i was impressed ; that is an open trestle , a long way down to the water . a shake of the head and another smile as he let go of the tree branch , letting it swing back into position . it must have been terribly hard on them . `` okay , '' i complained , `` what does all this have to do with what just happened ? '' he 's knocked over his stack of self-help books , and they lie like shallow steps between the couch and the radiator . 