When it comes to Christmas-tree-tossing contests, sometimes when you win, you lose

I'm always amazed for the ability of all sorts of folks - myself included, in a minor-league kinda-sorta way - to sabotage themselves.

Like the woman in Ireland who saw a hefty insurance claim tossed aside when a picure of her hurling  fairly hefty Christmas tree was introduced as evidence that she likely was not quite as  debilitated as she maintained.

Back in 2017, Kamila Grabska was in a car crash. 

The accident rendered her unable to work for more than five years, she said.

Grabska also said she could not carry her children, finish basic chores, or lift a heavy bag and that, at times, she needed her medication to be brought to her in bed due to the pain, the outlet reported. (Business Insider)

Then, darn the luck, some eagle-eyed legal eagle came across a picture of Grabska, in a January 2018 BBC article, launching a Christmas tree. 

Just days before the competition, Grabska had informed doctors of constant pains in her spine, back, and neck, the Irish Independent reported.

And yet here she was, not just entering the event but winning the women's division.

"It is a very large, natural Christmas tree, and it is being thrown by her in a very agile movement," the outlet quoted [Carmel] Stewart, the presiding judge, as saying. "I'm afraid I cannot but conclude the claims were entirely exaggerated."

Also admitted into evidence was a more recent video (from November 2023) that showed Grabska "playing wiht a dalmation in a park for about 90 minutes."

It's a miracle! And it's also a miracle that anyone stayed awake if they played the full 90 minutes in court.

Anyway, Grabska counter-argued that she was in pain for the tree tossed, and was just solidering on, "'trying to live a normal life.'"

Too bad the judge wasn't buying. 

Case dismissed!

Grabska's claim was for 760K Euros (roughy $823K US), so participation in the Christmas tree hurl cost her big time. Good thing the competition was for a good cause. (I believe it was a fundraiser for a Cystic Fibrosis charity.)

The November 2023 frolic with the dalmation may not have meant all that much. After all, that occurred a good six years after her accident, and she did only claim that she was out of commission for five years. Not to mention that running around with a dog, even if it is for 90 minutes, is a lot less onerous than throwing a Christmas tree a long way.

I wouldn't want to attempt to throw my old tree, that's for sure. I'm able to take it out of the stand and drag it out of the house to leave it on the curb for recycle. I'm sure I could maybe toss it a couple of feet, but nothing that involved using my punk shoulder for a major-league, airborne throw. 

There are a lot of Eastern European immigrants in Ireland, and from her Polish name, I'm guessing that Grabska is one of them. The average American would be going ballistic if their claim were to be denied, but the Irish tend to have a different attitude. So I hope Grabska's able to shrug off the loss, ignore the embarrassment, and tell herself and the world that sure, it was worth a try. 

If nothing else, she got an article in People. 

Still, she might have been smarter if she hadn' decided that entering a Christmas-tree-tossing conest when you claim you can barely lift your kid.

I understand that there are also wellie tosses, where contestants see how far they can throw a Wellingotn boot. Migh have been better to sign up for that one. Or just plain stay home.