Power Swing

“…so there I was sitting on a crate of rocks on the edge of the barn roof.”

“Well yeah, I was really on the swing seat, but the rock crate was fastened under it with a quick release. Oh, I almost forgot! I found out that the distance from the barn to the tree should be less than from the limb to the ground. Ouch. So anyway, the swing's ropes extended to the limb.”

“No, I didn’t tie them to the limb. That’s the important part. They go through pulleys at the limb and back down to the crate of rocks.”

“Oh I don’t know; they weighed about 300 lbs, maybe. Tony Joe and Fat Al pushed me off the roof, and...”

“Yeah, the one with the pierced eyelid. Hey, let me tell you this great story. So, I did a couple of humongous swings under the groaning limb, and during the next fast forward, I released the crate with my foot.”

“Uh, I think it was the right foot. Anyway, what happened was the crate of rocks went flying downward, pulling the two rope ends with it. It sounded like ‘Feeohhww-w-w Thunkk!’ That pulled me up via the pulleys with a fast swish towards the limb. My rotational velocity, in turn, was multiplied, so I easily did a loop.”

“Right, adrenaline heaven. Of course circling the limb shortened my ropes even more, and after five revs I stopped, wrapped around the branch. I’m gonna put a roll bar on the next model. So, what’s new with you?”