Every branch of the military has its own jargon. When I was in the Navy, we called all kinds of things by their unique jargon. For example, candy and sweets are called “Gedunks”. When a sailor or group of sailors are caught “goofing off”, it’s called “Sky Larking”. “Sky Larkers” are also called “Yard Birds”. Well, I’d better not list any more Navy jargons, since that would deviate from the thesis of this story and I’d be in danger of losing my “Safe Surfing” endorsement on many of them. Maybe some other time I’ll write about this subject, describing “clean” ones only, when I’m probing around inside my brain for story ideas. As previously mentioned the term “Yard Birds” is used to describe any group of sailors who are loitering around and not attending to their duties. This is indeed relevant to this story.

 

When Tim and I were old enough, we were expected to do the lawn mowing chores. Our lawn was very large and it took a valuable chunk out of our day when we could have otherwise been engaged in our usual mischievous endeavors. Consequently, we always put off mowing the lawn as long as we could get away with it. When the grass got too tall, Uncle Ned would say, “You’d better get on that lawn or we’ll have to bale it.” That would have been fine with us since in those days, we liked to bale hay. In addition to that, our Grandmother “Ollie” would say, “This place looks like hillbilly haven!” After those two admonitions, we usually started on the lawn, albeit reluctantly.

 

The first lawn mower I can remember was a Reo. Eureka! I took a brief respite at this point, checked Google, and actually found a pic of a Reo lawn mower circa 1953, just like the one we used to have! (See pic below.) What was really neat about this mower was that it was self-propelled. We used to start it, then let go of the handle and watched it meander all over the lawn. We used to be very amused since it always “went curly” as we called it. The one problem with a circular blade mower was that it left dandelion stems and other weeds in the mowed lawn. Among the many things I remember about the old Reo was that it had a small silver colored steel cable for the pull starter. However, I remember we did break it one time.

 

After the Reo wore out or very likely, had too much of a mind of its own as a result of “going curly” too often, we got a Lawn-Boy rotating blade mower. Excuse me while I check Google for a pic of one…Rats, all I could find were modern ones with the goofy lawn bags. The old Lawn Boy had a 2-cycle engine and we had to mix the gas and oil, which, was a real pain. Another aggravation was that the mixture resulted in a lot of smoke as the engine ran. It just smoked too much but then again, at that age Tim and I smoked too much too!

 

Since our lawn was so big, we always wanted a riding mower so at least the mowing chore would be fun and faster. We always badgered our parents to get one. We even went to the local hardware store where they sold them. The owner, Lyle Shoop, always said, “Those boys don’t need a riding mower.” Our parents agreed. I think the real reason was since they were so expensive; they didn’t want to shell out the money to pay for it. This was in the days before credit cards. Even if they had those then, I seriously doubt they would have gotten one anyway.  Our parents were never ones to get the latest trendy gadgets and marched to the beat of their own drums. Being the same way, I guess that’s where I got that from as well. That’s why when people see me they won’t see a cell phone hanging on my belt. Among other reasons for not being trendy, I don’t want anyone to be able to get a hold of me so easily most of the time. Oh well, before I get off on yet another of my renowned side tracks, I have a story about this very thing and will post it in the near future…

 

Our next mower was purchased at Hecklemans and of course was another push type. I think our grandmother “Ollie” bought if for us. Unlike these days, all the mowers had steel wheels, real rubber tires, a choke, and a throttle. I remember it took 4 tanks of gas to do the entire lawn. When we bought it, Tom at Hecklemans said to us, “Keep oil in it or you’ll burn ‘er right up”. We did have one problem with this mower. There were the remnants of an old sidewalk that led to the front of the house. There were old thin sandstone borders of sandstone sitting on edge that stuck just above the ground. Every now and then, we would hit one and break the “frog” on the mower blade. The “frog” held the blade onto the shaft. (See drawing below). We would then have to go get a new “frog”. Why they called it a “frog”, I have no idea. One time when we were tired of mowing and took one of several breaks, during one of which, we saw a very long lead pipe lying in the grass by the house. To the best of my recollection, it was probably 20 or more feet long. What it was doing there, we had no idea. We figured it would fit the muffler threads, which it did. We took the muffler off and screwed the pipe into it. After we started it, the exhaust finally got to the end. It sounded cool too. After amusing ourselves with this for a while, we took it off, replaced the muffler, and continued mowing. We used this mower for years. I’m not sure if it’s due to a guilty conscience or not, but the mower I have now is a push type. I guess I figure I need the exercise so I won’t get fat and sassy. Hmmm, the fat part is not a problem, but I’m not so sure about the sassy! I was going out and take a picture of my lawn mower, but its 6:30 in the morning (I’m like bread dough that’s had too much yeast in it, we’re both early risers). In addition, it’s raining, so I think I’ll take a “rain” check. I see that practically everyone has a riding mower these days regardless of the size of their lawns. I figure they get these so they can talk on their cell phones while mowing the lawn. Oh well, be that as it may, the “mower” the merrier! J