I have recently been encouraged to write more of my stupid stories by a friend and reader. So a few days ago I had my boys help me make a list of them. With their help, I came up with 67 different stories. They vary, some are funny, some are serious and some are just me being stupid and God protecting me. So... for a while, I will be writing these stories. I will still write about teaching and my students when something outstanding occurs.
Like Friday, I had a former student come by to visit me from the high school. He told me that he wished I was still his teacher. I asked how he was doing and he said he had a 98% in Geometry. He told me his teacher is always complaining that he shows too much work(I am a SHOW YOUR WORK NAZI). He explained to me that whenever he doesn't know what to do, he thinks back on what he learned in my class and is then able to figure it out. I had goose bumps listening to him. I praise God. I am only writing this to give God the glory ... NOT ME. I always tell my students that I want them to learn how to be successful this year but also in the years to follow. This student was telling me just that. I thanked him for his encouraging words and making the effort to come and share them with me. I was and am very humbled and grateful for his words. Encouragement is such a huge and powerful thing we can so easily do for someone else. I am thankful for my present and past students who have given me words of encouragement. I am also thankful for my readers who have also given me words of encouragement. THANK YOU.
Now for story time.
Today, I was outside chain sawing on a tree I fell a few months ago. This causes me to want to write about the time I cut down a fir tree in our back yard in Tacoma about 30 years ago.
It was Pam and my first house. The backyard was totally over grown. We decided to nuke it. I was going to take out all living vegetation except for one rhody. The biggest tree in the backyard was a fir tree in the back left corner. I estimated it to be about 80 ft tall. Boy was I off.
I climbed up the tree with some rope. I climbed up well over halfway and tied one end of the rope to the tree and threw down the rest of the rope and then I climbed back down. Then came the scary part.
I climbed up the tree with my chain saw tied onto a small piece of rope to myself. I estimated the halfway point of the tree and cut on both sides with my saw. This was scary because I had no climbing equipment, thus, I had to hold onto the tree with one hand and run the chain saw with the other. Chain saws require 2 hands to run, not one, especially half way up in a tree. But I somehow, by God's grace, I managed. I really don't know how. Then I quickly climbed down and I wanted to kiss the ground. I had such a sense of relief and thankfulness that it was over.
But it wasn't.
Next I tied another rope to the end of the rope I had tied way up on the tree. Then I pulled the rope across the yard kitty-corner to the railing on the back porch and tied it off nice and taunt. I was all set.
Just then, Pam came out the back door to tell me dinner was ready. It was perfect timing. I was so proud and confident of all my expert work and skilled estimating.
I was about three feet from the last step of the back porch. I reached up and grabbed a hold of the rope and exclaimed, "Watch this!" I gave a hard pull down and then to my shock and horror I froze like a deer in the headlights as I watched what then took place in slow motion as my adrenaline kicked in.
The top of the top half of the tree quickly hit the ground. The bottom of the top half of the tree was now on top and was about 60 feet up in the air and was coming my way like a giant cleaver. I couldn't move. It came crashing down directly at me with a violent thud and the bottom of the top of the tree hit the ground about 2 feet from me. It was about 18 inches in diameter.
I stood there in disbelief, shock and gratitude for a few seconds and then I turned and looked at Pam as causally as I could and said, "What do you think?" She just silently shook her head and went back inside the house.
The moral of the story is chain saws, ropes and felling trees is a recipe for disaster. Never get prideful when felling trees. Always seek God's grace, blessing, love, kindness, wisdom and forgiveness.
Day 112
I can see Pam doing that at the end. Perfect description. :-)
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