Guaranteed Fail

[SansSuit 1]

No shit there I was. Thought someone was gonna die .........

On my way home from the dropzone this evening I'm driving through a village when I see two guys with long ropes attached to the top of a great big dead tree. OK, I'm not in a hurry so I thought that I had to see this. I pull up and ask if I can watch. There was a joke about charging admission, but they were cool with it.

Let me set the scene as it was when I got there. Dad (mid-forties) is sitting in a chair looking up at the tree, requisite beer in hand. Son (early twenties) is hanging on to one rope .... Well, part of it was rope, the other half was an electrical extension cord. That line was looped over a dead branch and attached to an even bigger dead branch about 8 inches in diameter. A friend (also early twenties) was hanging onto a similarly rigged (?) rope/extension cord. One of his legs was in a cast. His wheelchair was near by. Beer cans littered the nice lawn of the nice two story house. There was a step ladder propped up against the tree. No climbing or safety gear was to be seen. I just KNEW this wasn't going to end well.

They were on a break. The 8 inch branch had been partially sawed through. The plan was that Dad was going back up in the tree, attach a come-along to the 8 inch branch and then break it off. The two friends would then lower it to the ground. Oh yeah, this branch was about 10 feet directly above the roof of the nice house.

At this point I KNEW I was in for a rare treat. You see videos of this type of thing all the time. Here I was, about to see a train wreck, close up. I wasn't going to be able to affect the outcome, but I was going to witness it. I am not an arborist, nor am I a mechanical engineer but it sure didn't take my high-school physics long to figure out that there was no way for this to be successful.

Dad climbed back up the tree and hooked up the come-along. He started tightening it until he and everyone else thought the cable was going to break. The branch didn't give so Dad grabbed his hand saw and sawed until the branch went CRACK. He scampered down the tree as well as someone in shorts and tennis shoes could. The limb held fast. Then Dad grabbed one of the lines from the friend and yanked on it, putting some weight into it. CRACK!!! and this time it let go.

instead of pulling the limb away from the house, the come-along had the opposite effect, pivoting the branch more directly over the house. The weight of the now freed limb was too much for the two line holders and the whole thing crashed down on top of the house. The limb broke in half and just missed hitting the front picture window and the van which hadn't been even moved out of the driveway.

Dad looked up the side of the house and said, "Looks like I have a dent in the gutter.". He sat back in his chair and opened another can of beer. From his angle though, he couldn't see what I could. A two inch branch had punctured his roof!

Fortunately, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, I hadn't the gall to get the camera out of my car to document the whole thing. I excused myself and hopped back in my car. I laughed all the way home.

I did a demo at an air show today. Went great. Seeing this whole "Funniest Videos" moment live was even better. Truly worthy of awe.

Peace,
-Dawson.
http://www.SansSuit.com
The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving

[mwabd1 0]

I do love the Darwin awards!

Hell I nominate the fam damily!

.......I hereby reject your reality and instead choose to insert my own!

[Sletzer 3]

Nice to know that rural America is still going strong

Where did this occur in btw?

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

[skyrider 0]

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Fortunately, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, I hadn't the gall to get the camera out of my car to document the whole thing. I excused myself and hopped back in my car. I laughed all the way home

.
City slicker Pussy!

[SansSuit 1]

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Where did this occur in btw?

Wisconsin, about 10 miles from Milwaukee.

Peace,
-Dawson.
http://www.SansSuit.com
The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

Quote

Fortunately, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, I hadn't the gall to get the camera out of my car to document the whole thing. I excused myself and hopped back in my car. I laughed all the way home

.
City slicker Pussy!

Oh hell yeah! wats up wid dat? No video??????????

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[AggieDave 6]

This would have been a perfect application of a freefly helmet with a camera attached. Two birds with one stone...protection AND video.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."