DOMINO

"Do as I say. Not as I do."

Jim, Mike and David are helping their father Ed Max fall timber very early in the morning. He says to us as we are walking way back out in the woods to start work for the day.

"When you guys are old enough to fall timber by yourselves you must never try this. It is way too dangerous. The only reason I can do it this way is because I've been doing this all my life and, I was trained by the experts."

At the time I did not know what he was talking about and I didn't want to show my inexperience by asking him. I had the ax and gas and oil jugs Mike had the extra bucking saw and little David was traipsing along behind us with a burlap bag full of falling wedges. All the trees leaned towards the landing the wrong way. It is always best to set the cable chokers hanging behind the bulldozer on the stump of the tree, the big end. Ed walks over to the next big tree and starts a cut at the back of the tree. When he is in about a foot or two into it David puts a wedge in the cut and I start pounding the wedge in. I tire quickly as I am only 15 years old. Mike says,

"Give that ax to me you little wimp." I give my older brother Mike the ax and give him some elbowroom stepping back. After a short time Ed flaps his hand and says,

"That's enough Mike. Get back out of the way. Now boys remember if the tree comes backwards towards at us and I run out of the way you must follow me. Quickly! Do you understand?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes dad,” little David chirps in. Now Ed flips the saw to the other side of the tree and starts cutting the face out that determines where the tree will fall. The saw screams at full throttle and the wood chips come flying out in long curls. Ed expertly takes out the undercut leaving a thin line of holding wood and the wedge pounded tight in the back cut to hold the tree. We walk back to the next tree and keep cutting from tree to tree zigzagging and making a long strip all the way to the clearing of the log landing. Hours have gone by and we are all dirty and sweaty sawing and pounding wedges into the trees stopping only to put more gas in the saws. Mike would go to the next tree ahead of Ed making a trail and cutting brush around the tree to make it easier for his Dad and us to get around. Not one tree had fallen down yet. The anticipation is killing me and yet I am afraid to ask.

How are they going to fall down? It just doesn’t make any sense. What are we doing? Finally much later David's bag of wedges is looking very empty. Ed asks,

"David how many wedges do we have left?" David looks inside the burlap bag

"I count five more Dad."

"It looks like we have four more trees left. Mike while we cut them go start the dozer and get ready to push."

Mike is very excited and yells out as he runs off,

" Great! I get to run the dozer. Have fun you little wimps. Oh not you dad." Ed shakes his head and says "Kids!" David has had enough by now and wines out,

"Daddy I want to go with Mike."

"Mike! Take David with you."

" Ah! Gee! Come on David."

"Alright! I finally get to ride on the dozer." David happily runs off to his older brother. The saw digs in to another big tree. I am pulling brush out and debris away from where Ed is working. Ed waves me in to pound the wedge in. He pulls the saw out and than I can hear Mike start the big motor of the dozer. Ed hurriedly takes out the big undercut. We run back to the next tree. We do our work as fast as we can. Ed wants to be able to start the push as soon as Mike gets to us with the dozer. We run up to the next tree. I want to ask so bad if the trees are going to fall down but it being so noisy I couldn't even if I thought I should. One more really big tree left and we are very close to the edge of the large clearing with the log loader the log truck and other machines sitting at rest waiting for Monday. This tree is the biggest one yet. Ed's big saw quickly cuts out the undercut.

He is doing it backwards to the way we had been cutting trees all day. I just don't understand. The bag of wedges is empty.

"Jim run up ahead and tell Mike to back in and put the arch of the dozer up into this tree I'm cutting on and push it over. Hurry!"

The saw screams out again as I run off down the trail. I hear the bulldozer crashing and pushing small trees over. I run off to the side out of the way. In a blast of diesel smoke and dust here comes the big bulldozer with Mike driving it pulling the levers with David sitting on his lap. I flag him down. Mike stops pulling back on both steering levers. He pushes the throttle back,

"What is it?"

He asks with an annoyed look on his face.

"Dad says to back in and put the arch into the tree he is cutting on and push it over." Mike goes,

"Alright! You better get out of the way little wimp."

He pushes the throttle up to full blast. The exhaust goes straight up in a pillar of black stinky smoke. There is no way I am staying out of the way.

I have to see what happens. I don't have to listen to him anyway. Dad is the only one I have to listen to out here. Mike gets so bossy. He can really be a pain.

I run along quickly to keep up with the dozer. Mike's back is turned to me and he can't see me. Before he comes up to dad he does a quick spin around and sees me. He flips me the bird. I flip it back to him and stick out my tongue. He turns around and slowly backs up to the tree. Ed stands back and waves him in. Ed is looking intently up at top of the tree. Mike is looking at Ed paying close attention. Ed holds his hand up and says,

“Stop.”

He clenches his fist, the signal to hold tight. He gets behind the machine and saws some more. He gets out alongside the machine and looking up waves his hand telling Mike slowly to back up. I am back away looking up at the treetop watching it slowly go towards all of our hard work of the day. I still can't see what's going to happen.

He had said something about driving the trees over.

All of the sudden the huge tree takes off falling over to our strip of trees. It smashes into the trees we had already cut ahead of it. They go over and fly into the next ones. All of the sudden dust flies up in into the air. I hear a huge crash and they all fall down shaking the ground itself. All of a sudden there is total silence with dust and pollen floating everywhere. Just like that game of stacking the dominoes, they all fall down, the big dozer is idling, the only sound. Ed looks at Mike and slashes his throat with his index finger telling him to kill the motor. Total silence and Ed says,

"Boys! Do as I say. Not as I do. Don't ever cut trees like this it is way too dangerous. We all walk to the truck to go home.

The End 

DOMINO

"Do as I say. Not as I do."

Jim, Mike and David are helping their father Ed Max fall timber very early in the morning. He says to us as we are walking way back out in the woods to start work for the day.

"When you guys are old enough to fall timber by yourselves you must never try this. It is way too dangerous. The only reason I can do it this way is because I've been doing this all my life and, I was trained by the experts."

At the time I did not know what he was talking about and I didn't want to show my inexperience by asking him. I had the ax and gas and oil jugs Mike had the extra bucking saw and little David was traipsing along behind us with a burlap bag full of falling wedges. All the trees leaned towards the landing the wrong way. It is always best to set the cable chokers hanging behind the bulldozer on the stump of the tree, the big end. Ed walks over to the next big tree and starts a cut at the back of the tree. When he is in about a foot or two into it David puts a wedge in the cut and I start pounding the wedge in. I tire quickly as I am only 15 years old. Mike says,

"Give that ax to me you little wimp." I give my older brother Mike the ax and give him some elbowroom stepping back. After a short time Ed flaps his hand and says,

"That's enough Mike. Get back out of the way. Now boys remember if the tree comes backwards towards at us and I run out of the way you must follow me. Quickly! Do you understand?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes dad,” little David chirps in. Now Ed flips the saw to the other side of the tree and starts cutting the face out that determines where the tree will fall. The saw screams at full throttle and the wood chips come flying out in long curls. Ed expertly takes out the undercut leaving a thin line of holding wood and the wedge pounded tight in the back cut to hold the tree. We walk back to the next tree and keep cutting from tree to tree zigzagging and making a long strip all the way to the clearing of the log landing. Hours have gone by and we are all dirty and sweaty sawing and pounding wedges into the trees stopping only to put more gas in the saws. Mike would go to the next tree ahead of Ed making a trail and cutting brush around the tree to make it easier for his Dad and us to get around. Not one tree had fallen down yet. The anticipation is killing me and yet I am afraid to ask.

How are they going to fall down? It just doesn’t make any sense. What are we doing? Finally much later David's bag of wedges is looking very empty. Ed asks,

"David how many wedges do we have left?" David looks inside the burlap bag

"I count five more Dad."

"It looks like we have four more trees left. Mike while we cut them go start the dozer and get ready to push."

Mike is very excited and yells out as he runs off,

" Great! I get to run the dozer. Have fun you little wimps. Oh not you dad." Ed shakes his head and says "Kids!" David has had enough by now and wines out,

"Daddy I want to go with Mike."

"Mike! Take David with you."

" Ah! Gee! Come on David."

"Alright! I finally get to ride on the dozer." David happily runs off to his older brother. The saw digs in to another big tree. I am pulling brush out and debris away from where Ed is working. Ed waves me in to pound the wedge in. He pulls the saw out and than I can hear Mike start the big motor of the dozer. Ed hurriedly takes out the big undercut. We run back to the next tree. We do our work as fast as we can. Ed wants to be able to start the push as soon as Mike gets to us with the dozer. We run up to the next tree. I want to ask so bad if the trees are going to fall down but it being so noisy I couldn't even if I thought I should. One more really big tree left and we are very close to the edge of the large clearing with the log loader the log truck and other machines sitting at rest waiting for Monday. This tree is the biggest one yet. Ed's big saw quickly cuts out the undercut.

He is doing it backwards to the way we had been cutting trees all day. I just don't understand. The bag of wedges is empty.

"Jim run up ahead and tell Mike to back in and put the arch of the dozer up into this tree I'm cutting on and push it over. Hurry!"

The saw screams out again as I run off down the trail. I hear the bulldozer crashing and pushing small trees over. I run off to the side out of the way. In a blast of diesel smoke and dust here comes the big bulldozer with Mike driving it pulling the levers with David sitting on his lap. I flag him down. Mike stops pulling back on both steering levers. He pushes the throttle back,

"What is it?"

He asks with an annoyed look on his face.

"Dad says to back in and put the arch into the tree he is cutting on and push it over." Mike goes,

"Alright! You better get out of the way little wimp."

He pushes the throttle up to full blast. The exhaust goes straight up in a pillar of black stinky smoke. There is no way I am staying out of the way.

I have to see what happens. I don't have to listen to him anyway. Dad is the only one I have to listen to out here. Mike gets so bossy. He can really be a pain.

I run along quickly to keep up with the dozer. Mike's back is turned to me and he can't see me. Before he comes up to dad he does a quick spin around and sees me. He flips me the bird. I flip it back to him and stick out my tongue. He turns around and slowly backs up to the tree. Ed stands back and waves him in. Ed is looking intently up at top of the tree. Mike is looking at Ed paying close attention. Ed holds his hand up and says,

“Stop.”

He clenches his fist, the signal to hold tight. He gets behind the machine and saws some more. He gets out alongside the machine and looking up waves his hand telling Mike slowly to back up. I am back away looking up at the treetop watching it slowly go towards all of our hard work of the day. I still can't see what's going to happen.

He had said something about driving the trees over.

All of the sudden the huge tree takes off falling over to our strip of trees. It smashes into the trees we had already cut ahead of it. They go over and fly into the next ones. All of the sudden dust flies up in into the air. I hear a huge crash and they all fall down shaking the ground itself. All of a sudden there is total silence with dust and pollen floating everywhere. Just like that game of stacking the dominoes, they all fall down, the big dozer is idling, the only sound. Ed looks at Mike and slashes his throat with his index finger telling him to kill the motor. Total silence and Ed says,

"Boys! Do as I say. Not as I do. Don't ever cut trees like this it is way too dangerous. We all walk to the truck to go home.

The End