The Rose Garden - Part Two

It would help to read The Rose Garden (a.k.a. The Mower Incident) first to understand this story.

I've spent the last month helping to move my mother off her 5 acre property and into palliative care. Today was one of the last trips I had to make and it involved moving a ride-on mower back to my place so I could sell it. There's a little history here, some of you may remember the story I posted about Sally the shop dog, some ear protectors, rose bushes and the ride-on mower, anyway, suffice to say she doesn't take to the big mower very kindly nowadays.

The mower is a 1999 model 12.5 HP 38" cut MTD Yardman with a bagger on the back that I brought home from the USA. This thing weighs a considerable amount and I had to get it into the back of my Hilux ute which sits about 3.5 feet off the ground. Being the adventurous type, I decide that if I go fast enough, I can drive it off the garden retaining wall and into the side of the ute. I can't go straight into the back or the ladder rack will decapitate me. I back the ute up to the wall, push the mower into position, smooth the runway and fill a few holes - then start the mower. Exit shop dog - Labrador becomes greyhound and is lost to posterity. Bugger! Forgot about the mower incident!

Oh well, being task oriented, I thought I'd get the mower on the ute and go find the dog later. I aim the mower carefully at the gap and open the throttle, charging through the gears to quickly get to maximimum speed. I line up at the launch point and actually remember to duck under the carport eave just in time. The front wheels hit the ridge formed by the railway sleepers on top of the wall and bounce happily across the 8 inch gap, landing on the very edge of the truck. The bottom of the deck hits the wall and makes a grinding noise, slowing my progress. This is a worry because the rear wheels need the speed to leap the gap between the wall and the truck tray.

I shouldn't have worried, the rear wheels hit the wall and bounced the mower over the gap. Then I realise the front of the mower is about to go over the other side and I spin the wheel. As the mower finishes bouncing, it settles straight-up-and-down the truck, right in the middle. I'm left sitting on the mower, grinning from ear to ear and swearing I'd never do anything like this again. Of all the things that should have gone wrong, I got lucky and landed perfectly, God obviously looks after his fools.

Anyway, what has this got to do with Sally the runaway shop-dog? Well, after I tied down the mower I went searching for her in the truck. After a few minutes I see her playing in another property with a smaller dog. As I didn't know the owner, I stopped outside and called her. And called her, and called her. Finally, swearing none-to-softly to myself, I drive onto the property and up to the homestead. The owner of the property has an injured leg and hobbles to the door. I tell him I need to get the dog and he nods, no problem.
"What are you doing with the mower?" says he. "Taking it away to sell it" says I. "Hang on a tic", he says, and ambles off, returning a minute later with a phone in his hand. He calls someone and tells him there's a guy in his driveway with a ride-on mower for sale. Then he asks me some questions about the machine and relays the answers to the guy on the phone. He nods a few times, "uh huh, uh huh" and hangs up. Then, "if you want a quick sale, my boss lives 5 minutes away and will probably buy it"!

I pick up my jaw and ask for directions - which he gives me. Shop dog is sitting by the door of the truck and jumps obediently inside when I get there. I drive over to this guy's place and he looks at the mower, then goes inside to fetch his SWMBO. She asks some more questions then wants to go for a ride. As it turns out, she's the one who will use it. He has a tilt-tray truck which he backs up to the side of my ute, and I drive the mower off, easy as you like! SWMBO gets on and charges around the place leaving a wide mown swathe everywhere she goes.

Anyway, she loves the thing, so she hops off and heads back inside. Two minutes later she comes over to me and hands me $2300 Oz, in cash! Now, I only paid US$600 for the mower and US$250 for the bagger. Oz$2300 was about US$1250, so you can imagine I didn't complain. Feeling a little light headed, I got into the truck and drove home, scratching shop dog behind the ear all the way.

I never would have thought that an event over a year ago (scaring the bejeesus out of the dog with the mower) would turn out to be the first link in a chain of events that would help me to have such a successful sale later on.