Getting too old

lawn was getting pretty high so I wheeled out the John Deere L120 and started mowing. Somehow ran over a hidden stick and the belt came off. Laid on my side and tried to put the belt back without success. Hurt my left shoulder. Next morning, went down to back garage, laid down again and finally managed to slip the belt back on. I had to use a bungee cord and 15 mm wrench to hold the idler pulley open while I somehow got the belt back on. Took it out of the garage and pulled up the PTO lever. Started ahead and BANG - hit a hidden root and the belt came off again. Back into the garage. Gentlemen, I believe my lawn mowing days are over. I'm going to make a landscaper an offer he can't refuse - my tractor in exchange for a years free mowing. I have 2 acres of mostly weeds and crabgrass, clover, moss and wild strawberries. Some grass. The area around my pacemaker was also red and sore. Old age sucks. The last time I took off a TR6 wheel, I could not lift it back on and had to use a jack. Everything is somehow much heavier than it was a couple of years ago. End of rant.

To quote William Wordsworth:
[FONT=&quot]"The wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind."
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)[/FONT]

Wise choice - I have buried far too many people who didn't know when to stop - or more to the point - died falling off ladders/ shovelling snow/ lifting heavy things when they could have saved their energy (and life) for something they actually enjoyed like driving

I know how it is on Connect-eee-cut. Danged sticks and roots just grow out of the ground and kill lawnmowers.

Had a steel pole work up in Charleston (Hanahan, actually) and bend the crankshaft.

Fortunately, having worked in a mower shop in my mis-spent youth, I knew how to straighten it.

Was reading a blog about a guy who bought a bush lot in New Zealand - was mowing the lot of all that scrub and found two lawn mowers!

To top off my golden week, I have a closing Thursday with two sets of bank payoff figures - house is under foreclosure - one from the bank, one from the bank attorneys. Which one do I use? There's a substantial difference. I was awake half the night. It's 92 degrees today but you know what - I'm playing golf with an old friend. Maybe only 9 holes. With a cart of course. Am I crazy? Hey - I own a TR6 and babysitting an Alfa. That tells you something.

pdplot said:

To top off my golden week, I have a closing Thursday with two sets of bank payoff figures - house is under foreclosure - one from the bank, one from the bank attorneys. Which one do I use? There's a substantial difference. I was awake half the night. It's 92 degrees today but you know what - I'm playing golf with an old friend. Maybe only 9 holes. With a cart of course. Am I crazy? Hey - I own a TR6 and babysitting an Alfa. That tells you something.

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You fit right in with the average British car owner profile!

Francis Bacon once said, Age appears to be best in four things, old wood best to burn, old wine best to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read.

He also said, I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.

Played golf Tuesday in 95 degree heat. Hilliest course in CT. Only lasted 9 holes and barely made that. I also stupidly had a Reuben sandwich for lunch that made me thirsty beyond belief and I only had one small bottle of water. My friend got a 10 on one hole and also crapped out in the heat - and he's only in his 70's.

pdplot said:

Played golf Tuesday in 95 degree heat. Hilliest course in CT. Only lasted 9 holes and barely made that. I also stupidly had a Reuben sandwich for lunch that made me thirsty beyond belief and I only had one small bottle of water. My friend got a 10 on one hole and also crapped out in the heat - and he's only in his 70's.

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My friend and I played Connecticut National in Putnam today. We made it through 18 holes. I went through 3 bottles of water. I’m 72 and he’s about to turn 75.

Never played up there. In fact I haven't been up at that end of the State much since my racing days at Thompson Raceway back in the 1950's. The last time I saw the track it was covered with weeds. Sad. Someone said they revived part of it.

Thompson track is back in action. I’ve been there several times. They have vintage racing one weekend in June. You should check it out next year. They also have the Raceway golf course there.

Glad to hear it. I always liked Thompson better than Lime Rock. Lime Rock was too much of a driver's course - if you know what I mean. In 1955 I went to a driver's school at the old Thompson track in my Lea-Francis MG before they lengthened the track and later, drove my TR3 there several times on the new long track.