Remarkable People
It was another ‘Holiday Gathering’. After awhile they are pretty much the same, tasteless meatballs, dried out chucks of cheese, and groups of people trying to impress one another. Visiting with one group, the topic of conversation became the most remarkable people we had met. It was an enlightening conversation. I did not realize how freely celebrities gave out their cell phone numbers or how CEO’s of fortune 500 companies took advice at coffee shops. Choking down another meatball, I started thinking about Harold.
I met Harold in the late 1970’s in a mountain subdivision west of Denver. At that time Harold was in his mid-sixties, had just retired, and was in the process of beating a thirty-foot tree with a section of rubber garden hose. He would lift the garden hose, whack the tree, take a step, lift the hose, whack the tree, take another step and repeat the process. I had seen some unusual things but this one was at the top of the list. Finally, curiosity got the best of me. Introducing myself, I noticed Harold had sweat pouring down his face making it quite clear he had beaten the tree for quite a while.
Harold was a no nonsense kind of guy and got right to the point, “I’m keeping those bark beetles from spreading.” He explained to me that he had read everything he could get his hands on about bark beetle and had given it a great deal of thought. He said that by beating the trees with the rubber hose it kept the beetle from breeding. Sensing nothing I could say would change his mind I left.
A short time down the road, I realized Harold might be right. If someone were hitting me with a rubber hose while . . . well, never mind.
I met Harold in the late 1970’s in a mountain subdivision west of Denver. At that time Harold was in his mid-sixties, had just retired, and was in the process of beating a thirty-foot tree with a section of rubber garden hose. He would lift the garden hose, whack the tree, take a step, lift the hose, whack the tree, take another step and repeat the process. I had seen some unusual things but this one was at the top of the list. Finally, curiosity got the best of me. Introducing myself, I noticed Harold had sweat pouring down his face making it quite clear he had beaten the tree for quite a while.
Harold was a no nonsense kind of guy and got right to the point, “I’m keeping those bark beetles from spreading.” He explained to me that he had read everything he could get his hands on about bark beetle and had given it a great deal of thought. He said that by beating the trees with the rubber hose it kept the beetle from breeding. Sensing nothing I could say would change his mind I left.
A short time down the road, I realized Harold might be right. If someone were hitting me with a rubber hose while . . . well, never mind.
posted by Ralph at 6:18 AM
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