Caption:
He stood there—unflinching, tall, and silent as always. But as Gus soon found out, this outward calm belied the “Widowmaker’s” reputation.
Alt text:
So … You’re the might oak I’ve been hearin’ about. Well, you don’t look so mighty to me!
If anyone doesn’t know the joke, a “widowmaker” is a branch from a tree, usually rotten, that can fall. Since they are out of the direct line of sight if you’re chopping, and the break/fall is mostly silent, they’re a big hazard to lumberjacks. When I worked in a rural area, some of my coworkers who were born and raised there would insist on hard hats if we had to walk through old woods while out doing our thing.
I was wrong! I thought it was the whole tree which was rotten.
Is a hard hat enough to make a difference? Seems like it if it’s big enough to kill you without a hard hat, it would still be really bad for your neck with a hard hat.
In all cases? No, of course not. In many cases? Oh, for sure, it’ll save you your life, and most of the time some really nasty scars on your head. It’s the same reasoning as at a construction site: It might not save you from a dropped pallet or an i-beam, but it’ll help with all the loose bolts, nuts, and tools.
campers also use this term. A wise camper will check above their tent spot for widowmakers in case there is high wind during the night. A hard hat would be difficult to sleep in!
