A Reformed Hippie

We'll just call him M.C. I don't remember where I met him but his story was quite fascinating.

He sez he was living in a eucalyptus tree down California way. Working just enough jobs to keep him in weed and some chow now and then. Let'n the world go by.

Anyway, one day as he was smok'n his dope, he heard a chain saw nearby. So climbing down from his castle he found a man cutt'n a dead tree. Upon asking how much he got to cut that tree, the man said 350 dollars. Well, thought M.C., I could do this.

M.C. started a real business. He had some cards printed out with a friend's phone number and got a call. So borrowing a saw, he went to work on a big dead oak. He buzzed it off the stump without no problem and cut off a two-foot chunk, not realizing how heavy oak are. Did I mention the ground was very steep and million dollar houses were not far away?

The block took off with M.C. in hot pursuit.

He was going so fast his legs couldn't keep up with the speed he was running and fell flat on his face. The block was leaping and bounding for the roof of a very expensive shack.

Not religious in any way, M.C. couldn't figure out why he yelled "Oh God, do something!" The chunk just made a ninety and laid down.

Starting that day M.C. became a believer.

We teamed up to cut some bad trees near Holland Lake and Lindbergh Lake. He became a great climber and was the gutsiest reformed hippy I ever knew. The biggest tree we worked on was a four-footer at Lindbergh Lake. The picture shows M.C. way up there – he looks like an ant.

Sez he, "You should see the lake from up here!"

I yells back, "Never mind the view, start cutt'n that thing in 8 foot pieces!"

He'd cut one off and I'd pull it away from the cabin. A neighbor next door kept coming out and yelling, "I hope you guys know what you're doing."

Back in the cabin he'd go. Ten minutes later out he'd come yelling the same thing.

I guess we knew what we were do'n. The big tree came down without a hitch.