The_Archdruid
Participating member
Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. - Leviticus 18:21
I don't like to begin any of my posts by quoting from the Bible, but this time I had to make an exception given the cruel nature of the subject. I typically circulate in polite crowds and my people tend to be discreet, so I don't normally go around shouting Moloch! in the company of friends. But this week I have been denouncing sinners and casting stones and yelling Moloch! at a total stranger who seemed to want to kill his eldest son. Some days are like that in the tree business; sometimes you rescue a cat and sometimes you save a human child . . .
I drove around the corner last week and spotted some action under the canopy of a 75' stone dead cottonwood tree. There were several stolen orange traffic cones set up across the road and a tall lean man who looked like an old-timey polygamist was managing this little roadblock scene. As I got closer, I saw a wispy child standing in a motorized lift, smiling as he maneuvered into position with an electric chainsaw to cut another limb out of the tree. I unrolled my window and started cursing right away. As the man approached I pointed up at the tree, to his son, and asked if he would survive this? The man didn't seem to understand, and told me the tree was already dead. I told him his kid was about to join it too.
I pulled my truck off to the side, and we took the picture through the back window. (Attached above) Many of you will know what you're looking at right off - old men and neighbors gathered around a hugely dangerous tree while some hapless dingbat runs a saw into it. They rented a 34 foot lift and had a 16" bar and all the electricity they needed to power it. Everybody there knew nothing about treework; they would have told you a face-cut was a shaving accident. My professional instincts took over and I begged the homeowner to spare his only son and let us do it for him.
The job is scheduled for next week. We will make no money on it. I will update with pics . . .
I don't like to begin any of my posts by quoting from the Bible, but this time I had to make an exception given the cruel nature of the subject. I typically circulate in polite crowds and my people tend to be discreet, so I don't normally go around shouting Moloch! in the company of friends. But this week I have been denouncing sinners and casting stones and yelling Moloch! at a total stranger who seemed to want to kill his eldest son. Some days are like that in the tree business; sometimes you rescue a cat and sometimes you save a human child . . .
I drove around the corner last week and spotted some action under the canopy of a 75' stone dead cottonwood tree. There were several stolen orange traffic cones set up across the road and a tall lean man who looked like an old-timey polygamist was managing this little roadblock scene. As I got closer, I saw a wispy child standing in a motorized lift, smiling as he maneuvered into position with an electric chainsaw to cut another limb out of the tree. I unrolled my window and started cursing right away. As the man approached I pointed up at the tree, to his son, and asked if he would survive this? The man didn't seem to understand, and told me the tree was already dead. I told him his kid was about to join it too.
I pulled my truck off to the side, and we took the picture through the back window. (Attached above) Many of you will know what you're looking at right off - old men and neighbors gathered around a hugely dangerous tree while some hapless dingbat runs a saw into it. They rented a 34 foot lift and had a 16" bar and all the electricity they needed to power it. Everybody there knew nothing about treework; they would have told you a face-cut was a shaving accident. My professional instincts took over and I begged the homeowner to spare his only son and let us do it for him.
The job is scheduled for next week. We will make no money on it. I will update with pics . . .
