LawrenceSan

LawrenceSan OP t1_j69frua wrote

Reply to Another Green Line horror by LawrenceSan

Somewhat off-topic, but… for anyone who loves train stories, I highly recommend the classic silent film "The General" from the 1920's… stars the great comedian Buster Keaton (who also co-directed it). He did his own very dangerous, potentially deadly stunt-work on the film. It's based on a true-life story from the American Civil War. I believe there are other filmed versions of the story, including Disney's "The Great Locomotive Chase"… but I've only seen the Keaton version. Fantastic.

2

LawrenceSan OP t1_j66srhp wrote

Reply to comment by Anustart15 in Another Green Line horror by LawrenceSan

Ah, I see, makes sense. Now I know why the bot didn't email me this time.

Of course, since I'm an illustrator and not a train guy… when I say "line" I usually mean something I make with a pencil, and "branch" refers to the tree I'm drawing… context is everything! :)

3

LawrenceSan t1_j1khriw wrote

Reply to comment by MyThreeSense in What are MA laws when it comes to damage from branches of neighbor's trees. I warned neighbor two years ago this would happen, in writing. by bcardarella

I can't remember all the details but… years ago my relatives living in a third-floor condo (in Brookline, MA) warned a neighbor that the large tree on her property was obviously dying, leaning unnaturally… but there were no branches actually hanging over onto my relatives' side. When they asked the neighbor to have the tree cut down before it fell down, she told them to mind their own business.

Then one day the whole tree fell over and completely destroyed my relatives' wooden porch. Luckily nobody was on it at the time, nobody hurt. But removing the tree and replacing the porch was very expensive.

I don't remember how the insurance worked out, but I do remember my relatives asking a lawyer if they had recourse against the neighbor, and they were told no, a tree coming down all by itself was considered "an act of God", not negligence. Which sounded crazy to me, especially considering that my relatives were atheists. What happened to separation of church and state?

1