In 1966 I bought a house in the country a few miles from here that had a big, real high, hill about a quarter mile northeast of it. I went up there one day just looking around and discovered an old cemetery on top of it that had some early 1800's death dates, the earliest death dates I've seen in any cemetery in this area. The next Saturday a 17 year old cousin, Don, who was a senior in highschool stopped by. In the course of our BS session I mentioned the cemetery and he wanted to go see it. We went to the cemetery and was looking at the old markers when Don noticed a pile of junk by it that included an old Yazoo lawnmower frame. It didn't have a motor or the handles but still had wobbly wheels on it and Don pulled it to the edge of the hill and said he was going to ride it down. It was one of the old lawnmowers from the 40's or early 50's that had a long frame, with a big cast iron moter sitting on the back that pulled the blade with a belt so it was plenty long enough for him to sit on by scrunching up a little.
The hill was steep and long, at least 150-175 yards to the bottom, with some places that were really steep but it was fairly smooth and no trees except a few on the left near the bottom of the hill. I advised him against trying it but he climbed on and went over the edge. He only went a few feet before the lawnmower frame made a sharp left turn and dumped him off. After he stopped rolling he said he wished he could steer it cause it would be a blast to to ride it down the hill. I went back to the junk pile and picked out a couple of pieces of old wire, wrapped them around the head of the bolts that held the back wheels on so there was about a foot of wire sticking up and told him he could probably steer it by pulling the wire against the wheels. He got on and tried it by going down the hill about 30 feet making short left and right turns. It worked fine so he pulled the frame back to the top, climbed on and said, "Watch this!"
The first 50 feet or so wasn't too steep so he wasn't going that fast until he hit a steeper part and when he did it took off. By the time he was halfway down he had to have been doing 30 mph, he was loving it and let out a big "YEEHAW!" Then he hit the steepest part and that thing really took off, as it neared the bottom of the hill it was going so fast the wires I put on to steer it with didn't have any effect. About 50 feet from the bottom of the hill it made a left turn and hit a pine tree about 6 inches in diameter head on. Don straddled the tree, one leg went on each side, and his "privates" were the first thing that hit. His upper body whipped forward, the right side of his head hit the tree and he fell sideways off the mower frame. I ran down as fast as I could, he was unconcious and the right side of his face was scraped up and bleeding pretty bad. As I was pulling him from around the tree he started groaning and coming to. We had crossed a ditch with water in it going to the hill so I ran to it, took my shirt off and wet it then ran back and started washing his face. A couple of minutes later he was fully concious but in severe pain from the damage to his "privates".
I was going to go call the rescue squad but he said no, so I started trying to get him back to my house. It took almost two hours to get him up and make the quarter mile trip. When we got to the house I was going to take him to the emergency room but he wanted to go home so I drove him there and helped him in. His parents took him to the hospital later that afternoon, he was kept a few hours for observation and sent home with instructions to stay in bed, or at least laying down, for two weeks. His "privates" stayed swollen for over a month but he was lucky they weren't ruptured. After he got over it we would talk about it and laugh, but it wasn't the least bit funny at the time.
I'm on vacation this week but it's rainy and since I haven't had much time to write stories I thought I'd put a few up. I intended to have three short "Watch This" stories in the post but the one above was longer than I thought it would be so I'll stop with it. When y'all get tired of Mississippi redneck stories let me know.
The hill was steep and long, at least 150-175 yards to the bottom, with some places that were really steep but it was fairly smooth and no trees except a few on the left near the bottom of the hill. I advised him against trying it but he climbed on and went over the edge. He only went a few feet before the lawnmower frame made a sharp left turn and dumped him off. After he stopped rolling he said he wished he could steer it cause it would be a blast to to ride it down the hill. I went back to the junk pile and picked out a couple of pieces of old wire, wrapped them around the head of the bolts that held the back wheels on so there was about a foot of wire sticking up and told him he could probably steer it by pulling the wire against the wheels. He got on and tried it by going down the hill about 30 feet making short left and right turns. It worked fine so he pulled the frame back to the top, climbed on and said, "Watch this!"
The first 50 feet or so wasn't too steep so he wasn't going that fast until he hit a steeper part and when he did it took off. By the time he was halfway down he had to have been doing 30 mph, he was loving it and let out a big "YEEHAW!" Then he hit the steepest part and that thing really took off, as it neared the bottom of the hill it was going so fast the wires I put on to steer it with didn't have any effect. About 50 feet from the bottom of the hill it made a left turn and hit a pine tree about 6 inches in diameter head on. Don straddled the tree, one leg went on each side, and his "privates" were the first thing that hit. His upper body whipped forward, the right side of his head hit the tree and he fell sideways off the mower frame. I ran down as fast as I could, he was unconcious and the right side of his face was scraped up and bleeding pretty bad. As I was pulling him from around the tree he started groaning and coming to. We had crossed a ditch with water in it going to the hill so I ran to it, took my shirt off and wet it then ran back and started washing his face. A couple of minutes later he was fully concious but in severe pain from the damage to his "privates".
I was going to go call the rescue squad but he said no, so I started trying to get him back to my house. It took almost two hours to get him up and make the quarter mile trip. When we got to the house I was going to take him to the emergency room but he wanted to go home so I drove him there and helped him in. His parents took him to the hospital later that afternoon, he was kept a few hours for observation and sent home with instructions to stay in bed, or at least laying down, for two weeks. His "privates" stayed swollen for over a month but he was lucky they weren't ruptured. After he got over it we would talk about it and laugh, but it wasn't the least bit funny at the time.
I'm on vacation this week but it's rainy and since I haven't had much time to write stories I thought I'd put a few up. I intended to have three short "Watch This" stories in the post but the one above was longer than I thought it would be so I'll stop with it. When y'all get tired of Mississippi redneck stories let me know.
,i wouldn't have wanted to be in his shoes,maybe shoes ain't the right word here
