Wouldnt you?

Would you?, originally uploaded by knledford.

When I was really young, maybe 4 or 5, I remember my Grandpa riding his old blue tractor down around our big ole barn and through the fields at his house. It's seat was rusted and the padding was his old fannel shirt he'd thrown accoss it. I was raised a tomboy, as you may have noticed from my "cowboy" post. From as far back as I can remember he'd have me out doing something, whether it was building porches or working on cars. I remember he'd drink coffee all the time, and of course I had to have some too. Secretly it would make me gag but whatever he did was fine with me. I recently was walking around my grandpa's barn and saw his old blue tractor. It reminded me of when I was little, he'd let me drive it around. I'd sit in his lap and he'd get me going, then without warning he'd just jump off, I remember him saying " you can do it, just turn the wheel away from anything bigger than you." Thinking back, it seems like a sweet story of trust and love. I know now I play with my neice Summer, I try to remember that and let her be independent, however, turning her loose with a battery-ramming tractor might seem abit much. In all my thinking back about how sweet my Grandpa was, I remembered that, that old blue tractor, with all it's charm, didn't have any brakes. And the only way of stopping it was pushing the clutch to the floor and pulling on an old choke at the same time. Granted I was maybe 5 years old, my legs couldn't have been that long. However, given the errors of this machinary and taking into account the fact I was five, I never once killed or mangle anyone. My Grandpa would walk along behind the tractor, not a hint of doubt on his face. Maybe he really did know what he was doing. He's not around anymore so these reflections of then are all I have, what memories to leave a child with though, if you think about it, as an adult you realize it isnt the fact he was nice enough to let you drive, it was the fact he trusted you to do so. And in the end, wouldnt you want to be known for that?