"AN ARRANGEMENT MADE IN HEAVEN"

 by RICHARD DRAKE
Response to Mil's "Ode to a Tractor"

I loved your little story (poem) about the tractor. It reminded me of my only experience with tractors.

In the summer before my sophomore year in high school, I got a job driving tractors on two farms. Needing a job, I went to the unemployment office in downtown Clovis to see what might be available. While there I met a lady who was looking to hire some kids to plow under the wheat stubble on a farm  in West Texas just over the state line. I applied and was hired but I had to get my Mom's approval first. She interviewed the lady and agreed to let me take the job even though it would be for about five to six weeks. So off I went with four other boys on a new adventure.

The farm was owned by four dentists from Oklahoma city so they were absentee farmers. They hired the planting, the harvesting and then the plowing of the fields to turn under the wheat stalks getting the land ready for the next year. The wives of the men would go to the farm each summer to supervise the work but, more importantly, to feed the field hands. The women were very nice and they could cook. Evidently their families were not big eaters but five teen age boys could eat a ton at each sitting. We loved their food and the women were very pleased that they had someone who devoured their meals. It was an arrangement made in heaven.

We operated the plows for about ten hours per day with a break in the morning and afternoon.  The women  would drive out in to the fields with a snack and cold drinks at break time and pick us up for lunch.  We lived in a separate house from the women and had a good time teasing each other.

The farm had five tractors. Four relatively new John Deere's and one older Allis Chalmers which was a big machine. It was a faded red color and the others painted in  the John Deere green. Since I was the largest of the five boys, I was selected to drive the monster. It was fast and loud. I would push it for all of its worth. It would fly around the fields. I found that I could cover more ground than the others.  They wanted to take turns on the big tractor but the women were afraid that the others boys might be too small. I guess that they did not realize that the tractors did all of the work. So for six days each week we plowed the fields. It was a big farm.

One afternoon, we could see a big storm brewing in the west. We listened to the weather report on the radio and learned that it was going to be a big one. At lunch the women told us that if it reached the farm, they would come and pick us up because they were worried about lightning.  In mid-afternoon the rain clouds were getting near so there was a mad dash to get indoors before the rain hit. We barely made it.  If you recall, this was in the early fifties and a severe drought was underway so rain was a seldom enjoyed event.  We all sat on the big wrap around porch and watched the downpour. To us it was a big event. The best part was we ate Almond Joys and drank RC Colas.  It was a bit of heaven on earth. The ground was so dry that the water soaked right into it so we did not miss a day of plowing.

After seven weeks this adventure came to an end.  We were promised $7.00 for each day worked so I was expecting just under $300 for the work which was a lot of money for a fifteen year old in Clovis at that time.  When I looked at my check it was almost $400.  One lady took me aside and asked me not to tell the other kids. The women had decided that I had plowed much more land than the other kids.  Thank you "Big old red".

Returning I started to look for another job to finish out the summer. I now considered myself to be an experienced tractor operator.  The father of a classmate, Marcia Kimbrough, hired me for  a two week job. It was boring work and I had to work to stay awake during the afternoons. Marcy would bring a lunch to the field for her Father  and me each noon.  The food was good but it not reach the standard that had been set in west Texas.  This job was a bit more demanding because the field was much smaller and required that at the end of each row I had to turn to the left and count five rows before I turned into the next one. 

One afternoon I was half asleep when I missed my count and had to turn sharply to hit the right row.  The hitch to the plow caught in the tread of the rear tire and flipped the entire plow onto my back and smashed my chest into the steering wheel.  The tractor came to a quick stop and I was stunned for a minute.  Mr. Kimbrough had seen me make the mistake and came flying in his pickup.  He thought I had seriously injured myself.  I was fine except for a very sore back and chest.  We had to take the steering wheel to a welding shop in Farwell to have it straightened. After that I took the turns more slowly to ensure I made the right turn.

The summer was marked in my memory as a learning experience.

PS:  I should have said more about the cooking. The women fixed all of the

basics.  Bacon, sausage, or ham with fried eggs and biscuits.  They served

mountains of fried chicken, pot roasts, chicken fried steak and baked ham.

Wonderful deserts were always available. I was going through a growing

period so it was difficult to feel me up.  It made me a favorite of the

cooks. They loved an eater. We usually ate our desserts on the porch while

we enjoyed the cooling of the evening.  I am getting hungry thinking about

it.

Those were the days when we had endless dreams about the future and no

fears.

A great time.

 

         Richard

---30----
FOR MIL'S
by Richard Drake