Chapter 17

Sunday was quiet. I went to church in the morning came home, did some laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and just sort of chilled out and thought about my bucket list. I read it over. It was pretty big. Not sure if it was complete or not. I added a few more things.

-Do something over the top nice for someone else

-Buy a meal for a complete stranger without meeting them first

-Buy a drink for a soldier

-Volunteer to serve the poor

I put the list away and looked out my back door looking over my back yard. The old tree that dominates the yard and overhangs my house and my neighbor's house and his pool. A breeze blows through and I see that the tree limbs are actually touching the roof on my neighbor's house. That isn't good. I walk outside to get a better look at the situation and yes, it is really touching his roof and if I'm right, his roof looks like it may be rubbed bare. This is not good.

I get a phone book and look up a few people in the tree trimming business and hope that I can find someone open on a Sunday. The first three numbers go to voicemail but the fourth is answered and I ask for a quote for tree trimming of my tree. He says that he can be over today and get it done on Monday if that is agreeable.

I accept his offer and hang up the phone.

Later in the afternoon, a work truck shows up in front of my house and a man walks to my house.

"Good afternoon, I'm Troy and I believe you and I spoke on the phone together."

"Yes, that is correct. I'm Paul Johnson. Thanks for coming so quickly. Let me show you the tree." I walk outside and then lead him around back and through the gate to the big tree that concerns me so much. He looks it over and even goes to get a ladder and a drill with a big bit on it. Upon which is drills a hole in the tree and after he gets done, I see that it is a core sample.

When he pulled it out he brought it over to me. "That is what I was afraid of. Your tree is hollow and one strong wind you are going to be responsible for fixing your neighbor's house. I advise you to cut it down and do it quickly."

I shook my head. Hollow!? "How did that happen?"

"Age, that broken limb doesn't look like it was capped correctly and looks like it rot away and into the center of the tree. Any number of things may have caused it."

"I had no idea."

"Ya, we see this all the time. This is not the first tree that I have seen that was hollow."

"What is your recommendation on how to deal with it?"

He looked it over a bit more. "Like I said before, you need to cut it down."

I walked around the tree again, looking at the branches again and giving it some thought. This tree had been shading my house for years, had kept my back yard cool on a summer day and now I have to choose to take it down or risk the destruction of a friend's house on my dime. It was not an easy decision. "Ok, take it down."

Troy smiled. He was pleased. "You made the right choice. When do you want this done?"

The negotiations have begun. Now I was smiling. "Tomorrow"

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started checking. "I don't know if I have a crew available tomorrow. How about Tuesday, I can have a crew over then."

"Won't work for me. I'll be working all day and I would rather not have a crew of people all over my yard without me here to supervise."

"Are you worried about damage to the yard or house?"

"Yes and no. I am concerned about damage but as long as I have a copy of your insurance policy to protect me in hand before you begin, that would make it easier to work with you on this."

"Ok, give me a minute to make a call and I'll see what I can do about that."

Troy stepped away from me and made a phone call. I went back inside and got a glass of ice tea out for myself. I watched Troy through the kitchen window as he spoke with whomever on the phone. When he got done and came inside, he had a smile on his face. "Mr Johnson, I can get a copy of that policy to you first thing in the morning tomorrow. I'll have one of our secretaries deliver it to you. Would that be good?"

"Oh sure, that would be fine. As long as I have a copy of your policy, you can begin work on Tuesday. Now how about we talk about money."

"Ok let's talk about money."

I offered him a glass of tea, he declined and I led him into the living room and to sit down with me while we talked.

"We can do the whole job of taking the tree down, removing all of the brush and debris for $3000."

I whistled. "$3000 seems like a lot. That was way more than what I was willing to spend. What else are you going to do for me to justify that amount?"

"It isn't that much for the size of the tree. Just to let you know, we will also give your whole yard front and back, a power raking to remove the leftover leaves from last fall and to make sure that that the sticks I saw are taken care of. You should have a very clean yard when we are done."