Dear Editor,
My husband and I are relative newcomers to Eatonton. I was a military brat who married a corporate man, so I have lived in many parts of the U.S., never really having a place to call home. Eatonton, however, has amazed us for so many reasons.
One of those reasons occurred on Aug. 14 on our mini farm off Copelan Farm Road. A huge tree threatened our house, so we hired a 5-star local tree cutter, Michael Sasser, to cut it down. He came with his two sons, Will and Reid.
I paint in my studio and occasionally peek out the window to see these warriors conquer this 110-foot-high tree. They methodically and carefully cut from the top down. Then, so very suddenly, the unthinkable happened.
The bucket catapulted Michael out and onto the ground. He fell about 40 feet and landed less than a foot from the concrete. I believe an angel intervened, pushing him onto that small patch of grass between a boulder and the driveway.
I flew out the door and saw the younger son on the phone to 911. The other son was bending over his daddy. As I knelt beside the man whose lower body was mangled and broken, I prayed and talked quietly to Michael, hoping and pleading with God not to let this man slip away. He was so courageous. He did not yell, curse, or cry. He quietly talked to me as he could, answering the simple questions I asked to keep him awake.
The Putnam County first responders were exceptional. Neighbor Meghan provided emotional support.
The helicopter pilot hit his mark in our sheep pasture, getting Mike to Grady Hospital in record time. One of the sons in all that confusion, who obviously had been raised to be so responsible, said as he left for the hospital, “Ma’am, don’t worry. We will clean up this mess.”
All I could muster was, “Just worry about your daddy.” Both young men are polite, hardworking, and a tribute to their parents.
When we returned from Atlanta the next day, Michael’s friends had finished the tree removal, along with cleaning up another 100-foot tree that had fallen in our pasture and a huge pile of branches my husband had gathered. Tears came to my eyes. I was so moved by that act of kindness to their friend Mike and also to us.
There have been too many acts of kindness to list. This morning, Michael called us from the hospital and said, “Vicki, I wanted to let you know that we don’t normally try to scare new customers to death.”
Tears of relief came to my eyes to hear this brave man – who is still in so much pain – reach out to comfort me. I can tell you that seeing small-town Southern love in action has finally given this grandmother a place to call home. Thank you, everyone, and thank you, God, for sparing Michael’s life.
Vicki Bohe-Thackwell, Eatonton