A Mower Dilemma

By Nathan Howell

Time, the defier of progress, the companion of age. As James Taylor put it, “Time goes by, time brings changes.” By the gentle turning of the clock’s slender hands and its steady click, things fall into disrepair, despair, chaos. Whether we like it or not, time is unstoppable, it brings change. Through all of this, what do we have to look up to, what is unchanged and constant? The answer . . . LAWN MOWING! Fire up that little four stroke and away you go! Time brings long grass, lawn mowing brings short grass. Is lawn mowing the only tool we have that can grab ahold of the cruel perseverance of time? Yes, it is.

I’d like to start with a question. Why do we cut the lawn? Is it because we hate plants? No, it’s because we love mowin’ season! Yes! So, what do you do if your old mower breaks down or an impulse to spend needs satisfaction? You go out and buy a brand new overengineered riding mower, right? Perhaps, but there are other options. The issue is that new lawn mowers simply aren’t good investments. Lawn mowers are overpriced, and new cheaper construction makes them easier to break and more difficult to repair. We’ve grown to expect these machines to last ten years or so and then become unsensible to fix. Why is this? There are three types of mowers in this world. The first is brand new, straight from Home depot mowers. While expensive, they do have that priceless new mower smell! The second is ten to fifteen year old mowers that “run but neds work .dog chewd the sete but csn be repared. 450 buck obo.” These mowers are prime large item trash material. What?! They came from Home Depot just a few years ago! Exactly. The other type of mower you’ll find are the “Belonged to my grandfather. 1963 and still runs like a top. Comes with what you see, plow, snow blower, and a lot of history. 950 obo.” At VUCMA, we are at a crossroads. Companionships are breaking over one issue: the mower. Is it too small, do we not trust it, or do we just want to spend money? Who knows. Needless to say, we have two options. Buy a new mower that will be broken and worth nothing in five years, or buy a good old fashioned piece of Americana that will be a constant among many future VUCMA generations.

Published June 11, 2021