Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Gathering Wood

Gathering Wood,

If you could see me cutting wood you would get a big laugh. I wear a safety helmet, safety glasses, hearing protectors, a respirator, heavy leather gloves, chaps and heavy boots.
I buy the wood from a guy named Cal and when he drives by and sees me working he pretends he doesn’t see me so he won’t have to admit we’re acquainted. Even for Wisconsin I tend to overdo the safety gear, but I have sustained minor injuries in all these areas and it is better to have your friends chuckle than have a lung full of saw dust or worse.

Cal does land clearing for the agro-industry and business is booming….any kind of decent wood he stacks up on his back forty and I buy it from him. Last year he sold me forty full cords of cherry for a real friendship price….This year he sold me sixty (60) full cords for ten dollars a chord. I tried to get him to send the truck over to unload it at my place and he said that for that price I nod my head, close my mouth and write the check. Exactly what I did.

When I got out of the Military I financed a small custom cutting operation the first winter. That is when I discovered how close the margins are in the wood business. Now I operate solo. I trust myself more than someone hung over with a chain saw. If you cut with somebody and they get hurt it will be alleged sooner or later that they were your employee. That I should have had workman’s Compensation insurance on them….yada yada yada…. It isn’t worth it. As I get older I can only cut for about an hour or two, and then split, load, transport and stack. It keeps me in shape and a person needs to stay active at my age.

When I get home from a morning’s work, I eat lunch and take a brief nap. Then I go out and work on my trucks. After supper I do my WdC work to wind down. And that is how my life goes these days in case anyone in my “Army of Readers” is really interested. I am very happy and lead a great life.

Percy