i shoulda stayed in bed

[allstihl]

buddy of mine had asked me for some help on a charity job today . ive known him for a while , if one of us asks ,the only question is when and where .him and I were to fell and buck , a bunch of younger guys would drag brush and handle the rounds . he picked me up at 8 we loaded my saws and a jug of coffee .we got to the site and the "younger"guys were there working . fully outfitted in ppe of shorts and sneakers with several coolers of beer . I looked at tim and said "take me home " he said im covering a favour well just go cut at the other end of the property . they already had a fair pile of emptys on the ground and one tree hung up but it is what it is .we had 4 down and bucked when we heard a lot of yelling , we got in the truck and headed over . two guys were on the ground . one had a long gash on the upper arm, the other had a deep open gash on the thigh . I have a lot of first aid training cause of 40+ years working with the boy scouts . tim wasn't much help he turned white and passed out .the one with the gash in the thigh was very lucky I could see the artery .I wrapped them up as best I could with what I had . the ambulance got there and the emts took over . I was trying to clean some of the blood of me , then the cops arrived . turns out they wernt 21 . I was brought up that the judgement of a mans character was his willingness to do something for others with no expectation of getting something in return , but after today I may pick and choose a bit more carefully .ive had a long hot shower and now intend to drink a bit more than I should . we never did get a clear explanation of what happened .

 

[Full Chisel]

Wow, that sounds like a complete and utter clusterf*ck. The young man is lucky indeed, a severed femoral artery will cause a person to bleed out within minutes if not clamped. Scary stuff.

 

[ppkgmsy]

I'm glad you're ok. One of those fools could have dropped a tree on your head or done something else stupid that could have injured another. I'm also glad those young guys are alright and will live, hopefully, to learn from their mistakes. I refuse to work with guys who won't wear protective gear. I try and joke, "Hey, I don't give a crap about you, I just don't want your blood in my truck when I drive you to the er." Really, though, saw wounds are far from a laughing matter. Takes more of a man to prepare for a job than to bs himself and his work crew that he doesn't need proper gear.

 

[USMC615]

Allstihl, hopefully these younger folks will learn a lesson after this near-death fiasco. There could've easily been funeral plans being made right about now. Two kinds of folks on this planet for the most part...those that live and learn, and those that just simply live. Hopefully that young crew of boys are all in the first group. Yeh, kick back and enjoy a cold one or two...can't say as I blame ya there.

 

[benp]

It sounds like to me that you were meant to be there.

Good on you for bailing in and getting things done even though being there went against your better judgment.

 

[066blaster]

I never got the drink while your working thing. I always saved the drinking for after the work as a reward. I wouldn't want to be the guy who bought the beer for them.

 

[Erik B]

Those boys really are lucky. The only drinking I do when running saws is water, iced tea or lemonade. Anything with alcohol is put off until I am done with the saws or splitter.

 

[sawjunky23]

I never got the drink while your working thing. I always saved the drinking for after the work as a reward. I wouldn't want to be the guy who bought the beer for them.

I agree, It just kills my ambition anyways

 

[zogger]

Glad you were there to help. Hopefully, this might teach the young guys two lessons, drinking on the job ain't manly or cool, and no PPE is just asking for it.And it isn't that expensive nor hard to put on and wear either.

Note: I quit drinking a long time ago, but even back then, I never drank on the job. Twice I had one beer with lunch at a neighborhood good eats and brew bar, when I was working at a factory, then back to work, it totally screwed me up, lost focus, etc. I really don't like any sort of buzz, I am straight as an arrow now. Not that I never partied, heck shazam, grew up in the 60s..nuff said there but still...you eventually need to grow up and and realize that life itself is a rush, blurring it ..blurs it. Anyway, glad it turned out..maybe not OK, but acceptable.

 

[Patrick62]

No!
Good judgement comes from bad experience. bad judgement comes from lack of experience. Or something like that.
people do tend to try and mix power tools, and dangerous activities with mind altering substances.
Chainsaws, and felling trees under the influence isn't a wise choice, same as driving a car...

Save the drinking for the end of the day... unlike a cutter who I had a few years ago. tee shirt, shorts, flip flops, no gloves, no PPE anywhere for that matter. and part way drunk most of the time. Never hurt himself tho... (the lord looks after fools too).