Thurmon the Tree Topper In 1941 Dad quit his job with the Batsons near Marietta and he built a log cabin that was about 16' X 24' for us to live in. The cabin was located in the woods behind the peach orchard on the 80 acres Grandpa King leased. Our water was transported from the well at Grandpa's house, about an eigth of a mile away. There was one door in center of the east end of the cabin. Inside, the wood cook stove was in the NE corner with the kitchen table in the SE corner. In the west end there were two double beds end to end. Mom and Dad slept in one and the two girls slept in the other. Above the beds was a loft where us three boys had two matresses on the floor of the loft. One of the chores assigned to me was gathering the wood for the cook stove. And as one might guess I gathered the wood closest to the cabin and as the supply was depleted; the circle in which I could find wood got larger and larger. In my quest for dried wood that was near the cabin I noticed a large oak tree that had a dead top on the west side of the dry creek bed that ran just behind the cabin. Each time I passed that tree carrying wood from farther out; I would dream of how much wood I could get from that top, and it was there close to the house! But the tree was too big for me to cut down with an axe; and the dead part was too far up for me to be able to chop the top out of it. One Saturday when we went to town, my buddy Gene Clifton and I went to to see a double feature movie. One of the movies was about logging in the great northwest. I don't remember the plot ... But there were scenes of loggers trimming the branches off a tall tree to use as a "spar tree" and then a man climbed up that tree, thethered himself to it and cut the top off. And, of course, as the top fell to one side it caused the bare trunk to lash back and forth. and then I could see why he had tethered himself to it. Well, the idea had been planted. The way I calculated it, the top would fall into the creek bed near the house and I wouldn't have so far to carry wood. So one day I got a couple of leather belts and my axe and climbed up that old tree. I put one belt around the tree and then looped the other through it and around me. I then proceeded to chop the top out of the tree. As the top of the tree began to creak and lean ... Like a good lumberjack, I yelled; "TIMBERRrrr" The tree top made some loud popping noises as the uncut wood broke and the whole thing crashed into the creek bottom with a loud noise. Just as I had planned it. (:>) Mother came running out of the house and around to the back to see what had fallen so close to the house to be greeted by her 11 year old "lumberjack" from about 20 feet up in a tree saying; "It's okay Mom, I just chopped the top out of this tree." But she wasn't as proud of me as I was. And, I won't go into what all she said to me, I'll just say that she could use some pretty "salty" language when she was upset. (:>( Thurmon