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Neighborhood Attraction?


Tom_Byrne

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I was out plowing some snow the other day with the 2010 Landlord and had a person driving by slow down, honk and wave. No clue who it was. Whenever me or my wife take it out to do a chore we get the same thing: people slow down, wave, honk the horn and/or give us the "thumbs up". I know you don't see these old tractors around here much but it still seems a little strange to me. This ever happen to anyone else? Just curious....
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People are always slowing down, looking, waveing, honking, mostly laughing at me. But I'm used to the way I look. ha ha
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Had it a few times and I live on the highway. Once was with the 416 and once with the 917. I had no clue who they were either.
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It was probably me. I like to honk and wave to people I don't know just to make them wonder who and/or why the rest of the day.............. For some reason, when people honk and wave at me, they wave with the funny "You're number 1!" sign. Makes me feel good to know I'm so popular.
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I live on an active intersection and know exactly where your coming from. Cars stack up at the stop sign and you become the entertainment untill they get their turn. Now that Ive been here for 15 or so years, many people smile and wave. Some I know, some I dont. I try to return the gesture every time. My arm get a workout on mowing day. I used to wonder why so many stared but enough people have actually stopped, over the years, to chat that now I have it narrowed down. My tractors are all over thirty and people are just not used to seeing them working. I have had two gents stop and offer their old broken tractors to me. (I graciously accepted the orange one, but passed up the huffy.) I have heard from different neighbors that anyone who doesnt know my name, calls me the "Tractor Guy". Guess thats better than "That crazy f&%#er on the corner"
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quote:
Originally posted by Brent_Baumer
It was probably me. I like to honk and wave to people I don't know just to make them wonder who and/or why the rest of the day..............
I never thought of this Brent... This is a good one.... I live along the Highway also and This year since I have gotten my Cab.. I have also had people honk and wave as they go by.... I just wave and Smile ..:D
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I've seen passers-by do double takes when they see my tractor. I guess an old, bright-yellow garden tractor in regular use surprises some people. Unless it's a neighbor, nobody honks or waves at me. Others look with interest, and some smile. Then the last group of people are too focused to look to their side, and don't see me.
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I use one of those old reel type mowers without a motor on it, a walker. One day a local kid walked by and said gee thats cool can i try it,,,, i said sure,,, he cut half my lawn while i watched :)
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About 3 weeks ago I was blowing the snow off of the parking lot at work with my 2010 and 3-belt blower.Across the drive is a casey's store and in the mornings a lot of older gents drink coffee and bull#$%.Well while I was blowing snow 20' in the air,I looked over and everyone of them had there nose pressed to the glass in disbalief.One guy even drove to the lot,honked,smiled and went on his way.That would have been a great picture of them guys at the window.
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I havent had that much exposure because I live in a cull de sac,but people here pretty much keep to themselves and even though I've been here for awhile I have yet to meet a neighbor. I guess I'll go over this summer and say hello. But now that I think of it when I did live in a busier area for all of 12 years my neighbors were some of the shyest people on earth, that or just to darn busy to give a rip. Maybe this is a gift but sometime I'd swear I was invisible. In almost any setting anywhere I'm the guy who blends in with the surroundings to the point of not being noticed. Sometimes this works to my advantage.I have come to accept it and move on.
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Yes, it seems as though people like to see those old Simplicity & A/C tractors doing their thing. I'd guess it's because most are used to looking at Green machines trying to work.;)

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I live where only the neighbors drive by and they already know I am crazy,LOL I mow my grandmas grass and she lives by a buisy road...and I get alot of looks...But the best one was this commercial mowing guy that used to mow her yard before she bought the place..I was making some nice stripes one day and he kept looking over while he was trying to make stripes as well..Mine stripes looked alot better,LOL. One day I stopped to fill the gas and he walked over and said that my old tractor sure mows nice..I sometimes go to the gas station to fill up my cans on my way to her house and I get alot of people looking and asking about my old tractor...
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I don't get a whole lot of attention around my house because I live in the sticks. I say about the people who drive by, "They're either lost, or live around here." But I am familiar with the phenominom, as I have two antique cars that get a lot of rubbernecking, whooting, and thumbs. Rob
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My neighbors are always staring when I am mowing or driving through areas that their throw-away tractors couldn't go. They don't understand what a limited slip rear and a heavy tractor means. The guy across the street asked me to plow his driveway because his green tractor with blade couldn't pull itself through the snow. Said he couldn't understand why my old tractor (61 Wards) could push the snow so easily.
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I get it here too. Lots of people looking when I dug the ditch 4' wide 130' long across the back yard with a grader blade on a Landlord
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quote:
Originally posted by HubbardRA
My neighbors are always staring when I am mowing or driving through areas that their throw-away tractors couldn't go.
Same here. Thing is I live where all new houses are just built and still being built. These people get new cars every year. I mean every year. Neighbor has new Cub, this thing can't cut nothin but grass. He was amazed I cleared the back 3 acres of property with my Simplicity. Went through a lot of blades, but heck I was cutting 1'' thick mullberry bushes down and just chewing them up like a brush hog. Well they got used to that, then tilling my garden, OH yah (with my old junk) Well this is the first winter I didn't shovel, and you should have seen the faces watching my plow with my AC, so had to make sure they seen. I plowed the street too, about 500' of it. I would have offered to plow his drive but I am sure he would have been afraid I would scratch the cement. Can't wait to finish the blower and blast down the drive with that. Whatever I am doing with my old tractors the neighbors are watching. GOSH I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME. John
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Because I live on a busy road and have alot of old Olivers people are always stopping by. Most say they get off the freeway and take the old road just to see what I have new in the yard or for sale. But when I was out last Saturday on the 7013 with the blower and cab I thought I was going to have to charge admission. We got about 10 inches that morning and even the county plow stopped to watch for a while. I put a 16 in the tractor and turned up the blower a little and I guess no one had ever seen a garden tractor throw snow that far. I hate to admit it but I did show off a little and it sure was fun.
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I have an old Gravely walk behind with a sulkey seat. I get that kind of reaction when I am seen using it. People seem to love it for some reason.
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I got a thumbs up this past Sunday after plowing 3.5 to 4 hours. Problem is my 3012 runs slow because the BGB/Variable speed pulley setup is not 100%. Also I have a big driveway area and had 8" of snow. A small simple snow drop took 45 minutes; no thumbs up then. Though the first time a lot of my neighbors stared (again 2-3 hours) and one stopped to ask me to do their driveways. Two of my friends told me not to do others drive ways and the local simplicity dealer said that would be when my machine breaks! :( I saved about $300 in paying for a plowing service so far this year. :) !!! Besides the $1200+ in lawn services!:D After this year, I'll have all three machines justified ---> Kewl! 8D [img]http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/uploaded/michaelg221/PICT0001_s.JPG[/img]
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Mich, are some of your neighbors so shallow they don't want you to help your fellow man. Or are they just that jelous of a good machine.
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Dave-Actually, they were looking out for my best interests. LOL Though, I can give you a hint that I've shovelled (before getting my tractors) for an older lady and cut her front lawn which yielded her son-in-law advising me when she was selling her house!!! [:0] Was I surprised! Now I own a 3 family next to a one family and own a total of an acre in a city area walking distance to a train to NYC! When I can get my act together with a camera, I'll update my photo's with a snow plow picture, a roto-till my girl's garden picture, lawn cutting picture, grade my hugh gravel driveway pic and a just pushing dirt picture! :)
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Dang right Tom. I fish a small lake about a mile from my house and use my 7016 to tow it there. My kids ride in the boat. I get all kinds of smiles and looks but i know its that 25 year old classic that warms there hearts. I would guess its the folks that remember suburbia in the 60s and 70s that get all sentimental over these old tractors. The ones that remember well groomed short haired men and women with bufonts with a dodge polara in the drive.
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Hi I had people stare at me, when I am cutting lawns, in fact this fall I was running a vacum system with it's own engine behind my Agco Allis 1920H! I was also pulling a trailer to collect the leafs. Well I was working on an empty lot picking up leafs on a windy day with my vacum system doing a great job, and then I look and see this person standing in his yard raking his leafs, instead of concentrating on raking his leafs, he was watching my vacum suck up leafs. When I was done, I went over and asked him if he wanted me to suck up his leafs politely, he rudly said No, and I went home. A few weeks later I drove by his house with my out fit and his yard was still covered with leafs. I don't no why he was watching my outfit but I guess he was jealous that I get to use a tractor and vacum to suck up leafs where as he had to rake. Take Care Jason
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Funny thing... ...me and the boys gets that all the time, riding into town on our tractors, when we go to Starbucks. Some guy who had honked, and passed me on the road, stopped me again in Starbucks, to mention something, but it wasn't about tractors.
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