[AT] Spam> Re: Fw: IH 350 u TEST ??

[Indiana Robinson]

Cecil Bearden wrote:

> 
> I got to thinking about these tractors nearly 50 years old.  They still 
> have a lot of power, but the small things that need to be repaired would 
> cost more than they are worth if you had to take it to a dealer.  It 
> takes me a long time to do small projects now, and I am ashamed that it 
> takes so long.  I don't know if it is because I spend so long looking 
> for the correct part or with my broken back I have to have a lift to 
> pick up anything over 30 lbs or my arthritis and carpal tunnel that 
> causes me to drop bolts three times when assembling something. When it 
> comes to starting threads, I have to look at my hands they go to sleep 
> when I grip anything...  It just takes a long time to fix anything 
> around here.  Then I have to put up with my 87 years old father telling 
> me every move to make and standing between me and whatever I am working 
> on.  I have to move him or walk around the tractor to get anything.....  
> It is like trying to rebuild a tractor in an  obstacle course.  The 100+ 
> degree weather does not help a lot either. 
> 
> I used to install double clutches in Massey Fergusons in 2 hours, 
> rebuild hydraulic systems in an afternoon.  Now it takes 2 days to 
> change a set of rear tires.  1 tire a day!!!
> 
> If I had known that I would have lived this long, I would have taken a 
> little better care of my body. 
> 
> Am I the only one who has this problem?
> 
> Cecil in OKla
> _______________________________________________

================================================


	Welcome to the club Cecil...   :-)
	The only reason I have been on line so much this week is that I'm 
fighting a slowly improving back problem. It seems that almost 
everything I do takes longer these days.
	I identify with the father problem too. His mind began failing badly 
the last 5 years of his life (Alzheimer's) and it isn't the loss of 
memory that is the problem but the personality changes. He began 
intentionally sabotaging me and doing things like stealing the caps off 
of the valve stems of anything I left parked near the shop. If I would 
be driving a tractor in or out the drive he would amble across in front 
of me and make me stop under some childish pretense. It was shortly 
after his death that my mother's mind started going. Her deterioration 
was slower than his and lasted over 10 years, getting just a little bit 
worse everyday. Her last 5 years almost broke us...  We were dealing 
with Diana's mom at the same time. She lived with us for several years 
and she was legally blind and walking only with a walker. She also had a 
round with serious cancer during that time. After her cancer fight 
(which she won) she began calling on Diana more and more to do 
absolutely everything for her. Many nights she would wake Diana up to 5 
or 6 times a night for little things like adjusting her chair or to get 
her a pillow etc. She stayed awake all night and slept all day. One day 
two of Diana's brothers approached me about their mom. They were seeing 
what dealing with their mom and my mom was doing to her and were 
becoming concerned. There were 8 children and all but one agreed with 
them that their mom needed to be moved to a nursing home to save Diana. 
It also turned out to be the best thing for her mom. She just turned 92 
and all of the activities at the home have really revived her. Her mind 
is still pretty sharp. She plays bingo by memorizing the cards while 
holding them up to her face for a minute where she can see them.
	My mom got to coming out every time she saw me go in the shop and just 
plain not let me work. As the personality changes hit her she became 
bitter and hateful most of the time and it just kept getting worse. She 
would spend hours complaining about everything on the planet. She didn't 
need hours, she could suck the absolute life out of a room in three 
minutes... My sister came up from Pensacola for a week and said that she 
didn't know how I was even still alive... After we finally placed her in 
a home (assisted living facility) they had trouble getting anyone to eat 
with her. She was just dragging them down. The toughest thing I ever did 
in my life was to force her kicking and screaming into a room at a 
mental facility. They had called me to come to the local hospital to 
move her because they couldn't manage her enough to move her.
	I'm doing better now but I still have trouble making myself work in 
that shop... I have considered putting up a new one and burning that one 
down...
	Its ironic that my memory is so bad except for a lot of things I would 
like to forget.
	I'm currently retiring from baling hay to sell and spending more time 
in both shops. Things are slowly shaping back up. I worked in the farm 
shop yesterday and was enjoying it again. Heck, I even got somethings 
done.   :-)




-- 


"farmer"


I wouldn't
	 mind being absent minded so bad if forgetfulness
could just be a little more selective. Just last week I
was saying so to "whats-her-name..."



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Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net