Lawns

No one mows their own lawn in Raymond - except Martha Ferguson and me.  The lawn business is so lucrative here that someone can make up to 50K a year, just mowing lawns.  I’ve seen countless trailers go by the house with mowers on them.  I don’t even have to look out the window to know they’re passing by.  There are two bumps in the road, in front of the house and each trailer rattles extensively as it passes by.  And the sophistication of the mowers is amazing.  There are lawn mowers that can turn on a dime, and whiz by so fast that you wonder how the driver can hang onto his hat.  Did you know that there are mowers that the driver stands on, and drives like a team of horses?

I lived in California for many years, up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, among the Redwoods.  There are no lawns there, and no one owns a lawn mower.  When I returned to Mississippi, I found myself overwhelmed with the acres and acres of extensive lawns. The Raymond Garden Club even gives out awards each month for the best ones.  I came to the realization that if I was to live here, I also had to have a lawn.  But I wasn’t going to pay someone $40.00, every other week to maintain it.  So my husband, who is a very thoughtful man, bought me my very own gas powered push mower.

This morning, I decided that I just had to mow the lawn before the approaching hurricane came in.  I was expecting company, and I wanted to be sure that the outside of my house was groomed.  Never mind that we were expecting 50 mile an hour winds, and torrential rain.  Heck, company’s comin’.  I had managed to make my way around to the front of the house, and was trying to hurry while in the sun, and then, slowing down in the shade.  Mr. Sun is harsh in the south.  The lawn mower was sputtering, and I was praying that it would run long enough for me to complete the job.  I’m sure I looked like a crazy woman, red faced, and sweating.  Then I heard this voice rise above the engine, saying, “pardon me Ma’am.”  I looked across the street at this nice young man, who was standing by his service truck at the school.  He asked me if I had ever cleaned the air filter on my mower.  I looked at him, smiling, and said absolutely not!  He said it was painful to listen to the engine, and asked if he could clean the filter.  I considered it briefly, and said sure.  One of the perks of being an old lady, is that people want to help you – especially if you’re doing something that isn’t age appropriate.  Never mind that I walk everyday and go to the gym.  Most women my age have already succumbed to osteoporosis, and wouldn’t dream of picking something up that weighed more than 10 pounds. After all, we are all supposed to be southern ladies.

But this nice young man, cleaned the air filter, and when I pulled the cord on the mower, it ignited with a clear, steady hum.  I smiled and thanked him, encouraged that I would be able to finish the lawn in time – just in time for the hurricane to arrive.