With A Little Help From My Friends

....my riding mower problems are history. Problem: Mower Won't Start. Symptom: Turning the key produces no juice for the engine. Theory: Something is wrong with the darn thing....probably wiring. Bigger problem....I know nothing about mechanical or electrical anything...

To make a short story longer, my mower stopped running a few days ago for what seemed no reason at all. I contemplated taking it in to be service at my expense, but remembered we have a small engines expert in the family, and I thought just maybe he could help me with my situation. I quickly gave Granddad a call, explained the problem, and requested his advice. No, he didn't advise me to shoot myself! We decided to take a closer look at the mower at his house. Arriving early enough the next day....in a showery weather situation, I pushed my non-operative mower under the family gathering canopy and we took a quick look under the hood. There, we looked over wiring, checked for power availablity, and everything else we could think of. After half an hour, he suggested that it might be the solenoid or maybe a safety switch, we didn't know exactly where the swithes were, other than the one under the seat. We could see that one was connected and looked to be in good shape, so we got on the internet to find the wiring diagram to find the others......google is no help when trying to find something like that.

We were both scratching our heads about what else we could look at or what we might be able to figure out when the rain began to fall in earnest. I asked him to please hold off on going back outside and I'd go run some errands and try to find the operator's manual or a wiring schematic online. On way home, I stopped at Sears and while printing out the wiring diagram from http://www.sears.com/, geesh, why didn't I think of that...the assistant manager suggested that MAYBE I should disconnect and reconnect the safety switch under the seat because it may have gotten some moisture in it. I thanked them and ran to the vet to pick up Patches and get her home (she got her hinny shaved, but that's a different story). After Vic got home, I started thinking that the reunion BBQ would need the space my mower was holding, so Vic and I took a quick trip back to Granddad's house. I showed him the diagram and we chatted a while. Then I mentioned what the Sears guy had told me and walked over to try it. Unbelievable...it cranked right over after I unplugged and reconnected the seat safety switch. Granddad and I had thought of everything....except the obvious. Still, had I not had him to help me, I'd have never figured it out and saved myself hundreds of millions of dollars...or something like that. After helping me with my mower, he took us wandering through the garden and showed us that ever growing broccoli....and the wonderful onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. He even let Vic and I eat a fresh snap pea (never done that before and to be honest, I was a bit leary....but I have to admit it really tasted great). Maybe I'll try broccoli again....all this, thanks to a little help from my friends...and family.

Tell Me Why

4th graders at Omega Elementary are much more considerate than the SUBconscious 9th graders I had the day before. However, they SUBscribe to tears more frequently than the SUBversive 9th graders. And unlike their older counterparts, these SubTEENS wanted to help and impress me rather than SUBject me to SUBterfugeous activities.

Yellow Substitute

So shoot me....I'm not really afraid. But today's four blocks of ISS at the Northeast Campus was certainly a SUBstantial test of my endurance. Were we really that difficult in 9th grade?
And tomorrow....Omega Elementary.....

What a week

Calgon TAKE ME AWAY....I am not going to vent about my week but I will say if I didn't have the gospel and Heavenly Father to listen to me I don't think I could make it.

Not much going on to post other than Mothers Day coming up and I kind of agree with Nance on this holiday.....and I certainly have not been the greatest Mother in the world, did the best I knew how, I suppose I didn't do too bad just look at the fantastic grandbabies we have .

Wish me luck

Today is my first day of substitute teaching....Tift County HS. Luckily, it's for the foreign language teacher that teaches German and Spanish....and I've been both places. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up much of either language.

Will the real Rich please stand up!

Vic told me that many of the clan are not as familiar with me as she would like, so I've been instructed to tell you 5 things about me that you might not know. Since I'm sure you know I'm a golf fanatic, I can't really use that one. Maybe you didn't know that I'm a feline fanatic too, but I'm sure that most of you do...but for those that aren't in the know, Tibbit, Patches, Punkin, Garfield, Snugglepuss, Toofi, and Hobo complete our feline pride. Most of them are in this picture. Any questions about the "Kathouse" title? Apologies for my digression....back to....me.

The first thing I can tell you about me is I define music by the 3 B's....Beatles, Bluegrass, and Barbershop! People often look at me like I've lost my mind when I say I'm a Barbershop Quartet fan, but that and Bluegrass combine such great harmony that I think a person would have to be crazy NOT to like them. And yes, I do great harmony....can't understand why Vic and the rest of the world disagree!

Next...many of you believe that my roots are in Texas. That isn't exactly true. I was born in Snyder, Texas, but grew up in Truckee, California...just 14 miles from beautiful Lake Tahoe. I spent my winters shovelling deep snow and my summers fishing in creeks and high lakes for rainbow and brown trout. What I am saying is, I grew up a Wolverine rather than a Bulldog.

Third on the Rich list; I never liked kids before becoming part of this family...I thought I'd always be a bachelor with absolutely no kinderlings. Initially, our Godson Riddick scared me....so tiny that he might break if I touched him, but gradually I found myself able to pick him up and even play with him. By the time Nathan started crawling all over me and Sam began to bat her eyes, I was hooked. What still bothers me about this is how grey I've become....is this caused by age....maybe married life....possibly children.....OR most likely, these wonderful GRANDKIDS are the culprits....turn it grey and pull it out....that's their job, right?

Number four on the list is my ancestor Jehu Cox took 2 Mormon travelers into their home, while living in Crawford County, Missouri, and were converted to Mormonism. They went west with Brigham Young and helped settle Utah. Their home is still standing and a museum, Old Fort Union was built around the house to protect it from Indians. Ok, this isn't about me personally, but at least now that I have been fully surrounded by the faith....I more fully understand the faith than when I first dug up this small bit of Cox family history.

Last, I guess I should mention that, though I waited a very long time to find love, I think I couldn't have found a more perfect person than my Vickie. We often finish each other's comments without even knowing we've done so. Few people in life find the companion that is perfect for them, but I know I have.