Goodbye, Little Johnny

In June of 2007, Cliff and I were strolling through a tractor show when we saw an older John Deere garden tractor for sale. At first the price seemed steep, as I recall. Then Cliff called our son, a John Deere aficionado, and asked him some questions about various models: which ones were more durable, which ones were worth the most, and so on.

We came upon this fellow riding around the grounds who loved the John Deere 322 model so much that he owned three of them. He sang the praises of his tractors.

We were in need of some sort of riding mower, and when you consider the price of the new “disposable” models at Walmart, one of these older John Deeres seemed like a better buy; these babies were built to last!

Just a day or so after the tractor show, we saw a 322 for sale in Buckner, just a fifteen-minute drive from home. Cliff looked it over and called our son.

We bought it, and Cliff was ecstatic to have a two-in-one package: Something with which to mow the lawn plus a classic little collectable that he could take to tractor shows if he wanted to. We named the tractor “Little Johnny”.

It came with a blade and wheel weights, which Cliff soon sold on Craigslist because we didn’t need them.

Fast-forward a year: Cliff’s sister and her husband left their farm nearby and moved to St. Louis because that’s where the jobs were. Brother-in-law Pat had a newer John Deere riding mower that he wouldn’t be using, so he brought it here for safe-keeping and Cliff began mowing with it instead of Little Johnny.

Yesterday we put Little Johnny on Craigslist for the same price we paid for it, and I swear to you, two guys would have duked it out over that little tractor if they had shown up at the same time. They wanted it badly! The first guy to show up with cash in hand got the tractor. (This is where you say to yourself, "We should have asked more for it.)

So now Cliff has $2,000 in his tractor fund. By the way, I’m not at all sentimental about Little Johnny. It was a recent addition that held no ties to the past for me. I’m just glad Cliff replenished his tractor fund… he was almost at the point of having to use my weekly grocery allowance to work on "Big Ollie", his 1855 Oliver. Everybody’s happy.

Especially the guy who loaded up the tractor and took it home.

The end.

Great day yesterday, but costly

Cliff took a vacation day yesterday, since the forecast was for near-seventy temperatures and the wind wasn't going to be hurricane-force: In other words, it was a great day for a motorcycle ride.

I printed off those Quiznos coupons for a free sandwich: One for me, one for Cliff. They put your name on your coupon, and you have to show I.D. That's to prevent one person from printing off multiple coupons and eating free for a month.

Then we were on our way.

We first went south to pick up the old laptop, which the computer-geekie guy fixed so it would quit freezing every time I tried to run the antivirus. We came back home to use the facilities and leave the laptop, then headed east; there's a furniture store we've often patronized eight miles from here, and we were in the market for a new Lazy-Boy recliner for Cliff. He's never been comfortable with his old worn-out one; says it's too big. We browsed, Cliff tried out various ones and found the one he wanted; we also admired and tried out some Lazy-Boy couches, but our old couch was just fine; checked out box springs and mattresses. Told the guy we'd probably be back in a day or two.

By this time it was noon, and we chose a back way to Blue Springs so we could eat our free lunch. There was no problem finding the Quiznos. Now normally, when Cliff and I eat out, we ask for water as our drink, simply because soda can add an appreciable sum to the tab. But we agreed that would be a low-down, cheapskate thing to do, since the meal was free otherwise. We ordered a small drink, and our free meal became a three-dollar meal. No biggie. We're pretty sure we prefer Subway sandwiches, though, now that we've tried Quiznos.

"Since we're in Blue Springs anyhow," I suggested, "let's see what kind of prices Brown's Furniture has on Lazyboys."

Cliff agreed that was a great idea, so after we'd stopped at McDonald's for dessert (ice cream cones) and coffee, which doubled the cost of our free lunch, we browsed through more furniture. The chairs and couches there were twenty per cent cheaper than those we'd seen at the other store. We bought a Lazy-Boy couch along with the recliner, because we haven't had enough comfortable places for people to sit when we have company. The price of a free lunch just skyrocketed.

We rode home, exchanged the motorcycle for the car and a trailer, and went to get our purchases. Cliff called our daughter to offer her our perfectly good seven-year-old hide-a-bed couch, called a couple of muscular neighbor boys to help move furniture in and out, and I'm now stuck with the problem of matching curtains and pictures to our new furniture. Who knows how much that will cost?

Thanks, Meesha, for the Quiznos tip. You've cost us a cotton-picking fortune.

So, are we getting THAT old?

Cliff and I have noticed we're going to doctors of one sort or another quite regularly these days.

I visited my dentist last month, followed by an appointment with an oral surgeon. Then there was a visit with my orthopedist to figure out what to do with my knee. I have more appointments scheduled with my dentist next Friday, and the next.

Yesterday I had knee surgery, so of course there's a follow-up visit with the orthopedist in two weeks.

Cliff sees his heart specialist (routine yearly visit) December 27.

Good grief, Gertie.

Thank God for health insurance.