Daddy's new tractor
This I'll never forget, growing up on a tobacco farm is no life of leisure, with lots of hard work. My daddy believed in everybody working in the so called " Family Business " including his children, my mama and other relatives. My daddy enjoyed nothing better, cept maybe fishing than getting tractors and any equipment that might make it work better. Very recent to this event he had purchased a new 140 farmall tractor with all the equipment one could have to do all types of plowing and cultivating. This was his favorite tractor. I did a lot of the tractor work with my daddy, plowing and cultivating. Daddy said son, I need you to cultivate that field of tobacco nearest to our house. I said ok, but this is friday and being 16 years old, I had a date and I sure didn't want to miss it. I started with the cultivating task as asked. I was driving the tractor a little to fast in order to get finished as soon as possible. Everybody that farms knows that you have to go relatively slow to cultivate small tobacco plants or the dirt pulled up will cover the plants and cause them to smother. I had found a good speed so as not to cover the plants but still, a little too fast. As luck would have it for me, I'm moving right along and as I was watching close to make sure I didn't cover any plants with dirt, right in front of the tractor there was a 6 inch galvanized well pipe above ground about two feet, I smacked right into it, resultling with the whole front end parts of the tractor being ripped right off. There was no way to drive the tractor back to the barn. I knew that the only thing I could do was go get daddy. I started to run away thinking that oh boy was I going to get it, daddy also believed in strict punishment when we didn't do the right thing. Anyway I did finally decide to go tell him what had happened. I was surprised when he said ohhhhhhhhhh, ok, lets go get it. We had a large john deere tractor that we took the field and was easily able to get the tractor to the barn. I waited as daddy took a look at the damage, I'm still thinking boy I'm gonna get it. Daddy turned back to me and says, oh I'll get it fixed. He said, you have a date right, I said, well yes. Daddy said well go get cleaned up and get going so you won't be late, I'm thinking theres no way I'm getting away with this. I said but daddy I broke your tractor, he says well yes, but it wasn't your fault. I'm wondering what?????, he says that old well pipe, I should have taken it out a long time ago, this could have easily have happened to me. I'm thinking you never know how things might go, daddy sure surprised me on that one. Just a memory of him that stands out.