Summer \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Moon of the First Harvests<\/p>\n
More limbing. \u00a0Removal of weed trees, escaped amur maples. \u00a0An attractive tree but one prone to wander too freely. \u00a0I like using the limbing ax. \u00a0Internal combustion engines I don’t like using. \u00a0My dislike of them precedes but gets reinforced by my ecological consciousness. \u00a0My feelings about them come in part from an inability to work with them well. \u00a0Wrenches, screw drivers, fluids, pistons all that never leapt to my hands.<\/p>\n
Like the house, I learned all my father knew about them. \u00a0Nothing. \u00a0For example. \u00a0Car. Mower. Weedwhacker. \u00a0Lawn tractor. \u00a0Snow blower. The chainsaw is a limited and unusual exception. \u00a0And yes, I admit it, I never did anything to improve my knowledge or skills, at least not anything that worked.<\/p>\n
On another level I fantasized about those engines, read about them, watched and applauded people who did things with different versions. \u00a0Fast things. \u00a0Like formula 1. \u00a0Indianapolis 500. \u00a0Drag racing. \u00a0Sports Car Graphic and Road and Track were two of my early magazine subscriptions. \u00a0Summer nights on Madison Avenue saw Alexandria kids drag racing. \u00a0A dangerous pursuit then, seen as the acme of juvenile self-destructiveness.<\/p>\n
So there was this duality in my feelings: admiration and loathing. \u00a0As I’ve gotten older, the admiration has diminished and the loathing increased. \u00a0The Toyota folks at Carlson Toyota take care of our vehicle and I’m very glad for it. \u00a0They’re good at what they do and I can’t escape driving. \u00a0I’m left with a paradox, a contradiction, a necessary dilemma.<\/p>\n
For those of you who love them, my admiration side understands. \u00a0Totally. \u00a0For those of you like me who would not be sorry to see them go. \u00a0I’m with you. 100%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summer \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Moon of the First Harvests More limbing. \u00a0Removal of weed trees, escaped amur maples. \u00a0An attractive tree but one prone to wander too freely. \u00a0I like using … Continue reading A Closet Luddite<\/span>