Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Battling the Tree

There's this tree growing along the back fenceline that Kelli hates. The neighbor behind us apparently hates it to, because she has occasionally echoed my wife's sentiments: When will you cut it down, BB?

I have no particular grudge against it, except that it's perfectly positioned to grow up into a power line. Calling the city and various utility folks does absolutely no good as far as getting it trimmed through those channels.

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I'd made a couple attempts at trimming it back a bit, but I really didn't do anything substantial until a couple years ago. Kelli got me good and angry about something, and I went outside and took it out on the tree.

Briscoes 1, Tree 0

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Thing is, it's apparently one of those newfangled Terminator trees or something, and it started to grow back. Cripes.

Briscoes 1, Tree 1

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I turned THEBOY loose on it many moons ago, and I must say that the destructive fury he unleashed upon its newly sprouted limbs was very effective. That tree looked like it had been through a hurricane when he finished with it.

Briscoes 2, Tree 1

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With the coming of the warm weather this year it began to grow back. So yesterday I turned THEBOY and his friend loose on it again. I was worried about one of them maybe catching a stray limb in the eye or something, so I made them wear sunglasses as at least SOME sort of defense against that.

I also had to find them weapons they could used against it that might have some effect on the tree without being lethal when the inevitable whack to the buddy occurred. THEBOY got a plastic mop handle, and his guest got a fairly flimsy wooden rod.

I guess it was about 30 seconds after I dispatched them to do their worst that they came back inside, THEBOY crying due to the rod having been accidentally snapped across his back. Ah crap.

Briscoes 2, Tree 2

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We're due for a "sudden victory" round.

I happen to own a new chainsaw.

Place your bets now, folks.

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Good holiday weekend here. Toland was in town for a visit, and we indulged ourselves with music overload. We bought CDs, played tracks for each other, played guitars ("...he had to go JAM with Leon Russell..."), hit a couple guitar shops. We also indulged in some serious food consumption. Shrimp, crabs, not to mention boiled corn and potatoes... greatness.

I'd say the weekend had a nice balance of doin' stuff mixed in with sitting around. We got out to see the X-Men movie too. It wasn't the best in the series, but it wasn't a bad way to kill a couple hours.

Kids were good, well-behaved... Toland behaved too.

Ha!

I'd take a lot more weekends just like it.

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The guy who played Colossus in X-Men 3 (or whatever the name is) happens to be about the size and shape of Sensei L'Onis from the Tiger Klay's Krav Maga. Maybe they can work out a deal on a biopic.

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Leaving soon for class. Ya'll be good.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I tried not to behave, but dammit, the Briscoes are too strict when it comes to discipline. So I ate my veggies and went to bed on time like a good little boy.

You didn't mention your son's attempt at an end run around denial of permission, involving a naive guest just stumbling out of bed...

Michael