The neighborhood has been abuzz with chain saws these past few weeks.
One crew came in and took down 7 medium to large trees in one day. They were incredibly efficient. They laid down those trees precisely where they wanted them, limbs flying everywhere when they hit the ground with a powerful “whoosh”! They had trucks and a tractor with a big claw for picking up debris and nudging falling trees, and all the climbing gear you could imagine. They had huge saws they checked, filled, and sharpened after each tree. I’m not even sure they stopped for lunch. It was amazing. A few days later they were down the street doing more work.
Farther down the street and around the corner was another tree guy. He was by himself most days, his wife came by in the evening to help with debris. His rigging was all homemade ropes and rings and boot spikes that looked like they’d been around awhile. His saw was older and smaller and sounded more like a bee than a tool. He’d climb a tree carefully cutting each branch dropping it gently to the ground on his way up until the only thing left standing was the totem and then he worked his way back down cutting sections off until it was finished. It took him over a week and a half to bring down two large trees. I started to wonder how he was making any money at all.
But there was one other difference between these two. The guy working on his own just seemed more deliberate and focused to me. Like he had an understanding of his work. Like trees meant something to him. Like his work had it’s own satisfaction. He wasn’t rushed. Heck, it was almost like watching mediation. He was getting paid by the tree just like the other guys, but speed didn’t seem to matter to him. He took his time. He sized up his work and planned his day accordingly. And once both those trees were finally down he carefully placed each cut up section on his trailer by hand making sure the load was balanced and secure. It felt like he took pride in what he was doing. His work. His business. Done the way he wanted to.
You don’t find that a lot these days. Most people who get paid by the job want to do the work as fast as possible. Time is money. Hurry, hurry, hurry! No doubt he’s not making as much money as the other guys, and it’s hard to say why he works as slow as he does. All I know was there was something different about the way he approached it. Maybe he found peace in the work. Maybe it gave him pride. I don’t know. All I know is it was like watching an artist lost in his craft, and I can certainly appreciate that.