The Shooters Apprentice
Addicted to ArboristSite
Without going into too many details, we will just say that I haven’t talked to my biological family in years. I was the oldest of 9 kids growing up in a absolute hell hole. I left at 17 and never went back. After a couple more years I cut off all contact. Lots of drug and alcohol abuse. Welfare bums. Crime. Just all the way around a bad deal.
I struggled a bit as a young man. I wanted to be a good kid, but was having a hard time. Living in the back of my truck in a small down in rural Alaska. I borrowed a chainsaw from my girlfriends (wife now) grandparents and starting trying to make money selling wood. One of my first customers was a fellow named Henry. He bought every load for a few years that I didn’t have other buyers lined out for. Henry is one of the hardest working men I’ve ever known. Farmer, equipment operator, and rugged Alaskan, it didn’t take too long for me to start to really admire the guy, and he wife is just a sweet lady all the way around.
Flash forward. I’m 28 now. Work a great job as. Equipment operator, and am well on the way with my own small business. I made a joke a couple years ago about being Henry’s “self proclaimed favorite son” and it stuck since he doesn’t have any sons, just two step daughters.
Couple weeks ago I got one of those Hulzfforma 372XP clones and threw a 36” bar on it. All my wood is cut and stacked, and I’m not logging this year due to deep snow, so I took the saw over to Henry’s and started working over one of his log decks to break in the new saw. As long as I’ve known Henry I’ve never seen him with a saw over 50 cc. He wife is originally from Sitka so is used to “real” saws as she calls them. Anyway, I handed him that 372 and he got to work and he just lit up like a Christmas tree. That old man was like a 5 year old on Christmas morning with that saw.
His only thing was the bar was too long for him, but he went on for a good bit about how awesome that saw was.
Today is his 72nd birthday. We had a get together for him yesterday and I dropped off his birthday present, a blue Holzfforma G372XP with 24” bar. I tell you what, I could have swore I made that man 50 years younger. He couldn’t get dressed and get out to the wood pile fast enough even in the -20 weather.
I didn’t get any pics of him with it since we were having too much fun.
But mainly, I just want to say happy birthday to my dad. They say you can’t pick family, but I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for This man and he has no idea how grateful I truly am for him taking me under his wing and showing me how to be a man.
I struggled a bit as a young man. I wanted to be a good kid, but was having a hard time. Living in the back of my truck in a small down in rural Alaska. I borrowed a chainsaw from my girlfriends (wife now) grandparents and starting trying to make money selling wood. One of my first customers was a fellow named Henry. He bought every load for a few years that I didn’t have other buyers lined out for. Henry is one of the hardest working men I’ve ever known. Farmer, equipment operator, and rugged Alaskan, it didn’t take too long for me to start to really admire the guy, and he wife is just a sweet lady all the way around.
Flash forward. I’m 28 now. Work a great job as. Equipment operator, and am well on the way with my own small business. I made a joke a couple years ago about being Henry’s “self proclaimed favorite son” and it stuck since he doesn’t have any sons, just two step daughters.
Couple weeks ago I got one of those Hulzfforma 372XP clones and threw a 36” bar on it. All my wood is cut and stacked, and I’m not logging this year due to deep snow, so I took the saw over to Henry’s and started working over one of his log decks to break in the new saw. As long as I’ve known Henry I’ve never seen him with a saw over 50 cc. He wife is originally from Sitka so is used to “real” saws as she calls them. Anyway, I handed him that 372 and he got to work and he just lit up like a Christmas tree. That old man was like a 5 year old on Christmas morning with that saw.
His only thing was the bar was too long for him, but he went on for a good bit about how awesome that saw was.
Today is his 72nd birthday. We had a get together for him yesterday and I dropped off his birthday present, a blue Holzfforma G372XP with 24” bar. I tell you what, I could have swore I made that man 50 years younger. He couldn’t get dressed and get out to the wood pile fast enough even in the -20 weather.
I didn’t get any pics of him with it since we were having too much fun.
But mainly, I just want to say happy birthday to my dad. They say you can’t pick family, but I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for This man and he has no idea how grateful I truly am for him taking me under his wing and showing me how to be a man.
