The news service Reuters carried a story sometime back about a man in Poland who was up a tree literally. He was trying to avoid paying a cab driver. The man jumped from the cab with driver in hot pursuit. He must have been amazingly athletic. After climbing a tall tree, he jumped from branch to branch and hurled bananas from a shopping bag at a crowd which had gathered at the scene.

More than a dozen firefighters were called in. They spread out an airbag under the tree as a police psychologist was sent up in a ladder‑bucket to negotiate with the man.

After a two‑hour stand‑off, he agreed to come down. However his attempt to evade paying the cab fare is likely to cost him far more than the fare itself. The fire brigade was planning to send him a $4,300 bill for the rescue operation.

 

It…