They were Converse. It was a pair of shoes that my dad wore back when I was about five. Evidently it was an older pair of shoes. I say that because he wore them while he was working in the yard. This pair of shoes may have at one time allowed my dad to dunk a basketball or who knows what. My dad was an excellent athlete. For those of you wondering, that’s were I get my athletic prowess. My dad must of have worn all the luck out of these shoes.
One day, daddy had bought a brand new Murray riding lawn mower; this would only be the beginning of the grand legacy of my dad buying brand new tractors and lawn mowers. I remember very little about this day. I do remember the guys from the store delivering the lawn mower I believe. I also remember daddy trying it out. He was like a kid in a candy shop. He cut every blade of grass that even dared to pop its head up from the earth. He may have cut the grass twice that day.
If you have seen my dad, he’s not a small fella. He’s about 6’4” tall and back then weighed around 225 lb. He was perched upon this new lawn mower. He was in rare form. He was also sporting his converse shoes. This would be the first of the mishaps with those shoes. He found himself so enthralled with cutting the grass with his new toy.
Daddy was approaching a guide wire in the yard. A guide wire is that cable that is attached to a telephone pole at an angle. It helps to keep it anchored. He wasn’t sure how he would maneuver around it. He had made a couple of passes. As he got closer he began to devise a plan to get as close to the wire as possible. My dad would rather ride to cut the grass than to trim. So, he was attempting to cut down on the amount of trimming that would be needed. He had to scrape by the wire. He might even be able to eliminate trimming around that wire if he got close enough. Well, he got close enough all right. This is where the shoes come in.
You got to get the full picture. My dad likely had on those Converse shoes, no socks, no shirt, and just shorts on. He had a huge smile on his face because of his new toy. He approaches the guide wire for the last pass. He has to get close. I need to explain something.
Our neighbor, David, had a prize-winning garden. He had cabbages that were beautiful. I mean this guys garden looked like something you would see in a magazine about nice gardens. And, he loved his garden. He probably drank coffee every morning while looking at what he had grown. Back to my dad and the shoes.
My dad gets to the guide wire. His knee sticks way out from the mower because his leg is so long. As he passes the guide wire on his right, he lifts his right leg back and up. At this point, the guide wire catches his right knee. At the same time, the clutch pedal gets stuck inside his left shoe. Now, he can’t stop the lawn mower. The mower keeps going stretching him apart like a wishbone. Finally, the guide wire rakes him backwards off the lawn mower. He is lying on his back trying to soothe the pain. When he looks up the lawn mower is making coleslaw out of our neighbor’s cabbage. The mower had devoured most of the cabbage and other vegetables by the time daddy was able to get to it. This was only the debut of the terror of the shoes.
Once, daddy was plowing the garden with a walk-behind tiller. It was gas-powered. He was in the back yard getting the ground ready to plant. The tiller had huge tines on the back that dug up the ground. It had two big wheels that were self-driven. All daddy had to do is walk behind it and guide it. But, he couldn’t just walk behind it. He had to kick off the big clods of dirt from the tines as they turned. Of course daddy had on the Converse shoes.
Now our garden was pretty long at our house in Cullman. Daddy would plow one way and then back the other. When he made the turn at one end, he was kicking the dirt off the tine. He had the same get up on, no shirt, just shorts, the Converse with no socks. He picked up his foot to kick the dirt off of one of the tines. When he did, one of the tines got caught down in one of his shoes. The plow immediately threw daddy to the ground. Now, we were all inside and missing this hilarious sight. The picture now was daddy being dragged behind the plow through the garden. He said that he was trying feverishly to reach the handles but couldn’t. The plow dragged him plum through the garden on his butt.
Oh what a life of adventure I have lived just watching daddy. There is much more. Stayed tuned. I’ll eventually get them all in.
One day, daddy had bought a brand new Murray riding lawn mower; this would only be the beginning of the grand legacy of my dad buying brand new tractors and lawn mowers. I remember very little about this day. I do remember the guys from the store delivering the lawn mower I believe. I also remember daddy trying it out. He was like a kid in a candy shop. He cut every blade of grass that even dared to pop its head up from the earth. He may have cut the grass twice that day.
If you have seen my dad, he’s not a small fella. He’s about 6’4” tall and back then weighed around 225 lb. He was perched upon this new lawn mower. He was in rare form. He was also sporting his converse shoes. This would be the first of the mishaps with those shoes. He found himself so enthralled with cutting the grass with his new toy.
Daddy was approaching a guide wire in the yard. A guide wire is that cable that is attached to a telephone pole at an angle. It helps to keep it anchored. He wasn’t sure how he would maneuver around it. He had made a couple of passes. As he got closer he began to devise a plan to get as close to the wire as possible. My dad would rather ride to cut the grass than to trim. So, he was attempting to cut down on the amount of trimming that would be needed. He had to scrape by the wire. He might even be able to eliminate trimming around that wire if he got close enough. Well, he got close enough all right. This is where the shoes come in.
You got to get the full picture. My dad likely had on those Converse shoes, no socks, no shirt, and just shorts on. He had a huge smile on his face because of his new toy. He approaches the guide wire for the last pass. He has to get close. I need to explain something.
Our neighbor, David, had a prize-winning garden. He had cabbages that were beautiful. I mean this guys garden looked like something you would see in a magazine about nice gardens. And, he loved his garden. He probably drank coffee every morning while looking at what he had grown. Back to my dad and the shoes.
My dad gets to the guide wire. His knee sticks way out from the mower because his leg is so long. As he passes the guide wire on his right, he lifts his right leg back and up. At this point, the guide wire catches his right knee. At the same time, the clutch pedal gets stuck inside his left shoe. Now, he can’t stop the lawn mower. The mower keeps going stretching him apart like a wishbone. Finally, the guide wire rakes him backwards off the lawn mower. He is lying on his back trying to soothe the pain. When he looks up the lawn mower is making coleslaw out of our neighbor’s cabbage. The mower had devoured most of the cabbage and other vegetables by the time daddy was able to get to it. This was only the debut of the terror of the shoes.
Once, daddy was plowing the garden with a walk-behind tiller. It was gas-powered. He was in the back yard getting the ground ready to plant. The tiller had huge tines on the back that dug up the ground. It had two big wheels that were self-driven. All daddy had to do is walk behind it and guide it. But, he couldn’t just walk behind it. He had to kick off the big clods of dirt from the tines as they turned. Of course daddy had on the Converse shoes.
Now our garden was pretty long at our house in Cullman. Daddy would plow one way and then back the other. When he made the turn at one end, he was kicking the dirt off the tine. He had the same get up on, no shirt, just shorts, the Converse with no socks. He picked up his foot to kick the dirt off of one of the tines. When he did, one of the tines got caught down in one of his shoes. The plow immediately threw daddy to the ground. Now, we were all inside and missing this hilarious sight. The picture now was daddy being dragged behind the plow through the garden. He said that he was trying feverishly to reach the handles but couldn’t. The plow dragged him plum through the garden on his butt.
Oh what a life of adventure I have lived just watching daddy. There is much more. Stayed tuned. I’ll eventually get them all in.
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