I grew up in Indiana, with three brothers and a sister. While we didn't farm that much of our own. My brother and I would hire ourselves out for spring field work. This gave us the opportunities to operate several makes and models of the neighborhood tractors. Looking back this was a wonderful chance to see who had what. I fell in love with them all. One particular spring we were hired by a farmer who had a Cockshutt 40 gas and 50 diesel. My choice was the 50 because of the raw honest power from this machine. My brother prefered the 40 because it wasn't as 'Dirty' as the 50. We rolled to the field. My brother wanted to strike the field with me to follow. after about 3 or 4 rounds it became apparent that I was faster then he was, after several attemps of hollering at him to get out of the line and follow, were to no avail. His competive spirit would not allow it. Instead he decided that he needed a higher gear to stay in front. This seemed to work. (Showoff) After about two passes later, with me still bringing up the rear. He came out at the end of the field and disappeared into a cloud of steam rolling out from under the hood of the 40. I stopped to find that he now has a blown head gasket. and out for the day. after a few barbs from me, he limped the tractor home, leaving me with a whole lot of field to finish. after a few hours I found a lot of humor in his misfortune, and intended to let him have it. Just as I was finishing the last end row, he pulled back into the field with the 40. Minus a hood and grill, ready to go with a new head gasket in place. a little late but ready to go. Tomorrow, We'll go gang plown'again. 20 plus years have past since the time of this story. Since then I have lost my brother, but have many stories like this one that remind me of just how lucky I am, to have spent time on the farm, with many fond memories and better memories of friendships. Dewaine, TX, entered 2002-12-30 My Email Address: Not Displayed |