Kinda makes me wonder......

I was raise in the shadows of NYC (45 miles by road) on the NJ side. In the "burbs" till I was 16. That vid that someone posted a link to with that goofy song and JD garden tractor got me to thinking......I know, really dangerous and a 1st. But I wonder just how many city boys were never as lucky as I was to move to a farm area and never got to run a real tractor! Heck we all played with toy ones when we were kids! Even in NJ in the early 60's. I called a childhood friend and ask him if he ever got to drive a real tractor. Now he wants to come and visit (really wants to drive a big tractor). Closest he's been is a Snapper rider. He knew I was on tanks and thought that was cool but when I told him about having seat time on a 5 yd loader, scraper, grader, dozer up to and including a D8 plus farm tractors from the little 8N up to 4X4 JD's, well he really wants to run one now! I mat even be real nice and let him try running my backhoe!

He is still very near to where we grew up.

Rick

I was one of the ones that posted that video with that parody on the song "Pontoon". It would have been more appropriate if the guy had been using a full size tractor but in his defense he does identify it as being a garden tractor in the song.That being said, having grown up on a small farm we all got to get seat time on a lot of different tractors and pieces of equipment (even had the unique experience of working on a threshing rig once).I would not trade those experiences for anything. Bill

I was raised in what has become very city now but back then it was fairly open. At thirteen I road my bike about a mile to a farm everyday just over the state line into MI. First tractor was an AC, I think 48 cannot remember the model. They had greenhouses and I used the tractor to pull a flat bed wagon full of flats to the many greenhouses. Made every opportunity I could to drive that tractor.

former small town city boy here, married a small
town city girl 45 yrs. ago, raised 2 sons in city.
16 yrs. years ago oldest son bought 20 acres in
country, 2 years later i bought 10 acres 1 mile east
of him, 2 years later youngest bought 20 acres 1
mile east of me. we all built homes and now full
time country living complete with tractors, hay
production and a few head of cattle. did i mention;
dogs, cats, chickens and various other "rage
inducing" critters.

You just got me to thinkin', those of us who grew up farming kinda take it for granted. But when you stop and think about it there are literally millions of people in this country who only see tractors in movies and TV,(and that ain't very many). They wouldn't know how to even get on one much less operate it. I have always felt blessed by living in the country all my life.

Rick,
LOL, before moving to York in Feb '08 the biggest piece of "AG" equipment I ever had was a 6hp push lawn mover. Grew up 20 mile east of NYC. Never even owned a chainsaw. Fact is I grew up with a strong desire to be a Iroquois Indian but for 45 years was stuck in suburbia by birth. Iroquois said "build house on hill not too far from water" or something like that. Well, my house is on a ledge 60+ ft above sea level about 1/4 mile from the Atlantic Ocean. I stil want to farm. The wife and kids keep me "tied" to the rat race that is suburbia.
First winter here mature Eastern White Pine, 50-75 ft tall, started to fall. "Tree guys" wanted a arm and leg to drop/clear them.
Got my '66 Ford 4500 TLB. Been clearing them myself ever since. Got a Echo 600P saw, great Japanese made saw.
The rip is I still work in NYC and when the stuffed shirts I work with show me pics of there boats or cars or whatever i say WOW that's nice.
But let me show you Hercules. When I explain it weighs over 10K and can break out several K's they are left speechless. Show them pics of 12+ ft 20+ inch logs suspended several feet off the ground.
Wow, your nuts, thats unreal. Yeah, where you are born shapes your life and especially your "toys".

Growing up on south Shore I Long Island I sailed Hobie Cats for years, owned several boats over my younger years. We would wave jump the swells to get the 16 ft Hobie airborn!

Pete

LOL Pete, I grew up in New Shrewsbury NJ 2 blocks from Red bank NJ. Most of the locals commuted to NYC to work via train. When dad retired and we went to move most of my buddies nor I could really have an idea what country living was all about. I had loved equipment form the time I was very small but never dreamed I would ever plow or do other field work. Getting to run a D8K and 5 yrd loader was cool too.

Shortly before I retired from the Army my mom signed the farm over to me. The wife and kids were here already. I came home on a 2 week leave and was mowing lawn.....and enjoying it! Then it hit me that for the first time in my life I was mowing my lawn. A couple of years later I plowed the fields, about 70 acres total. Really enjoyed that too as I was plowing my land. Too bad it was for a renter and not for me. Next week I'm going to plow about 10 acres for my first crop on my land and am I ever excited! Makes it even better with MY tractor and MY plow!!!! 1st real tractor (not a garden tractor) I drove was a NF Farmall Super C. Then a MM U. I follow those up with a couple of Farmall 560D's and an 826. The following year I put over 1K hours on a 7700 JD combine working for a custom crew. Best complement I ever got as a civilian was "for a city boy you aint too bad a combine operator". Kinda sad but when we were 5-8 years old me and my buds could watch construction equipment all day. Of the ones I'm still in contact with I'm the only one who ever got to operate any that I know of....(1st was a JD MC I ran at 17) much less own any! I own a TLB and use to have a small dozer that never got past the project stage.

Makes me sad for all those kids growing up that like tractors and such but will be stuck where they are for life. Makes me grateful that I'm one of the few lucky ones!

Rick