The Remarkable Fools Letter

The Remarkable Fools Letter

Share this post

The Remarkable Fools Letter
The Remarkable Fools Letter
wack, crack and conquer

wack, crack and conquer

the legend of the bouncy stump slayer

Jim Dalling's avatar
Jim Dalling
Jan 15, 2025
∙ Paid
1

Share this post

The Remarkable Fools Letter
The Remarkable Fools Letter
wack, crack and conquer
Share

I did it.

Success.

Finally.

My shoulders are tired.

The calluses on my hands have declared themselves sovereign nations.

It doesn’t matter.

I fucking did it.

I won.

That is correct fool.

I smashed the shit out of that bouncy stump that I’ve been trying to split for days.

I must have hit that thing five hundred times if I were keeping track.

Tonight I hit it a dozen times. It started cracking. I turned it and kept hitting it.

More hairline cracks formed.

I kept going, now with more vigour.

WACK WACK WACK!

Oh how I loved to wack it and crack it!

And then? Satisfaction. It’s still there where I finally won - sitting in four pieces on the back patio. I can’t wipe the image from my mind.

Seeing process move quickly is so satisfying. But even more satisfying than the image I have in my head of it cracking slowly then finally opening up are the sensations in my hands, back and shoulders.

Lucky for me, I have a number of these big ugly logs to process.

Everyday’s another day to make a mess.

Get choppin’.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Remarkable Fools Letter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 James Dalling
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share