Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1988)
“Machinery Has A Mind of Its Own’ My husband grew up as a poor city boy. He had toys, but never any Tonka toys. They say, ‘The only difference bet ween men and boys is the price of their toys.’ Well, we mov ed to a farm and started collecting machinery (toys). Living on a farm gives you the opportunity of owning several different pieces of machinery. You might have in your inventory a tractor, planter, D-4 cat, sprayer, an old one ton flatbed, an extra old one ton flatbed that doesn’t run, but is used for parts, a manure spreader, a stone boat, and an old farm car. Each piece of machinery seems to have its own personali- ty, quirks, and special needs. Well, on our farm, three motor-driven, metal monsters stand out in my mind as having their own character. Our tractor is a miracle on four wheels. It can plow, disc, harrow, plant, dig, mow, split, lift, scoop, and rototill; all in one day! Picture a grassy pasture hidden between a stand of maple and fir trees and bordering the river. Picture that spot in the morning, with the fog lying low over the field, and the grass heavy with dew. Now, picture the same piece of ground 12 hours later; a brown carpet of just-plowed fur rows, with seagulls diving down to feed on the grubs and worms. Our tractor, in just 12 hours, transformed this unused field into a potential deposit to the checking account. On a farm, one needs a vehicle that isn’t registered, in sured, safe, or pretty. That vehicle is the farm taxi. It gets you from one place to another without having to walk, and if it breaks down or gets stuck in the mud, you don’t have very far to go for help. Our farm taxi is a 1946 Willys Jeep we call ‘Jeepsie.’ Jeepsie previously went by the name of ‘Prunes,’ but after a body lift, Prunes became Jeepsie. With a ’46 body and a ’53 rebuilt engine, Jeepsie bumps along the farm roads. Her front end shimmies, her tail gate shakes, she stops when she wants to stop, and she only starts for women. Hmmm. Every farm has its family garden and every well-tended garden needs a rototiller. Our tiller may not start, but its guaranteed to last forever. Once a year, we clean the spark plugs, fill the tank with gas, rinse off the tines, pull the starter motor, then we walk into the house and call the neighbor to come and rototill our garden with his tiller that has a five year guarantee. About four years ago, the rototiller started. With only one pass over the garden plot, the ground was ready for planting. Maybe that’s why we keep the old monster. As you’ve read, machines do, indeed, have personalities, perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to part with them. Jeepsie is gone now, she returned to her previous owner, a woman. The rototiller went to a mechanic; he starts it with just one pull. But the tractor is here to stay. “Remembrance’’ Two men, sitting on a bench in a city park, reminisce about their earlier days, smiling and nodding in agreement with what living has brought to their sense of inner dignity and esteem. “George, you have lived a most fruitful life, what with all the wisdom that you have acquired. One thing I would like to ask, is: Why didn’t you stay in the position of teaching high-school English? What made you quit, after 10 years?” The other man, trim and proper in attire and profile, con templates the question, after which he forms a suitable response: “Brent, how many times have I asked myself that self-same baffling poser! I don’t know. Maybe, the old drive slipped from me, one day. Too many irons in the fire I just £^2 X°" re™e™ber’ how Freddie Strey used to stand S Jh1 a«J?OardIHe wasvmy favorite pupil, because I saw Of course, it wasn't name. Absorbed is he insomuch former student’s the Spirit of Freddie Strey cansA?^®"6 “K* nostalgia, that to die into the celestial Sphere^2^ beyond reality, One man sits, now, on an old wnncT Ujyversal Unknown, nodding as if sharing ol^nemorie.^6^11’ smiWland too. wiU soon fade from SSold «end. He, enother’s fruitful remembrance. ’ becorning in Time by Arthur Main • I I I | by Carol Pienovi aewotddbe^®JetatW^ ThexereahY^1^5 kinds ot shoes ax shoes • high tops' accepted shoest ca^\s bW a word . too. Wfo My da.ugta»^®£5. tfo °b® up Vita» suede “weird shoes. qq A for oov ¿^pped on grass to Keebocks axe Sunday. yard s^« - dressing fox chai boat shoes and® pick, hewers fox krudhohkabb . topsqtac *°'44 j-.» yjxow theyvi vaawj ^onin Rhapsody e> who generou written works i appreciation. May your fut joyable and pr See you in th *«*»• aarte Edita □50 Illuminant, 2 degree observer Density