Yesterday I said goodbye to an old friend. Old Red saw me through nearly fifteen winters of dark and cold times. Early mornings of wet snow, nights of blistering cold winds and deep drifts, days when I asked for his help not once but two or three times between sun up and sun down- in all of these cases Old Red would cheerily rise to the occasion and help me with my work.
Sure, there were times when Red would complain. The 10 degree mornings when I'd have to open up his bonnet and replace shear pins. Or the major surgery of replacing drive belts. But in each case, he responded with the ability to roar through knee-deep snow, leaving neatly carved paths in his wake.
And it wasn't just my own paths and driveways that Red helped with. He did equal work on the aprons, sidewalks, and driveways of neighbors in three different neighborhoods, earning the unsung praise of schoolchildren and postal carriers alike.
Yesterday, Old Red moved on to his next call of duty, the driveway and sidewalks of my friend Roger. I'm sure Red will prove equally skillful, industrious, and tireless in his new home.
Red, a tip of my toque to you!
4 comments:
Good lord, how big is that thing? It looks like Son of Truckosaurus.
Chris, Red could have found a new home in YOUR garage! And, for the record, he's a beast. But the new machine is even bigger. Neither would have been as friendly to you as yours, were you to stick a hand or arm inside inadvertently :-)
Did that one always belong to you, or was it Dad's first?
And when do we see a demo of the new one in action? I hope not until NEXT year :-)
@Jane: this one came to me via Jerry, but I've always thought it looked like the one Grandma got for Dad back in the early 70s.
I'll try to get some footage of the Green Monster. I'm sure I'll have another chance to use it, probably right around the first of April. :-)
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