The Mowing Monster

OK kids, never operate machinery you know nothing about! Last night I had a near death experience. Maybe not near death, but at the moment it felt like near death.

My employers are out of town. Have been off and on for the last 2 months. Last time they were home there wasn't time to mow. It wouldn't be a big deal, but there is a coliseum across the road from us and there is an even this weekend. I felt it should look like someone at least worked here at the shop. It was a little too big of an area to mow with my push mower so lady employer said I could use their's which I've never even started. I was apprehensive at first and tried to figure out another way to go. What if I tear something up? What if I hit the fence? What if I turn the thing over? We're talking about a zero turning radius big ol' mower with a roll bar and those handle stick things to steer with instead of a steering wheel.

I got my tutorial over the phone and got it started with no problem. I looked it all over and thought I knew how things were gonna go. Since it was backed up to the backside of their house I wanted to make sure I didn't go the wrong way right off. I took off the brake, took the driving sticks out of neutral and that's when things went a little haywire!! I wasn't prepared for how sensitive the sticks are and just exactly how it all worked even though my tutorial was very thorough. All of a sudden I shot to the right going right over the air tank, weed eater, and little garden tiller. I thought I was going in the back door of the house which was closed by the way!! I was so mixed up I just kept moving those sticks and it was yanking me all over the place. Somehow I got it into neutral. I sat there for a second and then realized the weed eater is still under the mower. So I got off and got it out and put back where it belonged. I picked up all the other items I'd run over and drug around. It looked like a little tornado went through there!!

I took a deep breath and thought I better take things a little slower. It went a little better from there. I drove around a little to get the feel of this powerful machine. I almost quit and left it where it was but decided I had to overcome this huge fear I had inside me at that moment. Surely I can do this right?

I headed down to the front of the shop area where some of the grass is knee high. I started out down by the fence around the electric pole. I kinda forgot about the roll bar and got a little close to the guide wire. Let's just say I got so close I thought I was gonna tip the thing over. I stayed away from that and everything else pretty much from then on.

By the time I got finished I was way more comfortable and kinda had the hang of it. It was just about dark by then and I headed back up towards the house. I got it backed in without any problems. I knew that man and lady employers would be sitting in their motel room wondering how things went so I called them. She answered the phone saying "How'd it go?" I replied, "Well, nobody died." It was really quiet on the other end of the line. I kinda relayed the story leaving out the part about hitting the wire. I thought that might be a little much. I probably should've left out the first part too! I told her I thought everything was ok and if not she could take it out of my pay.

I probably won't need another experience like that again any time soon!!!