Improper use of tools

Many gardening tools have a variety of uses, but extending pole tree trimmers have a rather limited range of operation. Someone who lives near me, though, seems to have found a new use for these tools.

For the last three days, our telephone and/or cable lines have somehow disconnected themselves from the utility pole in our rear garden. We have several days of blustery Santa Ana winds, so we first thought that was the culprit. Two more days of disconnects had us searching for other answers, though. Unable to catch the cables in their act of spontaneously disconnecting we had a few ideas what might be happening.

After several visits from SBC, our local phone company, and Adelphia, our cable provider, and the LAPD, we were back in business here at the AGN home office.

That is....until this morning.

My wife arises early with my 5-year-old son most mornings. She checked the telephone...still working. She checked the cable TV...still working, much to my son's joy! He can finally watch Cyberchase again.

She then goes into the back garden to hang up some laundry on our handy-dandy, and "oh so declassé" clothes line. There, hanging from the telephone wires, is a pole tree trimmer, with saw attachment. "Hmmm....interesting," she thought, and quickly went to call the utility companies, again, along with the police.

I make no claims as to understanding the motivation of this person, but I think you will agree that using a pole trimmer to cut phone and cable lines, is probably not the designed use for this tool, especially when the electrical lines are on the same pole.

I felt it was my duty to pass along this important safety tip to all AGN readers.

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