drunks and gypsies????

[mpatch]

is it true? all GOOD climbers are one or the other or both? I think so, me being one of them......maybe. I'm not talking about some pansy ass that can climb and prune a tree and make it pretty. I'm talkng about the guy that can and will climb the big nasty Cottonwood hanging over everything but the open area and do it without any casualties. If were up to me i would save the trimming for the the weak. I love big take downs with no way to get a truck to, my bread and butter. I have seen many of "good" climbers that if shown a hard tree they are lost. (well take that fence down and cut that down so I can get a bucket to it then we will do it types) Save the pruning for the new guys. It takes all types but everyone that I have met that is "good" falls into the above catagories.

nothing beats knocking knees (you cant get that deadwooding or pruning)


sorry just a few too many beers

 

[Sunrise Guy]

(snip) Save the pruning for the new guys. (snip)
sorry just a few too many beers

Yeah, giving the pruning to the new guys is not too cool. Ever see a butchered tree that was still alive? Not a pretty sight.

Back to your beers, man. Have a good one!

 

[OTG BOSTON]

is it true? all GOOD climbers are one or the other


sorry just a few too many beers

No its not true, when has being a drunk ever made someone BETTER at something?

Too many beers certainly isn't an excuse for spoutin' off like this..........

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Mpatch, are you Butch's brother?

One way to answer your question is to go to the Blair oakman/eucman model, both can be highly skilled big tree men.

The oakman gravitates to the trim, because he enjoys the challenge of working with the tree, and possibly coming back to it several times in his life. an oakman can say he does not need the jobs that are high risk to himself.

The eucman is a good climber that can get ugly work done fast. In my experience they often have "personal" problems that cause them to gravitate towards the big ugly stuff no one else wants. Many cannot be relied on to show for a job every time (especially Mondays). Some of these guys know this, so they make themselves indispensable.

IMO, the best tree guys are reformed eucmen who have survived, dried out and "put their childish ways behind them" (maybe one of our bible scholars can help me with the quote).

These people retain the intestinal to do the big uglies, and find the moral fortitude to become a reliable tradesman.

In my case, I found something I love doing and get paid well despite my military disabilities.

 

[treesquirrel]

No its not true, when has being a drunk ever made someone BETTER at something?

Too many beers certainly isn't an excuse for spoutin' off like this..........

You took the words right outta my mouth man.

If anything were to become of having a reputation for being a drunk in this profession it would be a widespread fear of hiring any of us to do anything.




I ditto

 

[antigrassguy]

No its not true, when has being a drunk ever made someone BETTER at something?

OMG, being drunk makes most everyone smarter, faster, stronger and prettier, just ask 'em. Its is a well known fact that alcohol kills brain cells. What isnt well known is that alcohol kills the slow and weak cells, much like predators that hunt pack animals. The weak ones are the first to go. Alcohol is a performance enhancing beverage.

 

[Timberhauler]

is it true? all GOOD climbers are one or the other or both? I think so, me being one of them......maybe. I'm not talking about some pansy ass that can climb and prune a tree and make it pretty. I'm talkng about the guy that can and will climb the big nasty Cottonwood hanging over everything but the open area and do it without any casualties. If were up to me i would save the trimming for the the weak. I love big take downs with no way to get a truck to, my bread and butter. I have seen many of "good" climbers that if shown a hard tree they are lost. (well take that fence down and cut that down so I can get a bucket to it then we will do it types) Save the pruning for the new guys. It takes all types but everyone that I have met that is "good" falls into the above catagories.

nothing beats knocking knees (you cant get that deadwooding or pruning)


sorry just a few too many beers

I'll agree with this to a small point,but,my best climber right now is a young guy who has been doing it all of his life....He's a decent sized fella,and he can footlock up 50ft in 20 seconds,he's the only climber I have ever used that I trust as much as I do myself...He doesn't drink,and he owns his house..My other climber is 43 years old,climbed for different utility clearing companies for the last 22 years,he can't footlock,but he can spike up a tree faster than anyone I've ever seen in my life.....He stays with whoever will keep him,and he's got a couple of DUI's on his record.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

he's the only climber I have ever used that I trust as much as I do myself...He doesn't drink,and he owns his house..My other climber.....He stays with whoever will keep him,and he's got a couple of DUI's on his record.

Oakman-eucman

 

[diltree]

I think this guy has a point; there are many "good" climbers that are drunks and especially gypsies. Its the great climbers that don't fall into this category. They are the guys that move past just cutting tree's down and learn all phases of the business, including pruning or "making a tree look pretty". These are the guys that have a steady high paying job with benefits or own a nice bucket truck because their climbing skills allowed them to make and save a few bucks resulting in the purchase of a bucket as a intelligent investment. The same guys that enjoy what they do so there is no need to get hammered everyday to cope with their life. There is a difference between a "good" climber and a "great climber", and I think your points about drunks and gypsies defines this difference.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

No its not true, when has being a drunk ever made someone BETTER at something?

:

I thought about this more. I am much better at quarters and karaoke after a few beers!

 

[diltree]

I thought about this more. I am much better at quarters and karaoke after a few beers!

Good point, you should see how my performance improves on the Beirut table as the night progresses......after game 2 I'm like Mike Jordan with a ping pong ball and a plastic cup!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I thought about this more. I am much better at quarters and karaoke after a few beers!

I'm a better lover when she is drunk.

 

[Blinky]

I don't know, what makes someone a gypsy? I hardly drink anymore and gave up drugs a long time ago too.

I like'em big and hairy... I don't like buckets... I like being waaay out there... I even like windthrow... but I'd rather prune than take down anyday. I like trees, I don't like killing them.

Trying to categorize people like climbers into boxes like drunks and gypsies is sort of narrow minded. I want the people I'm working with, in the canopy and on the ground, to be clear headed and sharp witted. Everybody comes to work hung over or whipped once in a while... but the guy that does it everyday is not somebody I want to have my life in his hands.

Most every drunk I ever knew, no matter how good a person they were at first, turned into a wimpy sap sooner or later.

 

[yooper]

I'm a better lover when she is drunk.

I would love to comment on that one ....But Plato and little red boxes told me not to:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[rebelman]

great lovers, pansy pruners, drunken gypsies. You forgot one other category--stoned circus clowns.

 

[antigrassguy]

"You forgot one other category--stoned circus clowns."
Now clowns are just plain azz scary.

"I am much better at quarters." Wow Id forgotten all about quarters, that is a great game. Used to play beer pong. Set your beer cup on the ping pong table and if it gets hit you have to take a drink, if the ball goes in the cup then you have to drink the whole thing.

Pool, it seemed that until I needed the pool que to stand up my game stunk but then it was 3 rails in the side pocket, bam.

Homer Simpsom " beer, the cause and solution to all the worlds problems"

 

[oldirty]

hey jp

can you get further into that oakman/eucman thing?

i liked that.

i'd like to believe i am reforming rather nicely myself. been over 3 yrs now since my last drink.

but to those still playing drinking games you have not played the greatest game of all time.

"beer diver"

hands down the best. and believe you me, i have played em all.

if you any of you guys still play those games and are interested let me know i'll give you a rundown.

and yes jps i too am a better lover when she is drunk. lol


oldirty

 

[OTG BOSTON]

spill it

Lets hear all about it. I am a big beiruit fan..............

 

[begleytree]

its an interesting topic. lots of guys I've seen stay at one place until they fail a drug test or child support catches up with them at their new employer, then they leave again. Drugs and alcohol are pretty common is our line of work. you and I may be clean but you have to admit there are a lot of others whom are not.
-Ralph

 

[Timberhauler]

Oakman-eucman

OK...Now I'll spend the rest of the evening figuring out exactly WTF that is supposed to mean....Can anyone help me out here?