and you thought you were having a bad day...

[Kevin]

Chainsaw-using professor suffers series of accidents

A professor is recovering from a sequence of horrific accidents at his Santa Barbara home.

Alan Howell was up a ladder pruning a tree with a chainsaw when a branch fell on him.

It knocked the 56-year-old on to a bush, the chainsaw fell on his legs ripping his flesh to the bone, then the 200lb branch pinned him to the ground.

As he came round he found the bush contained a wasps'nest - and he was stung 100 times.

Professor Howell is recovering at home after suffering grazes, bruises, deep cuts and stings all over his body.

He said: "When the tree limb fell on me and pinned me down, I guess I lost a handle of it (the chainsaw) and that's when it cut my leg up. It sliced me straight down to the bone."

Professor Howell, an English lecturer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said: "The worse part was getting stung repeatedly by those things. They were very aggressive and all over my face.

"I couldn't move because the limb was on top of me, so I kept yelling out for water to get them to stop stinging."

Mr Howell's neighbours heard him yelping in pain, and hosed him down with water to dispel the swarm reports Newspress.com.

Story filed: 14:04 Friday 27th July 2001

I wonder if that was the guy in the shorts falling off his ladder?

 

[DDM]

I bet he wished that he would have shelled out 250.00 to have that branch removed about now.

 

[Nickrosis]

That other picture was taken in Milwaukee...home of yet another chainsaw genius.

Nickrosis

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I had a bad day too.
I went to a job to remove a large dead branch, by myself. I cilmbed the tree, hung a pulley, and tied off the branch. Then I went down to the ground and tied the end of the bull rope to a nearby tree. Next, I went back up the tree and cut off the 750 pound dead limb, then back to the ground.
Now here's where I messed up, I untied the rope and I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go. Now, this branch weighs 750 and I weigh 190, so up the tree I go. As I pass the branch, which is now comming down, we collide, breaking my collar bone and receiving several bruses and cuts to the top of my head and face. I continue my ride up, until the dead branch hits the ground, breaking into hundreds of pieces, leaving only about 75 pounds tied to the rope. So down I come, but not without, again, colliding into the limb on the way down. This time I get hit in the balls and the branch flips around and brakes two of my ribs, then I continue on to the ground, where I impact and break both ankles.
There I am laying on the ground in a bloody, broken, busted up mess, and I lost my presence of mind again, I let go of the rope...

 

[Newfie]

mike,
Ouch, That couldn't have been fun. Must have taken a while to recuperate from that. Just another reminder of how vigilant we must be I guess.

I have to say that your storytelling skills lend a touch of humor. I found myself smiling a little as you painted a vivid picture of the increasing painful situation. Maybe a second career as an author? Made me think of Wylie Coyote and the anvil off the cliif scenario.

 

[treeclimber165]

Excellent adaptation, Mike. I first heard that one with the tower climber and his bucket of tools!

 

[budroe69moni]

i heard that it was an irish bricklayer!!!!!!
hahahahaha
budroe

 

[Nickrosis]

That's sad - where do I send the get well soon card? Can I get all your work while you're laid up?

Nickrosis

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I think the pic of th guy falling off the ladder was from the Oshkosh area, by gosh.

 

[Stumper]

Mike Maas's story reminded me of a true one from my youth. When I was a kid my Dad owned and operated a tree service in N. Indiana. He had an excellent customer who lived down the road a ways from us who dammed a little creek up creating a nice Pond (which he allowed us to fish in. ) Near the inlet to the pond a large Hickory tree was left next to a foot bridge crossing the stream. After a few years the hickory began to decline and the decision was made to remove it. It leaned out over the pond and the bridge so that the removal was somewhat tricky. Dad was climbing and an employee (nicknamed Wink) was handling the bull rope on the ground. I was 8-9 years old- there to "help" and watch. Wink was dallying the bull rope around another tree while another employee was hooking the limbs with a pole saw as they were being lowered (over the water) and swinging them in to the bank. Dad got ready to take another chunk and called instructions to Wink to "take a FULL Turn and a half for this one". Wink (a curly haired red head of about 160 lbs) took 3/4 of a turn and braced himself. I asked him if he shouldn't go around again but he said something about being able to handle it (beware of showing off for kids). Dad was unaware of the situation and proceeded to cut loose an 800lb chunk of hickory. It hinged over and kept going and Wink went around the tree and across the yard. Dad was yelling "LET GO OF THE ROPE" and Wink was going airborne. He let go when he was about 20-25 ft up but he had great forward trajectory. He landed in the pond a few feet from the log and was unhurt except for rope burns on his hands. Wink skipping across the yard and arcing through the air is burned into my memory forever I suppose. LOL

 

[Dave]

English professor.....chainsaw..... ladder..... Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

 

[murphy4trees]

Reminds me of a hickory we rigged many years ago. The grass was wet wet and one of the guys, holding the lowerring line, took off like he was water skiing across the lawn. His buddy should have backed him up, but fell on the ground he was laughing so hard. The only harm done was a pair of 20'+ brown skid marks.
Free lessons.
God Bless All,
Daniel

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Wonder if he had some other shorter skidmarks?

Somebody had to say it

 

[turnkey4099]

Reminds me of when I was 16 and helping my old man clearning brush in fence rows. Now understand this was ummm years ago back when kids didn't tell adults anything, especially my dad. He was on the cat, I was choking. he pulled up to a bunch of apple tree shoots that had been growing for many years. I wrapped the choker hooked and then eye-balled the set-up tellin myself "this just ain't gonna work". He pulled the clutch and the predictable happened. All I could see when he stopped was his straw hat sticking out of the brush.

Harry K