Dad's mower was on the fritz. He had taken off the wheel and hub, and asked if my husband could take a look at it. He did, and a conversation ensued which I basically gathered, one of the axles is bad, we need to do x.
Not being able to assist much, I went into the house, so I wouldn't drop his Father's Day present. Husband and I found him a 24 hour clock, with day, date, temperature, alarm... Pretty much think it could make coffee, if we found the right plug in. Hee.
Anyway, Mom and I were talking, and the guys come in. Husband says he's going back to the house, and would I mind staying back and helping Dad get the tractor ready so it can be driven up on the trailer.
Well, sure. Hey, it's Father's Day, and I can have time with Dad? Works for me... We go out and I realize that I have on a light gray shirt.
Urk. Well, that's why they make cleaners, right? So, we start working on getting the wheel lined up, at first I was holding the trouble light, then I started helping adjust the wheel while Dad worked with the jack so we could line things up. Then we found which tools we needed, and after a minor boo-boo on my part, ratchet was backwards, and I was REMOVING the bolt.
A-hem.
A quick click, and we were good to go. Adjusted the bolts, and chatted about when I was in high school auto shop, and about some times I had to take my car to a shop, as I had no place to do work on it myself. The dingbat at the shop had tightened the bolt so tight, he'd nearly stripped them, and used an air gun to do so. It was a charmer trying to get them OFF again... Sheeesh...
So, we got the wounded tractor back on it's way again, and soon enough Husband showed up, and they loaded up his tractor.
Dad and I both mused, that was a good day, we'd not done that for a while, and it was fun.
And, amazingly, I managed not to get any grease on my shirt! My hands looked like I'd dipped them in India Ink, but the shirt was fine...
Showing posts with label help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label help. Show all posts
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Small towns.
Had to update my computer security, so I sent an email to the guy who usually does it. Basically a, when can I come in and get this, and let me know how much so I can pay you. I was fully expecting a "come in Thursday, after 10 am" or some such.
I received a reply email, with "here's the code for your new update, bring the funds in when you have a chance."
Huh! I suppose there is something to going to the same person for a while, but I thought this was kind of cool.
But I have noticed, that it seems like that in this area, that isn't really THAT unusual. I know that its' very common for clerks to ask about your pet/child/job and how they are, and if family member x is doing okay... I have heard it termed "fish bowl". Now, when I was a kid, it was annoying, good or bad, it would get to my parents before I got home. (Not just me, all of we kids were 'monitored' and remarked upon in the local grapevine.) Occasionally, I had to be careful who I saw, or told about Christmas/birthday presents for my parents, because I knew they would probably be on the phone to Mom, "oh, you're going to LOVE what she is getting for you..."
Urk.
But.
The flip side of that, I knew I could contact most any of the adults I knew, to get assistance, contact my parents, or even get tar off my feet. (Note to 8 year old self, walking barefoot on the road where they had finished paving not a day or two before, in 90 degree weather. Don't. Just. Don't.)
Now, it seems to not be as common. It's still there, peeking out from time to time, but I am not as familiar with some of the local families, there aren't as many community items that "everyone" goes to. With the internet, there are ways to meet people, even through the local school news website, or the local paper. (Yep, still a real paper, but a much diminished one.)
But I do know that if people see something, magically they show up. When Husband had brought back a sailboat, from our attempt to become sailors, we were going to put it in our barn. We went from Husband and I, and the boat, to a group of about 10-12 people (mostly guys), who were just as eager as all get out to see the boat, find out what was happening, did Husband need any help, are you going to do anything with it now, etc, etc, etc...
When my Mom and I were in the car wreck, Dad asked for help to get my apartment cleaned out. I think he asked one or two people, I gather that there was about 20 or so there, bingo, to help. Now, this lead to some... Different packing styles, (to this day I will never figure out why my nylons were packed with a cheese grater, and someone carefully wrapped bath towels to safely transport... my toilet brush), but it was taken care of, and we ended up getting all the the detritus of a college student home, before the landlord could charge in and make a stink about an extra month's rent...
And it wasn't limited to family. Where Dad worked helped with building a ramp while Mom and I were wheelchair bound.
I think that small towns, and the closeness, are still there. I just think they are more hidden, and you just have to look a bit quicker to see them. But it's nice to know it's still around.
I received a reply email, with "here's the code for your new update, bring the funds in when you have a chance."
Huh! I suppose there is something to going to the same person for a while, but I thought this was kind of cool.
But I have noticed, that it seems like that in this area, that isn't really THAT unusual. I know that its' very common for clerks to ask about your pet/child/job and how they are, and if family member x is doing okay... I have heard it termed "fish bowl". Now, when I was a kid, it was annoying, good or bad, it would get to my parents before I got home. (Not just me, all of we kids were 'monitored' and remarked upon in the local grapevine.) Occasionally, I had to be careful who I saw, or told about Christmas/birthday presents for my parents, because I knew they would probably be on the phone to Mom, "oh, you're going to LOVE what she is getting for you..."
Urk.
But.
The flip side of that, I knew I could contact most any of the adults I knew, to get assistance, contact my parents, or even get tar off my feet. (Note to 8 year old self, walking barefoot on the road where they had finished paving not a day or two before, in 90 degree weather. Don't. Just. Don't.)
Now, it seems to not be as common. It's still there, peeking out from time to time, but I am not as familiar with some of the local families, there aren't as many community items that "everyone" goes to. With the internet, there are ways to meet people, even through the local school news website, or the local paper. (Yep, still a real paper, but a much diminished one.)
But I do know that if people see something, magically they show up. When Husband had brought back a sailboat, from our attempt to become sailors, we were going to put it in our barn. We went from Husband and I, and the boat, to a group of about 10-12 people (mostly guys), who were just as eager as all get out to see the boat, find out what was happening, did Husband need any help, are you going to do anything with it now, etc, etc, etc...
When my Mom and I were in the car wreck, Dad asked for help to get my apartment cleaned out. I think he asked one or two people, I gather that there was about 20 or so there, bingo, to help. Now, this lead to some... Different packing styles, (to this day I will never figure out why my nylons were packed with a cheese grater, and someone carefully wrapped bath towels to safely transport... my toilet brush), but it was taken care of, and we ended up getting all the the detritus of a college student home, before the landlord could charge in and make a stink about an extra month's rent...
And it wasn't limited to family. Where Dad worked helped with building a ramp while Mom and I were wheelchair bound.
I think that small towns, and the closeness, are still there. I just think they are more hidden, and you just have to look a bit quicker to see them. But it's nice to know it's still around.
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