WORKING ON THE FARM

                   Dad was still in the navy when he moved us to Michigan , but he still bought a house and moved us in while he finished his time in before he retired .The farmer up the road noticed us boys in the yard a while after we moved in . His wife first came down and asked our parents if it was alright for us to mow their yard . Which it was okay for us to do so .  This went on for a while before the son noticed us .
                   At that time this was the way things were done . It may still may be so I am not sure . Back to my story the son came over to the house when my dad was home on one of his passes . They stood out there talking for a while but later on that day my dad told to be ready to go to work for J.M. tomorrow . Well the next day we got up early and got dresses some old jeans ,shirt and some work boots . J.M. came by that mourning in an old International Pick Up . Let tell first about J.M. he was a big man . Tall and a big build lots of muscles .He had a deep voice with lots of base in it ; as a man his size would . As in the case with most mid west farmers he did not talk much . But when spoke you listened . Turned out he was a teacher at a near by school and wrestling coach ,which explains one reason for his size .
                Well when got to the barn he explained what he needed us to do . Then that big man got up on the tractor before he started it he said one thing that stuck to me through most of my life . It the one statement the was the core of my work ethic the rest of my life . It took a lot of meaning because of his size up on that tractor and with that base in his voice .  He said " IF I HAVE TO GET OF THIS TRACTOR YOUR GOING HOME ! " . I will have you he never ever got of that tractor during all those years I worked for him .