I'm Sorry To See It Go, But Less Worried When the Wind Does Blow

The pecan tree at Pony House is almost gone! According to Hick on Friday, there's about two days of work left for Tree-Trimmer Guy's crew, which is himself and two helpers. 

 

Wow. The sky is so bright when it's not full of tree. I think this must be the limb that pointed towards the front yard. The one the kept dropping limblets on the electric line. The guy in the foreground is the "kid" who Hick sees up at his Storage Unit Store. Apparently Tree-Trimmer Guy met him in the liquor store, where they somehow got to talking about tree trimming. The Kid has a bigger trailer and heavier truck than Tree-Trimmer Guy. I don't know if the other dude is the helper or Tree-Trimmer Guy.

 

You can see the size of the logs on the ground. That trunk is going to be a monster to move. Looks like some sawdust got on the roof. Hick has paid all but the final $1000 of the agreed-upon $3250. After seeing what it takes to bring down a tree this size, I am convinced that the job was worth it.

Here's a view from the back yard:

 

Pony House still needs a lot of TLC. But at least it won't get crushed if the next tornado steers this way. I really liked that tree. Until I realized it was a potential killer.

November Comes In Like a 3-CENT Piece

MONDAY, November 1, the month kicked off to a good start for Val's Future Pennyillionaire Fortune. I stopped by the School-Turn Casey's on my way to make a bank deposit. Of course my mission there was scratchers.

Only one gal was working, at the register on the left. A man stood at the right register, but there was no clerk. The guy ahead of me stepped over to stand behind the customer being processed at the open register. It was clear that he was next. 

The guy in front of the unopen register turned to wander off to the right, and peruse the pizza case. I saw a PENNY on the floor where he'd been standing. Of course I stepped up to get it, right as another worker stepped behind the counter, and said, "I can help who's next."

Next-Man shot me a look. I was already bent over, harvesting my rightful penny.

"I know you're next. I'm just getting this lucky coin, then I'll be out of your way. You were ahead of me."

He didn't pitch a fit or anything. I stepped back and he stepped up, and then the OTHER clerk called me over. Sadly, I had left my phone in T-Hoe, since I was feeling puny with my head pain that day. But I posed my penny on a scratcher once I got back in T-Hoe:

 

Isn't he all craggy and handsome, that Abe on a scratcher, a 2002 version who had been face-down on the Casey's floor just a few moments earlier. Hey! That could be my new catch phrase: "ABE ON A SCRATCHER!"

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TUESDAY, November 2, was not turning out to be a good day for me. I had to make a trip to Convenient Care, then the liquor store parking lot was overcrowded, then the dead mouse smelling post office street parking was full, then the Backroad's Casey's (my substitute for the liquor store) was out of the $3 Christmas scratchers I wanted. So when I parked over at the Gas Station Chicken Store, I was worn down and frazzled, half-head pounding, and left my phone in T-Hoe.

But wait! A few steps towards the door, and I SAW A PENNY MEANT JUST FOR ME! I went back to T-Hoe and grabbed my phone.

 

Gotta look close! My penny is near the blue corner of the handicap markings, in that mess of oil or...? Yes. It was sticky. Yes. I washed it when I got home!

 

Looks clean enough here, but the back of that heads-up 1991 penny was sticky with stuff. Yes. I also used Germ-X on my hands before I got home.

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WEDNESDAY, November 3, the Gas Station Chicken Store kept my streak alive! I was parked over on the hill side, due to inconsiderate interlopers taking up my three favored parking spaces.

 

As I walked around T-Hoe's rear, I spied my prize.

 

It was a face-down 2010 penny, looking a bit worse-for-wear on that newly resurfaced pavement.

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That makes 3 COINS, and 3 CENTS this week towards Val's Future Pennyillionaire Fortune.

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2021 RUNNING TOTAL

Penny       # 105, 106, 107.
Dime         still at 12.
Nickel       still at 7.
Quarter    still at 6.

2020 TOTALS
Penny     134
Dime        25
Nickel      10
Quarter      1
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Hick's Buddy Identifies a Corpse, and Pony House Gets a Zipline

Hick hired one of his buddies to assist him in renovating Pony House. Just for certain jobs he can't do by himself, like working under the house. Hick can get in, and Hick can get out, but Hick can't repeatedly crawl in and out to get what he needs. Hick's Buddy is no spring chicken, but he said he has no issues with going under the house. With HOS (Hick's Oldest Son) busy with other things, this should speed up the Pony House projects, since Hick will know for sure when he can tackle certain jobs.

On Wednesday they shored up the floor joists that were unstable under the Master Bedroom. Thursday, Hick's Buddy finished removing the old ductwork under Pony House. According to Hick, it was not usable. As an extra bonus, Hick's Buddy found out what was stinking up Pony House. A DEAD SQUIRREL. Which he also removed.

In addition, Hick has an agreement with "a kid from the storage units" to assist him in jobs Hick's Buddy can't do. Such as putting in the plumbing. Such a small world! Apparently Kid also works at the Liquor Store where I buy my scratchers, and has a girlfriend who works at the post office with Pony. AND is on the new crew of Tree-Trimmer Guy. He's not exactly a kid, at almost 30.

Anyhoo... they've been lopping off lumber from the pecan tree this week. Hick says he sent me a picture, but it hasn't arrived yet. He also had a short video, but I knew our weak-as-a-kitten invisible internet juju could not handle such a transfer.

Tree-Trimmer Guy made a ZIPLINE to drop the limbs. Hick says you can one it online if you look for tree-trimming ziplines. I'll take his word for it. In fact, Tree-Trimmer Guy said he'd never used one before, but looked it up and gave it a try. Here's how it works, as seen in Hick's video...

Up in the top of the pecan tree, you can see leaves rustling. Then a log the thickness of a Sumo Wrestler's thigh drops down into view, and begins sliding down a rope that is stretched from up in the tree, down into the back yard. That's all there is to it. Hick says it happened too fast for him to turn the phone and show the other end of the zipline. 

Tree-Trimmer Guy has his truck parked in the back yard. It has eye bolts on the front that the other two workers thread a rope through. The upper end of the rope is attached in the tree. Tree-Trimmer Guy ties off the section of limb that he's about to cut, with its ropes attached to the zip line. The guys on the ground pull the zipline rope taught, but have to let it go slack as the zipping limb nears the ground, or it will slam into the front of the truck!

Tree-Trimmer Guy called Hick on Thursday afternoon, and said he had finished the limbs hanging over Pony House. Now the main part of the tree is left. As Hick says, the upper limbs are still as thick as a regular tree trunk. He paid Tree-Trimmer Guy $1000 of his fee on Wednesday. So $1250 of the agreed-upon price of $3250 has been paid.

"I knew he was planning to cut the limbs over the house Thursday. So I didn't go over to work. I didn't want to be inside while that was going on."

Hick said that one limb he watched come down the zipline was so heavy that the tractor almost couldn't pick it up. It was thicker than Hick could reach his arms around. I think Tree-Trimmer Guy is learning a lot on this job.

Hopefully, It's Not a Portent of His Eventual Destination

Hick stepped out on the front porch Wednesday evening to deposit a stool. A fake-leather-covered round-backed bar stool that's been in the basement for as long as we've lived here. He got a set of four when his old factory was clearing out junk. Which he was in charge of. Not that his old factory had a bar. It made saw blades for butchers, same as his newer factory.

Anyhoo... Hick came lugging that tall stool up the basement steps, plopping it down on each of the 13 steps ahead of his feet.

"Dad. WHY are you bring that stool up here?"

"I'm taking it up to my storage locker. I need something to sit on behind my counter."

"I hope you don't leave it right there! I won't be able to get down the steps!"

"I'm not. I'm putting it out on the porch, then into my truck." Hick opened the front door. "It stinks out here! Smells like SULFUR!" He closed the door. The Pony and I cut eyes at each other.

"What in the Not-Heaven? WHY would it smell like sulfur?"

"That's the rotten egg smell."

"I KNOW that. They put it in gas, too, so you can tell a leak."

"We don't HAVE gas, Mom."

"I KNOW that! But a neighbor might have a propane leak."

The Pony went to check the level of the bath water he was running in the big triangle tub in the master bathroom.

"Whew! That STINKS! Don't you smell it, Pony?"

"No. I sometimes smell it when I first start running the water. From the drain. But I don't smell it now. Oh, wait! Here in the living room I smell it."

"Yeah. Dad was fanning the door as he took out his stool. WAIT A MINUTE! A few days ago, I cleaned out FRIG II, and threw three old eggs off the back porch. One of them broke. Not the other two. I wonder if the dogs brought them around. You know how they are. Juno used to carry the chicken eggs around in her mouth."

"That could be it! The dogs might have bit into the rotten eggs in the yard or on the porch."

We have not yet investigated. Nor have I told Hick of the dog possibility.

How Many Pipers Can a Postal Pony Pay When a Postal Pony Pays the Piper

The time has come, the VALrus said, 

To talk of just one thing

Of Pony pay for broken bone

The trouble that it brings

And how to fix this travesty

Before the stigma clings

 

It's time to pay the piper! The Pony got an official letter concerning his salary payment during the time he was off with the broken ankle he suffered on his mail route (and had to wait 2 WEEKS to get the proper paperwork to see a specialist, after initial treatment by a nurse practitioner).

 

The Pony has been expecting it. One of his managers said she had received information that the USPS wants its money back! That's the logical thing that would happen, since the Department of Labor denied The Pony's workman's compensation claim due to a "lack of information" concerning paperwork that was mishandled and delayed.

 

This is not a big deal to The Pony. That money is sitting in his bank account, ready for refunding. It's not like he went on a spending spree and bought a $23,000 house! The Pony thinks he was paid for 3 weeks of his time off. This official letter wants reimbursement for 

1 week. So be it!

 

The Pony has 15 days from letter receipt to provide reimbursement. Three ways to pay:

 

1- Mail a check or money order with the stub attached to the official letter

2- Get an official link through email to pay online by credit or debit card

3- Have the manager submit paperwork to withhold a designated percent of future pay (at least 15 percent)

 

You know which option is off the table, right? And which one is an iffy proposition.

 

NO WAY is The Pony going to rely on a manager to handle the withholding paperwork! Not after the initial injury paperwork process was so mangled. Nor will The Pony take a chance on the USPS to deliver his check within the designated time period. No siree, Bob! Not during the holiday season that is just kicking off.

The Pony will be submitting his payment online. There will be an electronic record of payment. 

Oh, The Pony also has an option to delay payment if he has an appeal with the DOL to RECONSIDER his original workman's compensation claim. After discussion, the committee of Hick, Val, and Pony agreed that it's best to get it over with now. 

IF that decision is reversed, that week (weeks?) will just have to be included in the back pay.

Limb Over Neighbor Gone

That title is the message Hick sent me about the pecan tree at Pony House. When pecan limbs last in the dooryard loomed, Hick had hired Tree-Trimmer Guy, who showed up to work with a crew of his wife and himself, dropped a limb on the corner of Pony House roof, and knocked his ladder over while in the tree with his wife gone hauling off brush, necessitating $500 Neighbor to set it up and rescue him. Here's what the tree looked like then:

 

 

Oh, there's been more to tell. Despite Tree-Trimmer Guy only being back twice since then. Not that Hick will hold that against him. We DID have bad weather with tornadoes, and rainy weather that would be unsafe for tree trimming. 

The first time he came back, Hick was working at his Storage Unit Store. He went by Pony House afterwards, and grew concerned.

"I could tell he'd been there. Not much was trimmed. But my tractor was sitting up by the alley, instead of parked between the house and garage. The guy's ladder was still against the tree. I saw his wife's sunglasses on the ground, smashed. I started to worry that maybe he fell! Maybe there was an accident, and they had to leave in a hurry. There was some brush on the ground, instead of hauled off, or wood stacked on the concrete. I asked the neighbor guy, but he said he didn't notice anything."

It might have been a week or so later when Hick next encountered Tree-Trimmer Guy. He was working when Hick went to do some work on the floor of the Master Bathroom. Tree-Trimmer Guy said nothing happened that day, they just left.

"I was working in the bathroom on the other side of the house, and I heard a big crash. I went out to look, and that darn guy had dropped a limb on the electric! Right where that limb had fallen on it before. He said he probably should have tied off that limb first. I went back inside. 

 

It wasn't long before I heard a BIGGER CRASH! I thought he'd dropped limb on the roof! I stormed outside, and that darn fool had tore the whole electric box off the side of the house! I was about to get mad this time. He said he didn't know a wire was there. He thought it was on the ground already, and it wouldn't matter. That he would just have to get the limb off the wire when he came down, and cut up the wood."

"Wait. I can understand that if he was up in a tree, looking down, that wire stretched across MIGHT look like it was on the ground..."

"Well. That's why he shouldn't be working alone! He needs a spotter. A spotter could have told him that, and guided that limb with ropes. Since I was ready to switch out the electric anyway, I didn't make a big deal about it. But I told him he doesn't need to be working there alone."

"So he was going to cut up that limb while it was laying on a live electric wire?"

"Apparently. I'm really glad now that I insisted he get that insurance policy right."

Anyhoo... Hick showed up at Pony House on Monday, and found Tree-Trimmer Guy working with two helpers. One of them Hick knows from the Storage Units. They were working on the limb over the $500 Neighbor Guy's carport. 

 

"The guys on the ground had the sections tied off, and guided them to the ground with ropes after Tree-Trimmer Guy cut them. They've got that whole limb down now. They were sawing it up when I left."

 

If you look closely, you can see Tree-Trimmer Guy out on a limb. At the end of that cut-off part. The hard hats are a nice touch, don't you think? As with any Hick picture, you get the tree, the sky, and not much else to compare it to...

Yikes! A Pain-ed Pony Lets the Spinning Wheel Spin

The Pony is being worked like a hamster on an exercise wheel! Day after day, the mail never stops! He's on Sundays now. It's a package-only day. It is not at all unusual for The Pony's cronies to not-show-up on Sundays. Which means the others must take up the slack. The Pony has grown used to it. He doesn't complain.

Yesterday, The Pony went in at the normal Sunday start time of 8:30. By 1:40, he sent me a text:

"Off early. Not sure I should be, but don't have the numbers for the only people I'd think would need help. Got told by the closest thing to a supervisor there that yeah, I should clock out. Nothing was left at the office to deliver except two packages along the Backroads lake road, which I dropped off on the way home.

I can't go help someone without their phone number. Even going out to split a route would be hard, since the city side finished near noon, and anything after that was helping the rural side finish early for Halloween, and one of them was clocking off at the same time."

When The Pony got home, he was still pondering his early exit.

"No managers were working today. The one who told me to clock out was, I think, a clerk manager. But she told us in the beginning that she's NOT a manager, but was there to tell us what the managers wanted. I said I felt bad that there were people out who could need help. We have three new hires, who have just been turned loose to run routes without supervision. She said, 'Clock out. There's nothing you can do.' But I still feel bad..."

For a brief moment, I considered calling an ambulance! That is SO uncharacteristic of The Pony, to want to HELP PEOPLE!

Anyhoo... I was also worried about him clocking out and THEN delivering two packages on his way home. He did the same thing the day before, taking a different direction home.

"So you agreed to work off the clock?"

"Yeah. It was on my way. I could have delivered them, then gone back to the office to clock out. But it was on my way. It got me home sooner. Those packages were technically part of my route, but they weren't put out for me until I was done for the day. So I was going to leave them for the next day, but said since it was on my way, I'd take them."

"I worry that IF something happens to you, and you're off the clock, then it's not a WORK-RELATED injury or accident! You see how it turned out getting your workman's comp when it WAS a work-related accident!"

Hick, a long-time plant safety compliance officer, said, "Technically, if Pony is TOLD to deliver the packages on his way home, it doesn't matter if he's off the clock. AS LONG AS he doesn't make any other stop in between."

Good to know.

Anyhoo... that slow-boat-to-London (Kentucky) finally arrived with The Pony's paperwork for his workman's compensation RECONSIDERATION. He got an email a couple weeks ago, stating that it had arrived, and was assigned to a different person than the one who made the original denial. Now it's hurry-up-and-wait for the decision. Supposedly they TRY to get them done within 90 days.