Requiescat in Pace

Above: The Rope, Before

Below: The Rope, After

Three years ago this coming spring, I bought a climbing rope and and looped it over a tree limb in the back yard. This is a good upper body exercise, if you don't push it too much, which, of course, I did. Eventually, I got some gloves and eased off a bit, and got to where I could go up and down it.

Yesterday, the rope broke.

Unfortunately, my son, holding onto the youngest of the grandsons, was swinging on it when the line gave up the ghost.

Fortunately, he landed on his back on the soft earth and vines, and neither he nor the boy were hurt.

This was something of a surprise for all concerned. The rope was a two-inch ship's hawser, good quality hemp. A combination of squirrels and Oregon weather did it in, I think.

When I put it up, back in April of '07, I wrapped the loop and a few inches below it in several layers of duct tape, but it broke just below the wrapping.

Back to the chinning bar. If it lets go, I won't have so far to fall ...