I said goodbye to an old friend yesterday: the lawn mower that I first pushed across lawns over twenty-one years ago now has a new owner. I put a wildly-popular ad on Craigslist earlier this week and sent it home to the first person who brought me the cash.
I had sold it once before, about five years ago to my buddy Scott, but got it back from him when he no longer had a need for it. I used it here until I decided I needed a mulching mower, at which point it took up its new home in the garage for the past two years.
Somewhere in my parents’ scrapbooks is a picture of a 125-pound me with the machine that launched my lifelong lawn care obsession. Goodbye, old friend! I hope to see your work as we pass by your new home on our occasional trips to visit Kelly’s parents.