Sam in the Sun

Fair warning to the reader. This story is none too short. But like anything in life, sometimes the best things turn out to be those for which we wait the longest. The Riding Mower is such a tale. The twists, turns, and even the straight lines lead to a rich harvest well worth the time spent sowing by the author and reaping by the reader. I promise, and I can make that promise because I am the one to whom it happened. And this is the it that happened: Quite possibly it was because my mind was on something other than what it should have been focused. Quite possibly it was because, under the circumstance, I should have been nowhere near a piece of machinery, heavy or otherwise, but the way the day started gave no hint of what was yet to come. On a warm and sunny Florida morning in August 2008, I decided to mow my parents' lawn. Since it is a small town with only one blinking light, and because I had little to do otherwise, I had spent a great portion of that summer's visit ...

My dad always told me that you should not borrow something if you cannot afford to replace it. Well, dad, if I could afford to replace it, why would I need to borrow it in the first place? It is probably not a good sign when the recycled desk items from people leaving your work place is larger than the stockpile in the office supply storeroom. How come it is called cake if it is really Rice Krispies covered in icing? Just because a person dies doing what they wanted to do doesn't mean they wanted to die. Nature doesn't forgive stupid. For women, losing an eyelash at age 40 is a lot like a man getting a flat tire...and not having a spare! The older my dad gets, the worse he is with his cell phone and the better he gets with any television remote.