out what went wrong. My wife didn’t understand why it was so important to figure out what happened. How could I climb again if I didn’t know what caused it. Period. I knew he second I pulled the HH I fell. I knew I tie a stopper. Finally found how this miss tie will hold whist the binner is pinching the tail against the ring. Move HH and you fall. Solution either pay attention (which apparently I can’t do) or you get a splice and add a binner.

That would be my method, Paul. First thought i had after your posted pics.

Not to twig you at all. The figure of 9, aka double overhand, is a bombproof stopper and would be as you say, safe as houses, done like you did it the previous thousands of times.

I'm so glad we still have you around, my friend.

 

[Bermy]

Hug 🤗 . Glad you are still here Paul

 

[treesmith]

Wow! That’s a tough one, Paul!

I zipped off the end not long after I started climbing. Fell 30’ at 18 years old. Ironically I did basically the same thing a few years later, falling about 18’ at 30 years old. Still have aches from that fall.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Crazy stuff.
Your shoes I do not want.

 

[squisher]

Holy frig Paul. Crazy year man. I sold out a handful of years ago. For me it was the right choice, hope it all works out for you too.

 

[PCTREE]

I remember and you became a chimney sweep right?
I just want less stress, couldn’t come close to the income doing anything else but at least I might be able to enjoy life again
What are you doing now, how’s your spread doing, still got the big dogs?

 

[Nutball]

You wouldn't consider downsizing and going a bit further out of town would you? I don't know if that would help in the slightest or not. I tend to prefer smaller operations, there's trade offs.

 

[cory]

I think he is probably fairly small already, 2-3 employees? They just get a lot done

 

[PCTREE]

The original intent was to get enough out of the sale to enable me to move to Costa Rica and retire. Due to COVID and my wife not really being on board with moving yet I don’t know if that is going to happen.

 

[pigwot]

I really enjoyed Costa Rica. We drove the length of it, visiting biological research centers (wife is a biologist and she was planning a subsequent trip with her students). Lots of potential, great medical system, and a literacy rate much higher than here in the US. Back then as an extra-national you could only own 49% of the title to a property. Not sure what the rules are now. One friend made an agreement with a local couple to hold 51% of the title, and paid them to manage the finca.

 

[Nutball]

I wonder how far 49% takes a person?

 

[Frankie]

I was hoping the end of that story was left out because it was an obvious win for you.

Where would you go? I wouldn't mind leaving the US, but I tend to think most other places are worse. It is hard or impossible to find an ideal location in my opinion.

Costa Rica with mama-Sita for the win baby!

 

[Frankie]

there's always Conrad's in MT

Seems like a great place to live ... if you like snowmobiling ...... or you are a polar bear

 

[Ifelloutofatreeonce]

Charlottesville does have its fair share of assholes living there....glad you’re ok though

 

[treesmith]

$100k in India will last you the rest of your life. And they offer 8% interest. You would have to try very hard to spend it all and still live like a king with servants. Just sayin.

India, here I come! Retired at 53!

 

[lxskllr]

Plus side, Indian food every day! Negative side, ZOMG! heat!, and ZOMG! people everywhere!!!

I can go to the Indian restaurant every day if I want, but no retirement. Decent trade I think.

 

[flushcut]

The amount of people is rather unfathomable unless you've seen first hand.

 

[murphy4trees]

You've got Angels watching over you. A good reminder to the rest of us to keep our karma as clean as possible...

That's an extraordinary story of the fall, and another reminder that we need to slow down and double-check everything when there are matters from our personal lives that can be so disturbing as to through our concentration off.

There was another owner-operator, shining star type, Cameron Lyons. He was from Jersey and I know a couple of people that worked for him and met him at a competition once. He had three or four kids. Business with multiple 75' bucket trucks and two cranes. He had just bought the big 90 ish ton crane with all-wheel steering etc. He rode the ball and took his mind off the tie in, and fell to his death. That's the nature of the business. It's that dangerous. One small mental lapse and you might never get another chance to do anything. God has given you another chance. IMO that means you've got more work to do here.

Hopefully, the recovery goes well. That's the kind of story that shows we all deserve respect for the work we do.

 

[FireFighterZero]

The amount of people is rather unfathomable unless you've seen first hand.

He could get a job as an internet scammer-tech support.

No one would see that coming.....

 

[squisher]

I remember and you became a chimney sweep right?
I just want less stress, couldn’t come close to the income doing anything else but at least I might be able to enjoy life again
What are you doing now, how’s your spread doing, still got the big dogs?

Tried the sweep thing for a bit but still wasn't enjoying the customer interaction. Took a job at a local plywood mill. Union, pension, extended benefits and pretty much zero responsibility compared with running your own gig. I'm two and a half years into that and still really enjoying it. Put in my eight and hit the gate. Still got the farm, one of my bigguys passed last year, thundy. The other one Tank is getting pretty long in the tooth too now.

 

[PCTREE]

Go get some giant puppies . Can’t put a price on pets, they improve our quality of living dramatically IMO . I hear you on the lack of stress not owning a business or interacting with idiots/customers. I am lucky that I will be in a good financial position and have options to make money that will also bring me enjoyment. I used to love tree work and was exited to get big jobs. Those days have gone so it’s time to move on

 

[pantheraba]

I look forward to you getting out of the madness of the tree business and us getting to see what drops out of your fertile mind...you, Kevin, Jaime...the INVENTORS among us are your own forces of nature when you have time to cogitate and ruminate about cool stuff. Y'all get busy!! We love getting to see things get born, grow and evolve.

 

[cory]

interacting with idiots/customers.

I used to love tree work and was exited to get big jobs. Those days have gone so it’s time to move on

I guess that is it in a nutshell.