I know, it's been a month since I posted anything. I just haven't felt very enlightening of late. When a farmer is in mid-April and basically done nothing in the field he tends to either get a case of the nervous "gotta do somethings" or else he falls into a sort of blue funk ... or some weird combination of the two.
Let's see, since the last time I wrote what has happened ? It rained ... and rained ... and rained ... (see a pattern developing here) I had a "John adventure". Maybe I should explain that ....
If I say I had a John adventure those of you who who know my friend John will probably grin and shake their head. John is every bit as impulsive as I am a procrastinator. If we are going from point A to point B in life we will start at the same time and end at the same place at the same time, but take vastly different paths getting there.
I stopped by his office a recent Saturday morning. He asked if I was busy? And in a moment of weakness I said no. He had a propane tank trailer that needed delivered to a job site. Well, actually it needed delivered the day before. He wondered if I could drive the delivery truck and follow him there while he took the trailer. Sure, no problem. It was an hour job, I figured it would take 2, still fit my schedule.
First difficulty, the trailer out back we were going to deliver would not do. I forget why, but it just wouldn't do. So he calls a customer with a couple at a grain dryer (won't be needed until fall) and tells him we are going to get one of our trailers for a temporary job and will return it before he needs it.
So we go out of town a mile to get a trailer. First one will not do the job so we look at the second one. Good, except for the flat tire. So we go back to the shop, get an air tank and return. We get enough air in the tire to get it to the shop, hook on and take off. (BTW the shop is almost 2 miles the wrong direction). We air it up, John says it will be fine ... I am hesitant.
We take off through the country headed for the job. Since I have more travel speed, John goes ahead while I put up all the hoses and lock up. I get within a mile of him and he call on the radio "Well, you were right ... it didn't make it". He is not in a good spot to change a wheel, so he is going to go on and I should get another wheel and bring it to where he is.
So I turn around and go back to the shop. I get in my pickup, grab a jack, and go out behind to a wagon that is on blocks and take off a wheel. I take it to the shop, air it up (of course it needed air) and just it gets to pressure blows the valve stem out of it.
I grab a jack, go back to another wagon NOT on blocks but with a brand new tire on it, jack it up and remove that wheel. I throw the jack in the truck, air the tire up, and take off. I did remember to go inside and grab a handheld radio.
I catch up with John the rim is totally destroyed, we replace the wheel and he goes on while I go back (about 15 miles to the office) and get the truck and head for the job site.
The job is a controlled access site. We must be escorted in and attended while there. By the time I get there John has been waiting about 15 minutes. Our contact does not respond to his page. Finally after a half hour or more we get someone to respond to security's call and come guide us in.
Bottom line, a job that should have taken just over an hour and got me home by 1:00 ... I got home after 5:00. Not bad for a John adventure.
Well, gotta run. See Y'all later.
