All fall down

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 13, 2003

A massive tree’s resting on Michael Jackson’s backyard power lines like it’s asleep in a hammock …

For a split second Thursday afternoon, Michael Jackson felt a lot like Dorothy in the classic movie &uot;The Wizard of Oz.&uot;

But the tornado &045;&045; or severe thunderstorm &045;&045; that yanked the enormous tree from its roots and toppled it onto the roof of his Victorian home had very little wizardry to it.

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Subtle it wasn’t.

The 39-year-old Selma attorney was praying and meditating in an upstairs bedroom of his house at 703 Tremont St. when he happened to glance up as a 15 to 20-foot-around oak tree came falling toward him. His clock showed 1:45 p.m.

Fortunately for Jackson, the tree smashed into his metal car shed before coming to rest on his roof. The shed &045;&045; which was squished to within four inches of the top of his older blue Mercedes sedan parked beneath &045;&045; broke the tree’s fall and minimized the damage to Jackson’s 100-year-old home.

So far, Jackson’s found a blown-out window, damage to a corner of his roof, cracks in a wall and a huge tree with branches like an octopus holding his backyard hostage.

Jackson, who spent about 10 minutes or so in his basement after the tree initially fell, was reluctant to venture outside until curiosity got the better of him

Once out of the house, he breathed a heavy sigh &045;&045; though the angry black sky threatened to unleash more fury.

His travails aren’t over, though. The tree still must be removed from his backyard, his power lines restored, his parking-shed fixed and his house repaired.