Category: Life with Pratts

Sorry I missed your call. I was outside, taking advantage of the good weather to finish up the Autumn yard work.

After 20 years of reliable winter service, it’s time to let go of my trusty and somewhat rusty MTD Yard Machines snow thrower. Those loose bottom belts are for the auger, but the problem that prompted me to open up the gearbox was the difficulty in pushing the snow blower when the traction control isn’t engaged. It keeps grabbing, with a “chug, chug, chug” effect. The gear plate has seen a lot of wear, and it’s covered with fine metal shavings.

The new snow thrower is, like my old one was, a Consumer Reports Best Buy, the Troy-Bilt 2410. It’s currently on sale for $629, which isn’t the lowest price it’s ever been, but I can’t risk waiting for a better deal. You can pretend the two snow blowers are cats or dogs looking up at the camera, like the countless pet pictures everywhere online.

The tires are smaller and closer together than on the old beast, which is good for moving around in the garage. The engine is equivalent to 6.5 HP, compared to the 8 HP Tecumseh on the old one, which still starts and runs great, but a 24-inch model with a more powerful engine costs $900. I’m not praying for snow, but I’m looking forward to giving the Troy-Bilt its first run.

I suppose people might not recognize my voice if I were to post old airchecks from my time as a poor, struggling radio DJ. A similar phenomenon happened to me when I heard an old recording of my mother. She had recently graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, finishing when Grace Kelly was starting there.

When I first heard this record of my mother performing a test reading for a scene in a play, I honestly did not know it was her. Not until the other performer gave her name. Mom had obviously received training in voice acting for performing on radio. The guy had a distinctive Fred Allen style of speaking.

Mom gave up acting after marrying Dad. With six children, including two sets of fraternal twins, some people assumed we were Catholic, but we weren’t. My parents joined a support group called Parents of Large Families that was featured in Parade Magazine. The timing was as bad as could be, because we appeared in the Sunday, November 24, 1963 issue, two days after the assassination of JFK.

In the picture below that’s me with my hand over the tail light.

I’m in Surprise, Arizona, waiting for confirmation that the closing on the sale of my late parents’ house in Sun City West has happened. In Arizona this is done without a face-to-face between the seller and buyer, through a third-party title/escrow outfit. Since my father’s stroke, less than two years ago, I have accomplished more than any trustee ever!