Mark this day down on your calendar -- my son has achieved true American manhood.
I have initiated him into the fine art of culling American's largest crop by acreage.
How do you make a 30 kilo carnivore cringe in fear? Turn on the lawn mower.
Here I am, now operating strictly in an advisory capacity...now where did I put my beer?
[Taiwan]
15 comments:
wow you guys have gardens up there in the Chung? I gotta get me one of those.
You bet! Everyone around us has a lawn of some sort.
Michael
Michael, it is good to witness the rites of passage in action.
Cool. Sounds like I've only got a decade or so to wait before my children start to become useful too :)
I think you need a good chair or a hammock to direct operations from though - don't want to micro-manage the lad!
Looks like your son is wearing open-toed shoes, a definite risk when operating a lawnmower. Some people have lost toes due to always unforeseen accidents that have a way of happening despite carefulness.
Awesome! I was just chatting with a friend about lawns as we strolled through the nice homes in Tung Hai. The question came up: who teaches immigrants to mow the lawn when they buy their first house in America?
Your picture is a classic and reminds me of my own childhood. Only my dad would be leaning over the mower with a can of WD-40 wishing he was holding a beer!
Oh how I envy as I look out my back window at the sewage drain that serves as my back yard.
Thanks dad!
Michael, not to be a safety nazi, but I also cringed when I saw the sandalled feet of your unskilled son pushing a slice and dice at what, 500rpm, on slippery grass. He's a great guy, tell him we all want him to stay healthy and happy. Jim
MT, So cool to see the kids are old enough to mow the grass. My 5th-grade-5-footer also started to mow our yard this year; but being a protective mom rendered me lurking on the deck watching the whole time. I must agree with the other gents' observation about the young man's footwear. Socks and shoes would be safer! Love the pictures on your site; they bring back a lot of memory of my younger years in TW. And the food... to see it is torturous! I like the family dog, too. He is adorable. Someone asked how do immigrants learn to mow the yard of their 1st house. I guess most immigrants do not buy a house when they arrived, but to live in an apartment, with relatives, or at school housing. It would make sense to say they would have learned these house chores before they buy that first home.
Utilitarianism is the secret mechanism that allows a man to truly love his son, I say. For the past 2 weeks my son has rushed to my room in the morning to help me slip on my belt and celphone case.
I might even let him wash the dishes if he's a good boy.
Evolution is a beautiful thing!
Wow! I can't believe you can find the house that has a such big lawn in Taiwan. You must be a rich man. I live in Taipei, we just have a small balcony but we feel content, don't even think about a lawn. I think it's hard to find the big lawn otherwise you must be a rich man to get big house in the 陽明 mountain.
I live in Taichung, down here things are cheap!
Well, depends on where you live in Taichung, though. *sigh*
Utilitarianism is the secret mechanism that allows a man to truly love his son, I say. For the past 2 weeks my son has rushed to my room in the morning to help me slip on my belt and celphone case.
I might even let him wash the dishes if he's a good boy.
I am starting to understand the strange relationship that linked me with my father reading this. We mostly had a poor time once my teenagehood started and only had good moments doing DIY and gardening together...
Since that, i'm a fan, and have been redesigning the roof top of the place of my "in-laws" in a garden with the 350 bonsai already there.
I guess utilitarianism aint that bad! :D
(Just one thing, after mowing twice a week during 10 years our gardens (one was wonderful, the other very messy) please beware of the mower throwing stones, branches or anything hard and any level till the waist. It can really hurt...
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