Luck is turning aroun

As you know, Hannah had a car wreck 9 days ago, and while she is feeling a lot better, the lack of a car has been an issue.  Fortunately for me, weather ahs been great all week, so I could ride my scooter to school, and just about everywhere else. I've just had to postpone hauling anything other than me and what fits in the storage box.
Last Friday, I had appointments  for late morning, and then one much later in the day about 5:00.  The 5:00 appt was for a '97 Ford Taurus with 130k miles with a very attractive sales price of $1800.  The late morning appt was for a '97 Chevy Malibu but it was for $2500.  I had the foresight to call the gentleman and cancel the late morning appt, explaining we wanted to look at a car that was more in line with out budget and didn't want to leave him wondering or waiting.  He appreciated it...actually he took note of the consideration I showed him.  We looked at and decided to buy the Taurus but there was an issue with the title needing to be sent back to Fl and was going to take awhile.  But it took a week of my phone calls and emails, not one of which was responded to by the owner of the Taurus.  I'm glad now we are NOT buying it.  So Thursday p.m, almost a full week after talking to the Malibu owner,  I call the owner of the Malibu, and no, he hadn't sold it yet but I could look at it on Friday after work.  I told him I was a shop teacher and could meet him after school.  Here is the irony.  Friday a.m., he is having breakfast with his daughter, and said he was going to show the car to me.  "You mean Mr. Tidyman?  Hannah's dad?" and went on to explain the whole details of Hannah's wreck, and life too maybe.  I taught his daughter in grade school, and her brother.  He showed the car to someone earlier in the day who offered him a good price, but he said he wanted to me to give me a chance to look at it first (returning the consideration)...and we are buying it on Saturday.  Not only does Hannah get a car, she also gets to bring her baby back home, safe and secure in the back seat of a mid size sedan.
It never hurts to spend a little extra time and effort to be considerate of those whom we do business with.  Sometimes, maybe even most of the time, what goes around, comes around.

Why garden at all?

It’s that time of year again

Do you feel it?  When you drive up to the house, and you see the place where last year you had so much satisfaction out of picking your own fresh veggies for a salad.  Maybe you had a big enough garden to do some canning.   Maybe you dread the thought of all the work that is entailed to harvest all the food that you do.  Hopefully, you feel good about this year’s garden plans.  If you don’t, then you might want to readjust your plans, or take a year off. 

I’m amazed that everyone doesn’t have at least a small garden, and even more amazed that those that can, don’t want to.  I guess having had a few gardens over the years has convinced me that the little bit of effort required to grow a garden is overshadowed by the benefits.  

The standard benefits you will find if you Google “benefits of gardening” include good healthy food, exercise, learning, social outlets, creativity, sales opportunities, and emotional and spiritual gratification.  I don’t know about all that but for me, the reasons are numerous.  First and foremost is economic.  Who doesn’t care about saving a buck?  That’s why I buy used vehicles and carry liability insurance.  That’s why I drive a scooter that despite going highway speeds, it still gets 63 miles per gallon.  It’s the “Show me the money”. 

I’m a teacher, and I try to explain to my students the cost benefit ratio of gardening.  Let’s use broccoli for example.  Initial investment is a couple of bucks for seeds, maybe $10 for a seed tray and soil.  You plant 48 seeds, grow 48 broccoli plants, eat a lot of it fresh broccoli and freeze the rest.  That’s like $100 worth of food for a $12 investment. 

Take this same example a step further.  How do you make a seed grow?  With a minimal amount of reading, or talking to others, or a few YouTube videos, you learn to keep the seeds and soil warm, and after germinating, add sunlight.  After getting to a good size, give them some time in the sun/wind/rain to “harden” them off, and then transplant.  Minimize weeding with lots of straw mulch.  Really, it is that easy.

Gardening for me is a low risk adventure.  It’s almost like a box of chocolates in that you never really know what you are going to get.  You can only control so many of the variables and the rest you give up to Mother Nature.  The unknown factor makes gardening fun.  You get to watch and wonder as things germinate, some sooner than others.  Crucial decisions must be made but you usually have time to read up on the topic or call a friend.  When is it safe to plant potatoes?  You will get lots of different answers, since all those solutions have been working for all those people probably for years. 

This brings me to another aspect of gardening.  It is hard to fail.  Seriously, if you follow a few simple rules Mother Nature will help you succeed.  If you even do a minimal number of things right, you will get something for your efforts.  Most of the time, you will get something to eat. 

Even in those rare cases where you planted something and it didn’t produce, you will have something that did.  In the process, your mind was totally engaged in a creative process, taking in with all of your senses the wonder of nature.  A seed, the size of a grain of salt or bigger, grew to be a plant sometimes several feet tall, produced flowers that smelled good to both you and the many different kinds of pollinators (bees, wasps, butterflies and possibly hummingbirds). 

Here is the best part though.  You pick it, you rinse it off, you slice it, and you eat it.  No concern for chemicals, e-coli, destruction of the environment, cruelty to farm laborers.  You started something months ago, invested time and energy, and maybe a few bucks, and with help from Mother Nature, your taste buds are screaming with joy.  But you aren’t done yet.  You take some of the extra harvest to a friend or neighbor, or even the local hunger coalition, and you have nourished your heart.  Now that is a deal.

Life is like a...

Life is like a…

Don’t you hate it when you hear sentimental people say “Life is like a garden” or “Life is like a river” or “Life is like a lawnmower.” Now that I’ve probably irritated you with one more “Life is like a…” here is why I’m saying that.

Like many others in the Watauga area this weekend, you may have some high hopes (to match your high lawn) of firing up the old lawnmower and cutting the grass.  If you did what you were supposed to last fall, then it will start on the first or second pull.  What???  You mean you have to do something in the fall to make this easy.  As in life, even in the autumn of our lives, if we take care of ourselves, it’s easier to get going the next day (or season). 

Congratulations to those that pressure washed the outside and underside of the mower, or at least scraped all the grass off with a wire brush to minimize rusting.  Two attaboys if you changed the oil (while it was still warm), and changed the spark plug.  And you win the golden ring if you filled it with fresh gas mixed with fuel stabilizer and ran it for ten minutes to let the fresh fuel get where it needed to for the next six months. 

And now for the other 99% and I’m not talking financial status.  If you go out to your mower, and it won’t start but it was running in the fall when you exercised a dereliction of your mower duties, it is more than likely bad gas, stale gas or I hate to say it, the gas is turning into varnish in the innermost recesses of the carburetor.  Think cholesterol.  There is one sure fire way to determine if fuel is not getting to the carburetor.  Take your handy dandy spark plug socket and a ratchet wrench; remove the spark plug and poor about a thimble or half ounce of fresh gas in the spark plug hole.  Put the plug back in, attach the wire, and PULL.  If it starts, runs for several seconds and dies, you have successfully trouble shot your mower. 

The only way to resolve this minor issue is clean out the carb with carburetor cleaner.  All you need is a socket set, carb cleaner and know how.  There are videos on YouTube that show you how.  I know…isn’t this just what you wanted to hear.  Or you can pay someone to do it.

If you are fed up with the mower, DON’T THROW IT AWAY.   It may have a second life in the hands of the right person (or student.) This is “Donate an organ” for mechanics.  I know a local teacher (ME) that teaches his students about this stuff and loves donated mowers.  But if you buy a new one, buy from someone that has on site service.  Avoid big box stores with no maintenance shop but claim they can service the warranty by shipping it off for a few months.  Buy quality. 

My advice if you buy new?  Read the manual.  Most important is add oil and gas.  But, if you get a chance and want to save yourself hours of frustration when buying a simple replacement part, write down the model number of the mower and if you can, the engine number too.  I’ve seen guys in Farmer’s Hardware with a part in their hand crying and begging for them to try to find a look alike replacement.  With their best bedside manner, they say “Sorry, we need the model number.”  I on the other hand not only have the model number.  I walk in with the manual and parts list that I’ve downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, thus saving them the time and trouble of looking it up.  That’s why they love me there. 

Just like in real life, if you treat your mower kindly, with regular maintenance, you can expect a long satisfying grass cutting career, not from cradle to grave but more like from the garage to the dump.I could go on forever on this topic but space is limited so I’ll stop.  Besides, you might need the time to clean a carburetor or go shopping. 

WWMD: What would Mom do?

 My mom passed away over 20 years ago.  I miss talking with her about the confusing state of politics.  For a simple woman, with only a high school education, she had a knack for simplifying the most complex issue.  For her, the bottom line was be kind and be fair.  During the turbulent 50’s and 60’s of civil rights, and the women’s movement following close behind, my mom always stressed tolerance and acceptance of others.  While it may have taken some getting used to initially, she enjoyed getting to know her children’s teenage boyfriends and girlfriends, regardless of race, religion or gender.    To her, they were all wonderful human beings.

What would she say about Amendment One, where on May 8^th, NC voters have the chance to vote on a referendum that potentially writes discrimination into the state constitution?   She would fall back on another gem.  “Err on the side of caution” she would say. In other words, don’t create problems unnecessarily.    Passage of this Amendment will certainly create many problems.

If Amendment 1 passes and brings with it the costly legal court battles over its constitutionality, the harm to businesses, and its people,  my mother would respond with another one of her gems “That’s an expensive way to learn a lesson.”

Let’s not learn the lesson the hard way.  Vote AGAINST AMENDMENT 1.