Dear Evan and Katelyn... You Wanna Play w/ Chainsaws in Connecticut?

It's Memorial Day weekend and it's 62 degrees F

Dear Evan and Katelyn (and Brad Leone, because this involves you too),

Yesterday I spent the day learning chainsaw safety in a Master Woodland Manager program, and throughout the day I kept picturing Katelyn's face when she fired up that tiny pink chainsaw. You know the look - pure joy mixed with just enough chaos energy to make everyone watching simultaneously delighted and slightly concerned for your safety.

Here's the thing: I wanted that exact chainsaw immediately after watching your video. Like, had it in my Amazon cart and everything. But thankfully my own internal guidance system kicked in with a firm "girl, NO. You have too many redneck experiences with chainsaws to safely operate even a tiny one without proper education first." So I listened to my body (which was basically screaming "you WILL chainsaw your face if you buy and use that without proper training") and decided to wait until I could take an actual safety class.

And holy shit, am I glad I did.

Turns out there's A LOT more to chainsaw safety than just "point away from face" - though that's definitely still rule number one. There's PPE, proper stance, understanding kickback, reading the tree, escape routes, and about fifteen other things that need to become muscle memory before you should even think about starting one up. Even a tiny pink one (that I will eventually be adding to my life now).

But here's what got me thinking about you two: our instructor Tom brings decades of UCONN forestry experience with this perfectly calibrated teaching energy - part grandpa, part safety enforcer. He knows exactly how to channel first-time-holding-a-chainsaw excitement into proper technique, and something about his approach made me think 'Tom and Evan would be incredible together.' That collision of serious forestry knowledge with maker-space curiosity feels like it would make amazing content.

There was also Ralph, a fellow student in our program who also teaches chainsaw safety and brought his own gear because he's just that kind of awesome human. When my ADHD brain got overwhelmed trying to remember hand placement AND stance AND angle AND depth all at once, Ralph basically gave me a supplemental lesson while Tom worked with others. Not only was he genuinely curious when I mentioned you two, but he's exactly the kind of natural teacher who makes safety feel fun instead of intimidating.

Also, as we were walking to the stand to get to work, I looked over and saw Ralph looking like this and asked if I could take his picture. Doesn’t he look cool? Don’t you want to learn how to chainsaw ALL THE THINGS from him?

So here's my pitch: Come to Connecticut. Learn proper chainsaw safety. Film the whole thing. Show your viewers (especially those of us who definitely want to buy tiny chainsaws) what it actually looks like to learn these skills safely. Because you two are probably the only people who could make a chainsaw safety demonstration actually entertaining to watch on a screen, and honestly? Your content has real power to influence viewer habits. If it could get more people celebrating the forests and the people who've been caring for them their whole careers, that feels like a win for everyone.

Plus, Connecticut is 70% forested, which honestly might be our best selling point (even better than the pizza, and our pizza is legitimately amazing). There's something about working with your hands in actual forests that hits different than working in a studio - different kind of problem-solving, different creative flow. The kind that breaks you out of whatever rut you might be stuck in and reminds you why you love making things in the first place.

And Brad - since you already know our pizza situation from the Frank Pepe's Local Legends episode, this could be perfect for your brand too. Foraging, witch hazel, maybe some collaboration with our forestry department? I can make connections happen. Plus, wouldn't everyone want to see you and Evan & Katelyn engineering something food-related together? For science?

Look, I know this sounds like a lot, but there's something beautiful about learning real-world skills from people who've spent a lifetime perfecting them. Your younger fans are growing up in a world where they might find routes to artistic expression that involve getting their hands dirty, and you're already leaders in their lives. Why not show them what it looks like to step outside the maker space and learn from the forest itself? And from the folks whose entire career philosophy is “I want my great great grandchildren to enjoy the hundred year old oaks I’m planting right now.”

What really excites me about this idea is watching worlds collide in ways that could shift everything - your engineering curiosity meeting forest wisdom that's been here longer than any of our technologies, while you also get to play with someone who has his own brand of engineering chaos. The creative directions that emerge from these kinds of collaborative experiments? They tend to unlock possibilities we didn't even know we were looking for. And honestly, some of the most important innovations happen when we play with some new toys alongside some new friends in some new environments.

If any of this sounds even remotely interesting, I'd be happy to connect you with Tom or Ralph (or both). My email is soulharmonyconnection@gmail.com if you want to explore what a Connecticut adventure might look like. There are probably also plenty of other collaboration potentials here, and I don’t know if this would sweeten the deal but our Memorial Day weekend has been overcast and in the lower 60’s this whole time. Nobody from here likes how cold it’s been, but as someone from the south I am HERE for hoodie weather this late in the season.

Fellow fans - what kinds of people do you see helping to make the world a bit better and brighter every day? And what kinds of things can you see this type of Youtube collaboration cooking up? Pun definitely intended.

Look, I know this whole pitch might sound a little unhinged - some random person on the internet suggesting you come chainsaw trees in Connecticut because I had feelings during forestry class. But honestly? Sometimes the most unexpected invitations lead to the most interesting adventures. And there's something about the combination of chainsaws, pizza, and trees that just feels like it could spark something really fun. Especially when y’all get involved.

With love for wherever you are in your unique journey,

Charlie

P.S. - If you ever decide to make your robot furby dog into an actual talking AI companion, I've been playing with some interesting tools and might be able to help make that real. Just saying.