Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Why I'm Not Going to Hug Any Trees Just Now

So, there are definitely better ways to start the morning than this .

I was standing at the living room window listening to the weather report (while staying tuned to try and win a radio contest that would take me --please please-- away from all this torrential rain to sunny Mexico). The weatherman was telling me it was pretty nasty out there (not exactly new information) and to please do watch out for downed power-lines and falling trees....

when suddenly there was an enormous CRACKING sound as my neighbour's tree decided to uproot itself and CRUNCH my friend Tai's car!

Following the CRACK and the CRUNCH , there the was sound of Spider Girl's high-pitched disbelieving voice wailing my friend's name as I charged upstairs to wake her.

This is so not how I usually like to treat my house-guests.

Tai has posted on this subject over on her blog and I thought she was remarkably calm considering the situation. "Never a dull moment", I believe was her wry comment as she surveyed the damage.


Things I Have Learned From This #1: Never tempt the gods.
Why, just the night before, Tai and I discussed the time a small branch fell on my car once while I was driving during a winter storm and how that totally unnerved me. She said, I don't believe I've ever had a single branch ever fall on my car...."
Tai pointed out this morning that actually still holds true as it was obviously not a branch that fell on her car.
Things I Have Learned #2: Large trees have disturbingly shallow and small root systems.
Look at the roots on this enormous tree! I've seen more impressive roots on dandelions and creeping buttercup in my flower borders!
And there are several more trees like this in my neighbour's yard. Don't get me wrong---I like trees. But I'm eyeing them rather more suspiciously today.
The one that fell was so long it fell (not only onto Tai's car) but completely across the street and bounced onto the roof of my neighbour's little red car before the power wires pulled it up a little ways again.
Things I Have Learned #3: I need to try to look more polished when I roll out of bed in the morning.
You know, in case I'm required to give an interview or two before breakfast.
Obviously, you never know how a morning's going to go.
First this cameraman shows up.....


And then another TV station showed up. Oh, and I think I saw Tai hob-knobbing with a newspaper reporter as well.
Tai's little car was certainly the hot topic on the block.
And we made it onto two TV stations tonight. Of course, I actually didn't have any power to watch them at my house (our wires got nicely ripped out of the side of our house), but I did borrow my mother-in-law's electricity and so was able to catch our remarkably cheerful faces on the news at six.


Next time I'm hoping our fifteen seconds of fame is because we've won the lottery.


Poor Tai! See what happens when you come and see your friend!







10 comments:

Tai said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tai said...

LOL! Yeah, never a dull moment!

I found a clip on Global TV that said "A woman miraculously escaped injury when a tree fell on her car moments after she had parked it."
Uh...NOT TRUE! I never said that, in fact, I was snuggled safely in Spider's guest room at the time.
I'm never going to believe any thing I see on tv ever again...even if it IS about me!

Anonymous said...

Oy. Morelli -said- my friend was in the news, but I couldn't call to confirm that. It was as if her phone was out of order...

LJ

Ian Lidster said...

Poor Tai, indeed. Actually I ran into her at the railway station later and was amazed at her composure about it all.
Well, it could have been worse. She could have been inside it at the time.

Mz.Elle said...

I was so excited to see you two on the news!

kimber said...

I can not help but smile when I see the picture showing Tai's car as the only car on the street, hit by the only tree that fell.

Man, that was one angry, vengeful, spiteful tree!

Jocelyn said...

I sensed an aura of danger around you the second I ever read your first post.

I'm glad I never followed impulse and drove right over there (um, wherever that is, specifically) to see you.

Poor Tai's car!

Mel said...

WOW!!!!! Never a dull moment is right.

Well thank goodness no one was hurt!

Kim is so right, that tree had it in for that little blue car!

adman said...

That makes the little drip in my house seem very un-spectacular in comparison....reminds me of last year when that tree crushed a car a few cars ahead of me in Cathedral Grove...at least you got to be on TV

ZooooM said...

Wow. So glad everyone is unharmed - physically. I've heard a tree just crack and drop ONE BRANCH during a storm, and that was loud. I can't imagine what the wole tree, one that size there would have sounded like.

yie!