Yesterday, in a little town called Burnsville, behind the most impressive high school vocational shop I’ve ever seen, I watched a man with a chainsaw attempt to drop a 100-foot oak tree into a very specific spot.
He did not want the tree to fall toward him, obviously. Nor did he want it to fall back into the woods, or into the clearing to his left. Most especially, I assume, he did not want the tree to fall on his friend operating the Caterpillar machine with the grabby claw thing at the end of a long metal arm. He wanted the tree to fall exactly where it did – along the edge of the embankment, where he could go about the business of cutting it up into more manageable pieces, so that his friend in the Cat with the grabby claw thing at the end of a long metal arm could safely remove the remaining chunks.
And so, he did.
Seeing little tasks done well is always satisfying, even from a distance. So too, is seeing neighbors come together to rebuild their community when all hope seems lost, with skill and grit and unrelenting determination. That’s exactly what’s been happening in this little town since last September, when Helene blew through North Carolina and took much of Burnsville with her.
Later, I’ll introduce you to an industrial arts teacher who taught his students how to build new houses for people still living in tents. I think you’ll like him, a lot. And I think you’ll be amazed by what his students have accomplished.
In the meantime, it’s nice to see a tree fall exactly where it’s supposed to.
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