Oh, I wish I had the energy to write about CNN’s bad, no good, terrible week today. But I’m just beat. I finally got a chance to cut the grass today, after weeks of constant rain, and of course that means tall, thick, not entirely dry grass.
And in the midst of it, the lawnmower decided that it needed a new hole.
I’m the type of person who will use something, fixing it, until it’s beyond repair — to make the most of everything, because, hey, a good tool deserves to be ridden into the ground and die on the field of battle, not tossed out when it isn’t shiny anymore. I’ll never understand people who have to have the newest, shiniest gadget — because I take a liking to the ones that serve me well. So I’ve been gradually dealing with the old lawn-mower issues as they crop up. Replacing what can be replaced. Fixing where I can.
Cutting the grass is, aside from being a major chore, a sort of zen thing for me. I can put all my thoughts into whatever story is bouncing around in my head, because mostly it’s rote physical labor. And it’s a job well done, by the end. Often I’ll mow until I’m about to drop in the wicked heat and humidity here, since I do it all with a push mower (because I need the exercise… and the aforementioned zen). This mower is near ten years old, and it has seen its share of rough treatment and replacement parts.
Now… I think it’s dead. There’s a nice, big gap in the actual body of the mower. I’m not sure that can be patched, within reason, and I’m not sure I want it spitting anything I hit out of that new hole at my face. So it may be time to lay the mower to rest.
But hey, my lawnmower is still having a better week than CNN!