Mowing also illustrated a difference between dad and me

Mowing also illustrated a difference between dad and me. Dad was a meticulous preparer - I, not so much. If we ran the mower over a stick or a pinecone, the stick or pinecone would catch between the rotating blade and the fixed cutting blade stopping the reel. The remedy was to shut off the mower, remove the miscreant object and restart the mower.

Dad’s approach was to ‘police’ the yard for pinecones, gumballs and sticks before he started mowing. Then he could start the mower once, complete the task and shut it off.

I was more of a go ‘til it stopped, shut it down, clear it and restart. Looking back, I am sure my method was slower and entailed more work, but my patience did not extend to extensive preparation. This characteristic has stuck with me, most probably to my detriment. Why read the manual first?

We eventually upgraded (downgraded?).to a rotary mower that was easier to use.