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Beyond the Western
Unexpected Payback
Scott A. Gese
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
You wouldn’t think a tree could seek revenge. This one did.
Beyond the Western
Damon Foyle lived on a hill. He had a newer two story house with a perfect view. Perfect… except for one thing. It had to do with a certain tree.
When he moved in, the lot just below him was up for sale. He would have bought it if he could have afforded it. Unfortunately, his new purchase took everything he had. The lot was eventually purchased by an older couple who built a new home.
They were conscientious about blocking the view of their neighbor, so when they built, they took the height of their house into consideration. Damon was thrilled they didn’t block his perfect view. There was one small but growing problem. Damon knew it would become an issue if it was left unattended.
There was a large fir tree in the back yard of the neighbors new home. If it grew much larger it would be right in the center of his view. Damon politely asked his neighbors if they would consider removing it. He explained his concern, but the couple refused. “This is a living thing,” they replied. “We won’t destroy it just because it might block your view.”
Damon wasn’t happy. The tree was an annoyance and he didn’t want it in his line of sight. Damon was becoming obsessed. He wanted that tree gone.
Over the next few years he asked his neighbors several times if they would reconsider removing the tree. He even offered to pay to have it taken down, but each time the neighbors refused.
By now the tree was beginning to obstruct his perfect view. Damon finally decided to take matters into his own hands. Once a week under the cover of darkness he would sneak down to the neighbors and drench the ground around the trees roots with poison. He kept it up for a full year. It was a slow process but he needed it to look like it had died of natural causes.
Eventually, the tree started to look sick. Damon was making progress. A full two years after he began his poisoning process it was so far gone, it was beyond saving. He once again approached his neighbor about the tree with a casual comment. “Looks like that tree’s on its way out”.
“Kinda looks that way,” his neighbor replied. “Can’t figure out what might have caused it. Been thinking about calling in an arborist to have a look at it.”
“I’d be more than happy to remove it for you…no charge of course.” replied Damon.
The neighbor gave it some thought. He had a sneaking suspicion Damon had something to do with the trees condition, but he had no proof. Even if an arborist could pinpoint the problem, there would be nothing he could do about it now. “Do you think you can remove it without it hitting my house?” He asked.
“No problem. I can drop it right along the back property line right between our houses. Piece o’ cake.”
“OK then, you can cut it down, but if it does any damage to my house, you’re paying for the repairs.”
Damon agreed. He didn’t own a chainsaw, but he did have a sharp axe. He planned to start chopping on the tree right away. He wanted it down before the neighbor changed his mind. A tree cutter could finish the job once he had it on the ground.
He hadn’t been honest with his neighbor. He had never cut down a tree this big before, but was quite confident he could do it. He watched a couple of YouTube videos before he got started and figured he had things under control. He was careful to make his initial cuts so the tree would drop right where he wanted it, just like in the video’s.
It took him several hours of hard work before the tree started to fall. Just as it began to lean, it twisted in a very unnatural way and headed directly toward Damon’s house.
Damon screamed, “Noooo,” but there was nothing he could do.
The tree happily slammed down right through the middle of Damon’s roof, demolishing the house.
© Copyright 2020 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.
