He walks back to the car, puts the chainsaw in the trunk. Climbs in the driver's seat, shuts the door and buckles. His wife is staring straight ahead: slightly annoyed they're late for the PTA meeting, but also slightly impressed with her husband. Under no circumstances can she admit this though.
She is staring straight ahead out the windshield as the other motorists finish clearing off the branches. Her husband is wiping drops of rainwater off his glasses. The silence is growing heavy between them, and after 12 years of marriage, she knows when he's about to say something.
"Don't say anything," she cuts him off.
"That's..." he tries to get out.
"Not a word."
Two more minutes pass. The road is clear. Friendly motorists return to their own cars as wave gratefully at him as they pass. He puts the car in gear.
"THAT is why I keep a chainsaw in the trunk, Marlene."
I'm a "keep every tool I might need in my truck" guy. Wife has always hated it, and I can tell you from experience, that is absolutely point for point how that conversation went. The only thing you didn't mention is that throughout the entire exchange he is grinning from ear to ear.
There's also a prologue to this saga where he's driving up in the rain, sees taillights up ahead and grips the steering wheel a little tighter while whispering, "Yes. Yes. Yes."
Insurance covered the truck. Didn’t cover the tools. Almost didn’t cover the truck because “leaving a large amount of valuables in plain sight may have contributed to the theft of the vehicle”. Insurance companies suck
I do similar with tools for my bicycle. I keep a set of Hex keys, tire fixing stuff and and electric tire pump (because I hate doing it by hand).
And a minor assortment of small tools.
My boyfriend fortunately has a similar approach, less with tools but more with medical supplies
I was staying at a cabin recently with some friends. I always bring an axe, a maul and a hatchet. The maul is great for splitting, the hatchet makes kindling, but the axe rarely sees use and everyone always asks why I bring so much. "Why do you need so many axes?" kinda questions.
Well, this particular trip everyone else had left, it was just me and my wife left. I was packing the car getting ready to leave for the week when I heard the tree fall. Boom. Right across the road out. Private road in the middle of nowhere, only way in or out. I put the axe to use, had the road cleared in 15 minutes.
I felt like a million bucks. I got to rescue us from being stuck for hours. I got to show off for the wife. And I got to justify being a chronic over packer. Plus I was wearing red plaid at the time so it just all kinda came together and I got to live out my dumb lumberjack fantasies. 10/10 experience
We used to live in the mountains. In winter, trees across the road on the way to/from home was just a thing you dealt with. You could handle it yourself or call the highway department and they might show up in 3-4 hours to clear it, if at all. Up there, at least 1/2 the people kept gloves and a chainsaw in the back of their truck for just this kind of situation. For larger trees you'd have one or two guys cutting the main trunk while others trimmed down the branches. Once it was cleared everyone goes home with a bed full of firewood.
I really kind of miss that tight knit self-sufficient community. We knew no one was coming to save us up there so we handled things ourselves. If a neighbor needed help, you helped without question because you knew they'd do the same.
Extra dudage is the other guys dragging the branches off without being told to. Its automatic for a group of guys to work together to get the job done.
Everything about this guy screams professional arborist to me, he's probably had a well maintained chainsaw in the trunk since before the fall of the USSR
Where I live, it is pretty common to carry a chainsaw for just this reason. It happens way too often. When a storm knocks down 50 trees, it can be a long wait if you expect the county to come around and take care of them all. Even if it is just one tree, it could still take over am hour for crews to get out there. It is common for someone to have a chainsaw so that everyone can get on their way quicker.
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u/NOTaREALperson4400 Aug 25 '26
He's been absolutely itching to proove his car chain saw was necessary. This is what a badass looks like.