Monday, June 21, 2010

The Curse of the Lawnboy

My old neighbour has a very old Lawnboy. This is a 2 stroke lawn mower that has been thrown out by every single rational person in the world. I'm not saying anything on what this implies for the neighbour.

And it never works! He attempts to start it, and there is a huge cloud of smoke. It reminds me of the BP oil disaster. If I'm outside and he tries to use it, I go inside. All summer, I keep the windows closed and use the air conditioner, just in case. I would do that anyway for the smog of Toronto, but I keep that one side extra tight.

So, once it starts, it just stinks with less smoke. It would be great if I just went in for the time he takes to mow the lawn, but it always conks out! Right now it's just sitting there in the middle of his lawn, torturing me, until he decides to tackle it again. I think it's too stinky for his shed. He complains about it never working right, and I've tried every sort of hint, including the subtle one "You should buy a new lawn mower!".

Sure, I have a bbq, and I love salmon on a plank, which really smokes up, so I'm no saint (but we have a hybrid!). Still, for 20 years, I have wished every sort of death upon that horrible thing. :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're right ... and most of us use these machines out of habit without considering the alternatives.

I've just got rid of the gas mower after trying the new Fiskars reel mower. It has a great design has been easy to use.

No gas, no emissions, and no noise. Safe for the kids and dog to play in the yard while you're using it.

I mention the model name as this was a CR recommended choice and has been a great solution. After 3 weeks use on a good sized suburban lawn there's no way I'd ever go back to gas.