The Rites of Spring

As a homeowner in the suburbs, one of the annual tasks I perform every spring around late April/early May is to prep the lawnmower for another season of cutting grass.

This entails a number of quick steps. Screwing in a new spark plug. Installing a new filter. Pouring in a quart of motor oil, and then filling up the gasoline tank. This year however entailed an additional step I had never done before. I replaced the old lawnmower blade with a new blade. Let me tell you, that blade bolt did not come loose easily! But I persevered, and finally removed the old blade and bolted on the new one. With the old blade in hand, I went up to my wife who was tending the garden out front, and gave her an imitiation of Karl Childers from Sling Blade.

After I had replaced the blade and completed the other aforementioned steps, it was time for the moment of truth. It is the same anxious moment I go through every year. Will the mower still work? I pushed the primer several times, squeezed down on the control bar, and tugged on the starter handle. The mower made a half-hearted roar and then sputtered out. I gave the starter handle another tug, but was met with silence. I grimaced a bit, but was not surprised. The mower never starts up on the first try of the year. So, I pushed the primer a few more times, jerked on the starter handle again, and this time was met with a mighty roar that did not subside. My Sears Craftsman mower was still alive and ready for action.