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Once long ago, Vini shot an arrow into a tree, the metal head stuck fast high on the trunk. Many years later, sprawling suburbs quilt the hill. The arrow head is rusty, wooden shaft long since rotted and dropped, A beautiful L shaped house now sits beneath branches of this giant white oak. Vini Dare, a metal head not nearly rusty, a young man with alot to live for, about to climb.

MowMow McGinnis hid low in a bush sneaking pot tokes. Bull Pastrami and Butch Ruger moved ladders and ropes, Phil Grimm began sharpening saws at the work station vice on back of the truck. Vini negotiated massive branches with intensity; Phil would play with the air compressor strangely, making strange hisses at key points of the dangerous climb. Vini, startled by the loudest hiss clung to a dead branch in exasperation, "Hey! Mephi-stoph-iles! Do you mind!" Phil dropped the valve quickly and wandered lamely to begin greasing the big green chipper.

Electric wires, though fully three layers high, seemed low to the ground next to this tree. Vini fired little climbing saw from lofty perch. The occasional big dead branch came crashing down, a few small green branches. Butch and Bull pushed and pulled to lower a big branch over the house. Mow climbed the branch to the roof and jerked like an orangutang, dislodging the branch to swing free with him and slam the trunk of the tree. Somehow Mow hung on and used the branch as a shock absorber, then, as the tip he was clinging to swung gently down, he hopped away to the truck.

The old arrow head was in a bad place. Vini had no recollection of being a drunken ten year old shooting the broadhead at a squirrel high, had never seen the rusty metal, and the edges, though dulled by a decade, now began to cut the tough multibraid climbing rope.

    Vini was just above  old stub cuts the power company had left to die over lawns. One was pointing down into a transformer chopped exactly fifteen feet from the wire, and thirty from the round collar at the trunk. Unfortunately for the client, this improper pruning meant dead branches for Green Chipper to remove, Vini tied it off, cut it. The big dead stub balanced perfectly. Butch let the piece descend slowly and surely. As MowMow watched the technique through binoculars he noticed the fraying rope. and screamed at Vini who revved the saw needlessly, leaning hard into the saddle, plotting next moves. His next move was a back flip belly flop directly onto the hot third wire. He bounced slowly vibrating crazily as sparks flew and pieces of shirt fell burning. Momentum bounced him down onto three secondary lines, he clutched one, screaming in pain, somehow raising his saw full throttle to cut the very line he held,- dropping to bounce hard against the bottom line and directly to the lowering branch. He clung to the rope in exhaustion, staring with wonder at Mow, who was bear hugging the pole halfway up. He held an inner tube.

            "Start dragging brush. Dare!" growled Bull loudly. Vini stared incredulously, “I just got electro-fuckin-cuted three times. Lord God, I think I'll take a break." "Pansy ass," commented Bull in abrasive Brooklyn accent. "I was topping redwoods in an earthquake, man, fell across seventeen primaries." Vini sneered, "hit you right in the head huh, must've been making a sandwich.” Phil watched over tinted safety glasses the lithe form of Ms. Ruger descending the ladder from the roof, spouting fury, "must've shocked your pasta, huh Bullshit." Her, MowMow and Vini all touched down at the same time.

Bull was in Dare's face, "this fuckups gonna cost us," he strode to the short wave radio of the truck, "and you." “I ain’t paying shit motherfucker!" screamed Vini. Mow strode up with remains of the rope, "something cut it." He plopped roughly to the ground to sit cross legged, "your rope," he sighed, "was cut." Bull yelled from back door of the clients house, "load up, roll, meet me at the Green House. Quick. I'm buying." They were gone in an instant.

Even Phil meant to have a few beers this afternoon, shaken as he was by Vini’s spectacular fall and bizarre shredding of the rope. They settled in a corner table, quiet and secretive about the mishap. All drank quite quickly, each examining the rope solemnly, each shrugging to drink again...

Bull showed, the power company was to be told that a journey man trimmer had launched a branch unwisely then bolted. When the power company asked too many questions, the home owner threatened to sue them for improper pruning that had caused the massive deadwood. They repaired the wires with no further questions.

Soon tongues began to wag drinking, midday crowd congregating. Phil, really drunk on six beers wandered quickly out to hang at the truck and sharpen saws. Bull tried to blame Vini for the disaster, but no consensus as to the cause of the cut could be arrived upon. Chip showed, kissing Butch in celebration, "Phil told me." He stood by the table, "I guess you guys are too drunk to climb, huh." Mow sneered, slinking low toward his beer, "fuckin yeah, dick, we're all pretty shook." Chip nodded, “I bet, c’mon."

They looked to one another and rose reluctantly as Chip swung to bribe the bartender for a six pack to go. The bartender knew Chip to be only seventeen, conferred with the owner, nods exchanged. Chip handed the beer to Mow and reached to put an arm around Vini. He led them out the door, "don't you guys wonder just, what cut the rope?" "Yeah," Vini said numbly, and Chip laughed at Phil asleep on the tailgate, "get in, guys, I'm gonna climb that tree."

Bull was the first to comment as they squeezed in and Chip wheeled them down the street. "You sure about this, Chip? You ain't climbed in awhile." "I haven't climbed a monster like that since before dad died, and I've always wanted too. I want you guys to respect me." "Hey," said Mow, holding remains of the six pack high, "we do." To their surprise, Chip grabbed one of the two beers to pop open and swill deeply. Mow tilted his beer in salute, "your dad'd be proud," “Hey you guys coach me," said Chip, "make sure where on the tree the rope was cut, I'll be safe, use two ropes, and we'll get to the bottom, or should I say, the top, of this."

They placed climbing lines about the tree and all watched the gutsy teen make the climb of his life and find the arrowhead, which he notched carefully out of the trunk_r then finished up the trimming and told everyone they were still on the clock if they would clean up everything. He got out the video camera and filmed the tree carefully for an after shot then they all got crazy and filmed a wild drunken party video, complete with hookers, cheerleaders and a keg.

episode3                  word