Be Prepared

Today we had high wind. Very high wind. On my way home from a Lake Writers meeting at Westlake, I took my usual route along rural Brooks Mill Road. Rounding a turn, I saw a white SUV stopped in the road. In front of the vehicle was a downed pine tree that blocked both lanes. Looked like we were stuck as more and more vehicles came along. In this stretch of road, there's no good place to turn around.

Then along came a pick-up truck driven by an older man. He got his chainsaw, fired it up, and commenced sawing.

A few other guys got out of various vehicles and slung the sawed branches into the ditches along the roadside.

Then another truck came along. A guy got out with a chain to pull the rest of the tree trunk out of the road. Soon the road was clear and everyone continued on their way. 

As I passed by the chainsaw guy's truck and hollered "Thank you," I noticed he had a rifle in his truck's gun rack. Looks like he was prepared for anything.

I drove the rest of the way home cautiously. I was prepared to stop suddenly if I saw trees blocking the road again. A lot of small branches littered the road, but nothing major. I got home with no problem.

I guess it pays to be prepared for whatever might come your way. If this guy hadn't been, a lot of folks would have been stuck for a long time.

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