Tree Tricks

For the past several days we watched the tree man swinging high up in the trees, trimming limbs and all was interesting to watch and how he mounted himself so to be fall proof in each new location he swung to. It reminded me of many years ago: We lived on Manget Street in Marietta, across from Larry Bell Park, the unused (back then) part. Almost directly across from us was a ravine . It was a long deep ditch lined with trees always to Manget Creek. On the other side of the creek is the ball fields. I told the tree man of my bout with climbing trees when I was about 10 or 11 years old: Alone in the ravine one day I climbed a small tree. It was slim, but very high. I climbed near the top. Being so high up the weight of me made the top of the tree to sway. In fact in swayed so far over I could grab hold of a nearby twin tree, which I did, and climbed down from the 2nd tree. I thought that was so unique I did it a few more times. Then I wanted to show off a bit, so I went around the corner on Glover Street and got my friends Gene and Tony to come with me to the ravine, I wanted “to show them something.” With an audience of 2 I again climbed the small skinny tree. Up top I got the top swaying and before I could reach for its twin, the top snapped off. I fell, and it knocked me out. Gene and Tony thought I was playing a joke on them, that I was conscious. They told me if I didn’t get up they were going o to get Tony’s wagon and carry me down to Tony’s house and take my clothes off in front of his sisters Peggy and Lula. I did not sit up. I continued to lie there. They did what they threatened to do: Strip me butt naked in front of Tony’s sisters. Then they knew I was out. They thought I was dead. They put me back in the wagon and carried me to my house. Nobody was home, so they carried me inside and put me in my bed. Several years ago Tony’s mother died. I went to the funeral home during visitation hours. Tony’s two sisters Peggy and Lula, and I were the only people there. As we sat around I and talked about old times and the changes in the old neighborhood I silently wondered to myself if the two sisters was thinking about seeing me naked. The tree man asked when they carried me home did they put my clothes back on. I don’t know.