<snick, snick, snick, snick, snick> : Reel mowers

@farmerman,

Is the kid's name Tom?

He just got home from school. He hasn't even come inside yet but he already has his lawn mower out. He's out their mowing with his backpack and bike helmet still on. What a nut. His story would be "Mo and the mower: A love story".

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@boomerang,

Wonderful to picture the schoolyard scene..

What are the 'do not enter' signs?

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@boomerang,

Good luck to Mo. Hope he has the doggedness to actually mow the lawn when the ... <<cough>> <<cough>> novelty of the whole mowing the lawn for small change ... ne're mind.

Here's to a great work ethic being grown and nurtured! Smile

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The streets run one way on either side of the "alley", osso, so those signs are reminders to drive on the right side of the street.

You sound just like Mr. B, tsar! Like every kid, Mo does eventually get bored with things but he really, really likes tools. And this is HIS tool, and he's waited for it for a long time (I first posted this thread almost two years ago) so I think he'll stick with it -- especially if he can earn some money with it.

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@boomerang,

Maybe he can become a little mini-mowing mogul. Wink

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@boomerang,

Sometimes Mo makes me think of my best friend's son. Machine kid.

I can recall when he was little, he would scream and holler if things were too loud - unless those too loud things were machines - then he was/is happy happy dappy.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

Mo finally got his reel mower yesterday! We made him pay for 1/3 of it -- $35.00, which he earned by helping us shovel dirt off a truck and roll it into the back yard. Then he helped lay sod for a small lawn.

He's so happy! He mowed and mowed yesterday and mowed again before school today.

Perhaps, from now on, we should spell your son's name "Mow". What do you think?

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

I have an idea for a story. Its about a kid who has to cut some lawn and, hes so good at talking,
he gets the other kids to pay HIM so he would let the other kids cut the lawn with his mower.

In other words, he 'll rent it out.

David

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I have a feeling we are gonna see a Mo's mowing franchise.

http://www.jimsmowing.net/

My lawn is up for grabs. Can Mo deal?

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Good for Mo! And for you, too, boomer! You're teaching him some good lessons.

SonofEva is mowing lawns again this summer...er, actually, he's been doing it for a month already. Last year he wanted to save up money for a car. (We made him pay 1/2 the price.) Now that he has the car, we are paying for the insurance, but he has to pay for gas and repairs. So far he has three lawns, and he has distributed flyers looking for more. We didn't make him buy his own equipment. He can borrow ours, but he has to do our lawn for free...that's the deal. Hubby feels strongly that no one of any age should use power tools without someone else nearby, in case of emergency. So one of us goes with him. I usually just sit in the car. SonofEva cleared $1,000 last summer. He will make more than that this year. He figures it works out to about $25 an hour. That makes working at the mall for minimum wage seem like slave labor.

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@Eva,

Eva wrote:

He figures it works out to about $25 an hour.

EVA He'll have to drop his prices now that Mo is providing competition. Dont forget Mo has the cute factor going for him.

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Mo is such a character! I love that story and how he's on a mission now to cut
every lawn in his way Very Happy

Eva, you've raised a great kid!

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@Eva,

Eva: I'm sorry I didn't get to you with this bit of wisdom before your kiddo got the car---

-ahem: when the boyo got his car at 16(he paid for the whole thing-- He worked two summers on Long Beach Island, NJ) we agreed to pay his insurance for as long as he remained ticket-free. No speeding, no parking, no moving violations, no nuthing.

"No tickie, we pay, get tickie, you pay."

And we showed him how much it was, I think it was pretty close to what he had paid for the car.

Anyway, he drove that blue Isuzu all over Oklahoma and Texas for the next two and half years -- no tickets. Then he left home to tour with the band --- no tickets. He said he just got used to driving really well.

The bands he was with toured for 16 years, mebbe three tickets in all that time
Joe( never with the boyo behind the wheel)Nation

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@Eva,

Eva wrote:

So one of us goes with him.

and what does he pay you? (it should be something, as he wouldn't be able to do it at all otherwise)

1 Reply

@Joe Nation,

Joe Nation wrote:

Eva: I'm sorry I didn't get to you with this bit of wisdom before your kiddo got the car---

-ahem: when the boyo got his car at 16(he paid for the whole thing-- He worked two summers on Long Beach Island, NJ) we agreed to pay his insurance for as long as he remained ticket-free. No speeding, no parking, no moving violations, no nuthing.

"No tickie, we pay, get tickie, you pay."

And we showed him how much it was, I think it was pretty close to what he had paid for the car.

Anyway, he drove that blue Isuzu all over Oklahoma and Texas for the next two and half years -- no tickets. Then he left home to tour with the band --- no tickets. He said he just got used to driving really well.

The bands he was with toured for 16 years, mebbe three tickets in all that time
Joe( never with the boyo behind the wheel)Nation

Are u still paying for his insurance, true to your word ?

David

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So, I've got a corner lot, probably 6000 or 7000 square feet, lots of fencing and trees to weed-eat around, bumpy terrain, lots of down twigs and branches from the trees, and the occasional forgotten pile of dog ****. Oh, and it's hot and humid in the summer, and the grass grows fast. Also, it's about a 2000 mile commute.

Think Mo's game for my lawn?

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@dadpad,

dadpad wrote:

Eva wrote:

He figures it works out to about $25 an hour.

EVA He'll have to drop his prices now that Mo is providing competition. Dont forget Mo has the cute factor going for him.

HA! Obviously you've never seen SonofEva!

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

Eva wrote:
So one of us goes with him.

and what does he pay you? (it should be something, as he wouldn't be able to do it at all otherwise)

Frankly, he'd much rather go without us. It's rather embarrassing for a 16 year old boy to have his mother accompany him, you know. Besides, it doesn't seem fair for us to impose a rule and then charge him for following it.

We're letting him borrow the equipment, and in turn he's taking care of our lawn. That's enough. We want him to make money and save it, not pay us.

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@Joe Nation,

Oh, Joe. How I wish I had talked to you before he turned 16!

Too late now. He already got his first ticket. $188.50 for going 74 mph in a 45 mph zone. He and a friend were racing out there north of Gilcrease Museum on a deserted country road...or so they thought. They didn't see the county sheriff, but he saw them. An expensive lesson! Not only did he have to pay the fine, but now neither of them will be able to get an unrestricted license until they're 18. (Maybe a good thing.) Boys!

We've told him from the beginning that we're paying the basic insurance cost, but if he does anything that causes it to raise, he will have to pay the difference. And if he can't pay it, he'll have to park the car. He knows we mean it.

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@Omsigdavid asked

Quote:

Are u still paying for his insurance, true to your word ?

We continued to pay until he asked us not to.
He was about 20 years old and was, by that time, a hardcore metal rock drummer without much need of help.
===
The boyo was an interesting child, he's become a very interesting man. He used power tools -drills, saws, clippers, weed-eaters and lawn-mowers- on his own from the time he was about ten, I guess. I think I taught to respect them, or maybe it just came to him naturally.
=====
We had a reel mower when I was growing up in Connecticut. Every week, after my paper route on Saturday, I would mow our front, back and side yards, then go next door to the Cleary's and do theirs. For doing theirs, I was paid one dollar, for doing ours, I was allowed to eat at our supper table and like it.

Joe(please pass the mashed.)Nation

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<snick, snick, snick, snick, snick> : Reel mowers

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