Just finished my 100th crane-assisted removal and the number hit me weird

It was a big silver maple over a garage in Tacoma. The crane operator, a guy named Carl I've worked with for years, just said 'that's a clean one hundred' as we lowered the last piece. I never kept count before, but he started a list after my first one with him six years ago. It's not the danger that got me, it's realizing how much trust you build with a crew and a machine to make something that looks impossible just another Tuesday. Anyone else get caught off guard by a work milestone they didn't even know they were tracking?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola7632mo ago

Honestly, @the_joel is right about that first one probably feeling impossible. Tbh that's what makes the hundredth hit different, it's not about being numb. You build up that trust so slowly you don't even notice, until one day you're moving a whole tree with just a look and some hand signals. It stops being about the scary big thing and becomes about the crew you're doing it with. The milestone just makes you look up and realize how far you've all come together.

the_joel2mo ago

What was the first removal on Carl's list? I bet that one felt impossible at the time. It's wild how a routine forms with the same crew, where a hand signal or a look says everything. Does remembering that first job make the hundredth feel different?

lisaf382mo ago

Honestly, that first job probably wasn't some huge mountain to climb... more like a weird Tuesday. You don't get a routine from doing the impossible, you get it from doing the same boring thing over and over. Thinking back on the first one just makes the hundredth feel numb, not special. The looks and signals just mean everyone's brain checked out hours ago.