Combination

Loyal looks to LMDC,"The combination of having her atoms dispersed throughout the voice transmission is vastly different then walking through the doors.It is far more unsettling.She will have very limited memory of the past 48 hours.Now,knowing that,let's go welcome her."

Mantra

Loyal helps LMDC to her feet and then they head to the room of transport.Suddenly,near the door,off to the side on a pad,there comes a mantra like hum,"Em,em,em,em,em,em,em,em,em,em,em."Wind wisps in a circular fashion becoming a tornado type whirlwind which instantly dissipates into the bulking form of the beautiful naked Timber.

Heal

"But why did she not just come through the door?"LMDC asks in desperate panic.

"The Maid blew up[a loud gasp from LMDC].Tipid says there is enough data to save her."

"The others...."

"It depends on how current their transmissions are.We will replicate them as best we can-if that was their will-but we have more important matters.I feel this time line is injured as well..."

...'And time heals all wounds,"mutters LMDC,"I understand."

Hover

"AAAaaaaH!"LMDC wakes with a start.She is having trouble catching her breath,panic striken,"Mother!?!Mother?!!"

Loyal rushes to her side.The Akron rumbles like it is being hit by an ocean wave and then settles down.She looks into Loyal's eyes,"Father,what has just happened?"

A duel image of LMDC seems to hover behind her.Fire seems to to shot out of this transparent double's hands:AT HIM.Loyal puts is forehead to hers,"Quiet,daugher,"and then he whispers to her,"Be brave,your mother is being brought abroad via voice signal."

Cadillac

"No!"yells Loyal,pounding the window."No!"

"The explosion,"states Tipid calmly,"Was caused by a core breach to the cadillac converter.It appears that Timber knew this.She transported her owners code via the voice signal...That caused the voice glitch that we heard.We can retrieve her."

Maid

As Loyal thinks these thoughts,he watches as the reflecting starlight illuminates the faraway starship.It is 'The Maid of Zarlingo'.It is Timber's ship,named after the nameless maid from the planet Zarlingo that hid Al -Yeshua in the hold of the escaping Macon.

Every youngling knows the story:"She is nameless,because she is every woman."

Tipid speaks,"There is an incoming message from 'The Maid'..."My Kindred,I had a dream which speaks to the holy trio.You must[unintelligible] go back and fix...."

Loyal smiles at Timber's voice.He is still smiling when the glow of 'The Maid' intensives and brightens and expands in the darkness of space.

Stream

Loyal knows that Timber will be very interested in their adventure into The Time Stream...and more then likely-now more then ever-want to meddle.He sighs.He knows instictively that that is the wrong thing to do.

Rocky

Timber is coming back from her negotiations with the Hellions.Hell is one of the 'Three Planets'...Earth and Heaven being the other two....that are 'Untouchable'.

The negotiations had gotten off to a rocky start right from the beginning.If Timber could not have regrown her limbs,she would be handless,now...and that Satan breeder and his horde would still be around to gloat.

Clasp

Timber is aboard this Starship.They are both Children of Keturah.He is a son.She is a daughter.He embraces their time of reflection.Naked,they will clasp their hands together,and raise them in worship as they touch foreheads,noses,lips,on down.Giving praise to Al-Yeshua always means more with her.

Surge

As Loyal almost unthinkingly watches the far away starship,a surge of anxiety floods through his being.Destiny is a fickle ally,he thinks,yet...here it is.

Deeper

"We can go deeper,"states Tipid,"I believe she can handle it."

"Yes,but should we?Is it worth putting her through the trouble?We could just end up making matters worst."

"If you are afraid for her,THEY had a machine....Perhaps...if we go back,I can tap into myself,and learn how to construct one."

Loyal hesitates..."I am afraid of THIS machine on many levels." Out of the window Loyal sees a distant star that appears to be moving-the telltale sign of an incoming starship..."I am afraid we will create a LOOP."

Kettle

Loyal,has the right to worry.Have they not just settled the Kettle Rebellion?Weren't there still raiders on the outskirts?Wasn't bureaucracy slowly destroying the Holy Empire from within?Yet,his inner self doubts he would have allowed such meddling unless there were something deeper-more drastic....but then that was the crutch wasn't it.He wasn't in charge there-they had had a King.

Flame

Like a flame suddenly put out,LMDC,Tipid and Loyal are back aboard The Akron,"She is asleep,"states Tipid as she raises her hands off the teenage girl and Loyal.

Loyal goes over to his daughter and puts his forehead against hers,"Sleep well,my French and Spanish daughter.We are Kindred,"He raises and turns to Tipid,"We caused this.How?"

I sensed machines.Something we are incapable of."

Loyal puts his hands behind his back and looks out the window,"We must have been desperate....I wonder...did we make things better or worse?"

Outback

The holy trinity watch the ancients as they talk,"Nik is going out on a date tonight with a poet named Alice."

"Really...Good for you,Nik.Where are you taking her?"

"Oh,"said Nik,biting into his sandwich,"I don't know,either Applebee's or the Outback Steakhouse."

Suddenly,between The woman and the elder man,a reflection-like that of something in the water-appears bridging the gap between them,"Oooh,"sighs LMDC weakly,her eyes widening,her knees buckling.

Loyal and Tipid both see what she sees.They both gasp.It is Tipid between the male and female.

Disparate

The older tree worker kisses the pretty woman and thanks her for bringing the food.

"This moment causes a disparate rift in time,"Loyal states holding his hands out like he is trapped inside of an invisible box,"We...."he pauses as if trying to hear a faint noise..."We..we had a King and Queen."

Sliver

Loyal,outstretching his arms,holds them back,each,still in the time stream up to their ankles.They watch as the two tree harvesters march back to their truck.Loyal sees a gleam.A shimmer.A sliver of fault in the time around them.

"Sssh,"he says,"This is where it happens.A car pulls up behind the truck.An attractive woman steps out carrying a paper bag of quickly purchased food.She throws a silver bundle to each man,"Here,"she says,"I thought you two might be hungry.A Whopper OK?"

Anti/Wade

LMDC,Tipid and Loyal are in a phase induced by LMDC's gifts called ,'The Time Stream'.It is like the anti-now.They can not be seen or felt(for the most part-by most people).To traverse the stream you have to float or swim like a fish through it.But when you get close to your target(for that is what it is- a target),it is like getting closer and closer to shore and you have to brace yourself as you wade yourself through it.

Auntie

As seemingly spirits,they move closer as the man finishes sawing the stump.Walking towards the truck with a younger man,they listen as he speaks on the way to the vehicle,"Hello,"says the older man,"Auntie Em,Auntie Em,I don't think we are in Kansas anymore."

"Screw you,man.I know.I know."

"They are speaking English,"exclaims Tipid,"But I have no idea what they are saying."

Sinner

Loyal moves the holy trio not so much as forward as towards.Not so much as much to sinner as to the 'wronger',"There,"he says,"The one removing the stump of the tree.It is him."

Saint

The time spiral starts reversing itself,now,it is going forward in history.The Saint Louis Cardinals have just defeated the Detroit Tigers in the World Series when Loyal says,"This is it.Go back to the spring.Further east.

Differ

LMDC,Tipid,and Loyal are a holy trinity of timeline exploration.LMDC's natural abilities are channeled and shared via Tipid.And no one is as capable of reading timeline fluctuations as Loyal.It is more then being just fluent in history.Loyal can automatically tell-in ways he himself does not understand-how singularities can differ if,when and where they occur.

Catastrophe

Now wavers.The Third Kingdom goes flashing by.So does the Spice Revolt,The Second Kingdom.The death and birth of Al-Yeshua.The Spreading,The Nuking of The '3'[Mecca/The Vatican & The Great Church];The Swarm Catastrophe,The Friendship Wars,The Grafting,The Expounding To Colonize,The Second American Civil War;The Elvis,The founding of Rockenrol{Things are getting tighter,now},The San San Earthquake,WWIII,The Iraqi-Hurricane Katrina-War,Bosnia,The Persian Gulf War.. the swirl stops...and starts moving forward...

Melt

Tipid places an open palm against LMDC's face and then grasps hands with Loyal,"We are Kindred,"she says,"We are Kindred,"chant both LMDC and Loyal back to the shadow woman.
"Let go of the now.There is no future.There is no past.All are one.Melt away the concept of time.Melt away the concept of self.You are 'I AM'.

French

The chamber's door opens and Loyal walks in.Though he has a smile on his face,his eyes are showing deep concern,"French and Spanish,girl,"Loyal says,hugging her,"Are you OK?"

LMDC shakes her head,yes,nervously.

"This could be rough.Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Yes,father,please,I have too."

"OK.Tipid,do what has to be done.Lumber,do not let us be disturbed."

Reticent

"Are you afraid of what you might find,Tipid?Is that why you are willing to wait for my father?"
"Unlike dimensional shifts,time shifts can be very reticent.Your father is very good at...how do you say it...reading between the lines."

Ritual

"Loyal is still at the Al-Yeshua ritual,"proclaimed Lumber in her usual foreboding tone,"But I have asterisked and highlighted his link and he will be here shortly."
"Will you read me,Tipid?"
"I am sure your father will want me to,but I will not do so until I am told.You are the 'Time Sensitive'.There is danger in going too deep.I will need your father to ride with me."
"OK."

Anger

I:::
"I feel anger radiating from you,LMDC,are you OK?"
"Yes,Tipid,I....suddenly...just felt light headed...for a second."
"Can you say what caused it?"asks Lumber,concerned.
LMDC sits down in the ground chair,"Time may have changed.Please call my Father."

Kindred

"So,then,do we go to SR-090?"
"Look around;Sheba is dead,Loyal is dying,we are betrayed,about to be re-boarded,and Am's fleet is gone....Tipid.Can you make the SL-D2 work?"
*There is an explosion that rocks the ship.*
"Yes-there is an 89% assurance that I can succeed."
"Then get lost."
"We are Kindred."
"Yes,we are Kindred,rockenrol."
"Rockenrol,"and with that,Tipid vanishes.

Sticky

"He did not die,"answers Tipid,"Nor,in fact,even get hurt.But he is not,I believe,still with Katrina."
Etiti sooths his hands over Loyal,"What does that mean?Is he the one or not?"
Lumber,who is encasing LMDC,states,"He is in SL-D2.There could only be the other in SR-090."
"It is,"whispers Loyal in a painful moan,"Another sticky wicket that we have gotten ourselves into."

Finally

"She is 'VI',"Tipid says lifting her hand from LMDC's body,"And the Queen 'is' dead.I do not believe she killed her,though her 'E-M Log' does not go back far enough to confirm this."
Etiti looks around.They have withstood the breach...actually,LMDC's errant shot had destroyed the receiver,"Well,I guess Loyal finally found his spy.Damn her."
He sighs,"Tipid,mission accomplished?"

Retribution

You fire at your father and he goes up in flames.You feel strong arms across your chest.You feel and hear your own ribs crack.Your heat is strickly internal.You are losing consciousness,but you are glad.You got your retribution.

Supercilious

You do not hide your supercilious feelings as you see Etiti.Actual flames erupt in your eyes.With both arms you fire at him:and miss.Both vapourize demons on either side of him.
You curse your luck and get ready to aim again when Loyal shouts to you,"You are supposed to be protecting the Queen.Why are you not at your post?"
"The Queen is dead," you sneer,"And so are you."

Soup

{ I know you-but until this moment,I did not know that you were VI* }You place your hand on the screen.'The Door' opens.You walk through the soup,not caring if there are any reptiles in it.You enter The Akron.My back is towards you.You walk right by.







*pronounced:Vee-Eye

Insanity

You are in no hurry to walk through 'The Door' over to the insanity on The Akron,but Etiti is over there(probably fighting toe to toe with Loyal-you don't want to see him either...but for different reasons).You know you will probably die there,but you will live long enough to see it on their faces.They will know that it was you that brought down the mighty AM.

Exhilarating

...Meanwhile,high above the Earth-3,000 years into the future....You lookout through the window of the flagship,'FEM-Greystroke'.It is an exhilarating sight.Satan ships are everywhere.AM's fleet is destroyed.The mothership,'The Macon III ' lay still,and'The Akron' is about to be boarded.

You look inward.Queen Sheba lay dead,some sort of metal rod going through her Cheater helmet.And AM,the mighty AM,is about to loose even more.You will see to that.

Malleable

On most things a 'C' man's mind was malleable and easily sculpted to a journeyman's will.Quitting time was one of the more bendable times."

"We're done,"I said.I got no argument from Nik.

Corkscrew

I finished the stump and kicked the log off it's base.Here and there there were twigs and sticks stuck into the ground.But this wasn't a corkscrew willow-they wouldn't grow,and we didn't have to clean them up.This silver maple was history

Underwater

Underwater,the deeper you go,the more force-or pressure-you have pushing against you.In a sideways sort of way,it is the same cutting through a stump.As the blade cuts wood,there is more force exerted against the saw blade.In other words,the emptiness left behind by the cutting action is replaced by the now displaced weight of the stump.
A good way to counter act this is by using little bits and pieces of the bark,and placing them as supports where the blade has left no support.

Effulgent

The sharpened blade was kicking out a stream of sawdust that seemed to gleam like an effulgent spray of a thousand jewels in the bellowing sunlight.Not to many people recognized this joy.Fewer still,knew that they even saw it.

Odyssey

The odyssey from living tree to firewood was almost complete for this silver maple.I roared the engine,put the base of the saw against the stump and followed it's tip-sawdust a blazin'-around the tree.

Solitary

I carefully cleaned the area around the stump.I then searched for it's highest point of contact against the ground.The solitary reason for doing this was because that would be where I started cutting.If I started anywhere else,I was guaranteed to hit dirt.

Academic

I decided to let Nik take a break and I sharpened,gassed and oiled the saw.The question on whether I could remove this massive f-up of a nasty stump was purely academic .The real question was how low I could get it.

Care

With little fanfare or care,Nikolas cut through the rest of the trunk.All that was left was the stump.

Autumn

"Well,let's go,then,man,"I said to Nik,looking at my watch,"We started this tree in spring.Let's not drag it out all the way past autumn."

Tea

I moved the wedge a little in one direction and pounded against it.This unpinched the tree trunk just enough for the (luckily undamaged)saw to pop free.
Nikolas smiled in awe and amazement,"Man,you know your stuff.Thank you."
"Yes,I do,"I replied,"And did you know that the root of the sassafras tree makes a lovely tea."

Anonymous

"Sorry,man,"Nikolas said to me,"I didn't think that would happen."
"Don't worry about it,Nik,"I replied,"Just remember the words of the great prophet,'Anonymous'whom said,"Shit happens."

Oracle

Nik,not thinking I was funny,let the stuck saw drop from his hands.
"I,the oracle of all things chainsaw,know that you must simply place a wedge,here,and then you smack it with a mallet,here."
*Thunk*
"or perhaps I need to place it here."
*Thunk*,again.
"OK,"I said,"This might take just a tad more work."

Despair

"Shit!"Nikolas said,struggling to get the chain saw out.
"Do not despair,my young padawan,"I said,smiling,"For I have sledge and wedge."

Novel

A novel approach to releasing a chainsaw pinched on top of a trunk is to jump up on the tree and bounce your weight up and down.This sometimes relieves the pressure put upon it.There was no such trick when it was pinched on the bottom.

Elegant

There is no particularly elegant way of getting a stuck twenty inch chainsaw loose when it is massively jammed under two large sections of silver maple trunk.Mostly you just hope and pray that the chain or bar isn't bent.

Akimbo

I stood akimbo,sans cape,like Superman,shaking my head in false disgust,"Now.you've done,"I spoke,half in jest,"Let me get the sledge and wedge."

Transcendentalism

Tree Trimmers,by rote,are practitioners of realistic-transcendentalism:Your saw will always run out of gas just before you finish your last cut.The supervisor will always come out when you are fucking off.Your rope will always get caught on the interfering limb you decided not to cut out,and a newbie will always get is his chain saw pinched:"Shit," yelled Nikolas.

Juxtapose

Some guys cut off one piece of the trunk at a time.Of course you could cut half way through almost any piece,and then just juxtapose your final cut all the way throughout the fallen tree as well.

Elevate

I fought with the knot long and hard.I only managed to free it just as Nik was coming back sharpened,gassed and oiled.Cutting a big truck up could be tricky.If you could elevate a section off the ground(or if one was already elevated),you started with that,cutting top to bottom(well,maybe a small undercut.first).If both ends were touching the ground,you always cut from bottom-up.

Waystation

If we were at the waystation-gabbing it up-many a story would be told about fallen trees and terrible stumps.About pinched saws and tripping over the branches.While it was mostly,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah(the same old stories over and over again),you could learn new things.One of the oldest stories was about the pull knot that would not untie..yep,this was one of them.

Green

The owner wanted the trunk cut up into firewood,and the branches cut so that they could be stacked on a bonfire.Green wood needed to be dried in order to burn well,but once seasoned,he would have a bunch of nice wood for the fireplace.

Odious/Ethereal

"Odious,man,"Nikolas stated as he looked down at the remaining stump.It had a giant crevice running through the middle of it.Dirt,rock filled most of it.Suddenly,I wondered the ethereal difference:was it luck or skill that got the tree down safely?Well,my consolation was that it is said that a good team makes their own luck.

Decadent

"Good job,man,"I said,touching fists with Nik,"All we have to do,now,is cut this shit up,and you can go home to get ready for your date with Alice."
"Man that felt soo good,it was almost decadent-I slammed the bitch,"Nik said with excitement,"Man,what a rush!"
"Well,"I said,putting my hands up in quotation marks,"If you 'rush',we can get the hell out of here.....You need to sharpen the saw,first."

VITREOUS MOM

In the end,I did little pulling.It went where we wanted it to go on it's own.It slammed to the ground.I flipped the rope(more out of instinct then anything else),then braced myself as the inevitable gush of wind slapped against me.
"Fuckin' 'Vitreous,Mom!"Yelled Nik reggae style-excited about what he had just done.It was just another nonsense mispronounced word or phrase that had somehow caught on into our work vocabulary....Like,'Skovie';'Yella handed stewed dhwyvva' and of course,'No Gondo'.

And

*Crraccck!!!*And it fell.

Cascade

Most newbies didn't know how strong they could be.Until you've had the cascade of fear,injury or actually death flowing through your veins,you couldn't know....And there lie their weakness.

Crescendo

The chainsaw,as it cut through the wood,was building up to it's crescendo in both noise and power.I could feel the tree tilt.I pulled the rope tight-tight with tremendous strength.The rope was so taut,a tightrope walker could walk up it.Slack off,now,Nik.Slack off.

Bower

So,you could say that Nikolas,basically became the rudder,while I,at the end of my rope,basically became the bower.But it was not just my weight that made me the anchor at the end of the ship's bow...it was how I was going to use it.

Economy

I heard Nikolas re-starting the chainsaw as I walked towards the end of the pull rope.Gloves were a must.Helping the economy did not include me paying the hospital to patch up my fingers.

Magick

I quickly looked over the teeth of the saw.While not as sharp as I would have liked,the dullness would actually slow the cutting down enough that I would not have to worry about Nik hammering at it too hard.What some people called life experience,I called the magick of fucking up religiously.

Quixotic

I had no Quixotic aspirations.I didn't chase windmills...they chased me.I had no intentions on being the hero here.The secret was not in the cut-any idiot paying half attention could do it-it was in the pull,"This is your baby,Nik.Cut about a half inch above your bottom cut.And cut to the right:slowly.Leave the left alone.When you feel it start to go:stop cutting,and get the hell out of Dodge."

Mourning

I never was one for mourning the death of trees.Death was a part of life.Trees were a renewable resource.And I had seen a bulldozer destroy an acre of trees in the time it took me to take down half of one.

Vacation

I covered my mouth with my hand and rubbed it around,"This ain't gonna be no vacation,Bub,"I said,channeling Jake.I was thinking,if it fell left it would wipe out a fence and a swimming pool.If it fell to the right(Most likely),it would wipe out a shed and maybe the side of the house.

Tuesday

Nik turned off the chainsaw and threw his earmuffs down,"It was cutting like a raped ape,then suddenly it was dullar then a small town on a Tuesday night,"he said holding up the saw.I walked to the tree.The inside was hollow with a detritus of rocks,nuts and thick soil.The left side was thin and didn't look like it would hold.Shit!

Disingenuous

Most trees were kind,passive beings,but every once in awhile you would cross a disingenuous soul so dark that you would actually believe that the tree was fighting you as you tried to cut it off from it's very literal root.As Nik finished his top cut,the wedge popped out too easily...Utt Ooh..trouble.

Twilight

Some people liked the early morning twilight,others preferred the twilight of the setting sun.It's the same thing,but different.Some people started their notch with a top cut,others from the bottom.I was a top notch guy myself,but it didn't bother me at all that Nikolas started his from the bottom.

Barnacle

Another reason to have a sharpened chainsaw was because I've seen too many things inside of a tree trunk that could make them go duller then a small town on a Tuesday night.Ice,nails,fence wire,golf balls,an old pirate ship,complete with a barnacle or two.Hell,'my own' chain had even caught squirrel tails,bird feathers and a colony of ants soo thick that it looked like water pouring out from the stump.

Paisley

Nikolas lumbered to the tree.I motioned for him to take off his ear protection,"Hey,"I yelled,"Make sure it's a damn good cut,'cuz there ain't no mules in Paisley Park'(Damn,I loved Prince),and I ain't one either.My fat ass can only pull so much."

Original

The reason why you always wanted to start notching a tree with a freshly sharpened blade is that sometimes after a re-sharping the saw could not follow the course of the original cut.(i.e.the dull blade had cut crooked).This could leave you in a very dangerous situation.

Scarf

In the time it took Nik to finish sharpening the saw,I openned the truck door,reached into my McDonald's bag,and finished the other half of my Big Mac.I just as quickly drank down the rest of my now luke-warm Coca~Cola.I offered Nik the rest of my fries.I didn't stay around to watch him scarf them down.I simply took the sledge and wedge,put them by the edge of the tree and grabbed the pull rope.

Cloudy

As Nik started filing down the rakers,I looked up into the somewhat cloudy sky.I imagined I saw Ahab forever riding his white whale.I looked to Nik,and then back to Ahab.It seemed we all had our own leviathans to cling to.

Delivered

This was not the first anti-war soliloquy that Nik had delivered.I think his cousin's injury affected him more then he knew.

Cheesybread

"It's just cheesybread comments like that that make me think how bad war must really be,"Nik said,flipping the file around to the teeth on the other side of the blade.The file slipped and he took a slice out of his finger,"Ouch,"Nik said first shaking his finger then sucking on it ,"Seems like dumb shit to me."

Green

Nik parked the saw against the backwheel of the truck,and started laying the rat-tail file down on it's teeth,"It's funny,Dave listens to Green Day,Pearl Jam & Neil Young,thinks we're stupid for being over there,but still wants to go back."

Pretibial

"How the hell you ever start drinking that pirate concoction anyway,Nik?" "My cousin,Dave,"he said,"Lost half his leg in Iraq.They gave him this fake leg.He calls it his 'Pretibial Peg Leg Ass Kicker'.We'd sit around his camp fire on his back patio and drink 'um.Dave says they ain't real flips unless you stick a hot poker in 'um just before you drink 'em."

Grok

"Soooo,"I said,as we reached my pick up truck,"Are you going to be drinking any of your grok with Alice tonight?"Nik grabbed the files and turned to me,"First off,Drew,it's 'Grog',and it's a pussy's drink...just watered down rum.I drink 'Flips'...dark beer,rum and molasses.It's what real pirates drank.It's what I drink."A smile crept upon his face,"But yes,'WE' might be drinking some."

Vacuous

In tree work,you rise through the ranks by starting off as a 'ground man'(an empty headed vacuous lout).As you gain knowledge,you work your way through the alphabet from 'D'
man-all the way up to 'A'(a super duper tree man).On paper,an 'A' man should be able to do everything.But very few men ever reach every stage of 'A'-ness.In fact,you can be an 'A',in say,knot tying,but still a 'B' or 'C' in saw cutting.Few trimmers ever become an all out-flow blown 'A'man' in every aspect of their game.

Beautiful

The beautiful thing about Nikolas sharpening the saw was that he was so much better at it then I was.Though,he was still only a 'C' man,he had the knack for pulling the round file back across the teeth,and pushing the flat file down against the rakers.Definately 'A' man work.

Docile

"All gassed and oiled,Chief,"Nikolas said handing me the big chainsaw."Whoa,my Padawan learner,how sharp is she?"I asked,knowing full well the answer."I didn't hit anything with it,"he replied.I handed it back to him,"Well,then you notch and flop it,I'll pull the rope.""Uhm,Maybe I should sharpen it first,"He said,walking back to the truck."I smiled,it didn't pay to let them get too docile on you in the tree business

Stalwart

I reached for my pull rope,tied a running bow-line in it and yanked it to the top of the tree.The rope had been my stalwart companion;first,when it was new(it had been my first new climbing line),and now,that it had been my pull rope forever.

Detritus

I put the coiled rope between my legs,made a few quick wraps and finished by making a slip-knot and tightening it.I threw it by the large trunk that I had just fell.The center,while hallow,was not empty.It was filled with a detritus of rotting wood,dirt,and bugs.It crumbled in my gloved hand.Huh,it was like soil from twelve feet above ground.

Mollycoddle

I noticed that Nik had stopped working while I was coiling up my rope...probably thinking about this Alice girl.I didn't want Nik to think I would 'mollycoddle' to him just because I liked him,"Yoh,homey,are you going to read haikus all day or are you gonna get back to work?"He stuffed his letter back into his pant's pocket.

Haiku

"So,does this girl have a name?"I asked rappelling down to the ground."Uh,"Nik said pulling out a crumbled up piece of paper from his pocket,"It says,'SBS haiku':

'Osquer sits under

her own faery tree wishing

upon shooting stars'

No,wait,"he flipped the paper over,"It says her name is ,Alice."

Tofurky(Just for SBS)

"What?"I said,wiping the sweat from my brow,"Please,don't tell me that she eats tofurky,and voted for Dennis Kucinich?">"No,man,she's nothing like that.She likes Jethro Tull,and is into poetry.">"Dam tree huggers,"I said,smiling.

Vodka/Aquarius

The trunk came crashing to the ground harder then a Russian on too much vodka.It busted up a dead branch and sent a piece flying over Nikolas'head."Headache!"I yelled as it whizzed pass him."Hey!watch it,"He yelped,"I've got this blind date with this Aquarius tonight,and her horoscope says she's gonna get lucky."

Rainbow

Determinedly,I started to cut the rest of the bastard off with my speedsaw.The quick sliver movement of my blade made me think of the old 'Rainbow',tune,'The Man On The Sliver Mountain'.I half sang/half yelled it while I pounded my way through the rest of the massive log,<"I'm the day,I'm the day.I can show you the way.And look I'm right beside you.I'm the night,I'm the night.I'm the dark and the light.With eyes that see inside you.Come down with fire.Lift my spirit higher.Someone's screaming my name.Come and make me holy again.I'm the man on the sliver mountain">.***Crrrraaack***Bang!PoP! She busted free!And began her descent

Wrinkle

I don't mind telling you that that put a new wrinkle into my plan.Cursing,I let the chainsaw hang down by the end of it's rope.*Shink!*Looked like I was gonna have to do this the old fashioned way.

Damage

Nik knew enough not to get under me while I was cutting.Any damage I would cause to the lawn was o-k'ed before hand by the owner,so that was not a problem.I was down to the last big piece of trunk.I quickly put my notch into the front;then I started my backcut.*SPRIIING*!Damn it!Two thirds through,my chain decided to pop off.

Lasagna

Tree slang could be vulgar,yet accurate.I didn't make up the terms,I just used them.I started up my saw.It was cutting like a raped ape.I went at that tree like Garfield on a pan of lasagna.

Meanwhile

Meanwhile,I had positioned myself perfectly in the tree to start hammering it.The shit was gonna fly,now.

Hay

Nikolas wasn't one of those'farm 'boys who honed their work skills by throwing hay all day.He was a city boy.But you couldn't tell it.He took the twenty inch chainsaw and started hacking the branch up into manageable pieces.

Altered

I smiled.That the running bowline knot came free easily in no way altered the fact that I still considered the cloth hitch the better knot.

Unicorn

To keep things fresh,we,as tree trimmers,sometimes used topical subjects and injected some of their humour into our own conversations."Hey,"yelled Nikolas,"This bowline came out real easily-and,hey...I just saw a unicorn.""What?"I shouted back,"The bowline came out real easily?"

Flap

The resulting crash caused a brief rush of air strong enough to make Nikolas' hair to flap up in it's breeze."Yeeh Haa!"he shouted as he went to untie my knot.

Waived

Snapped free by the undercut,the bark waived it's right to hold on any side or rip or tear.Nikolas let it swing until it's apex,then let the rope go.The limb fell perfectly onto the desired open area.