Sunday, November 18, 2007

Loss…


Rachel Lucas is suffering over the loss of her long time friend, Digger.
(Go give her some support)

We’ve suffered the same pain, in our loss of Bear, at our homestead.

I’ve lost my Mother, a close cousin or three, & others, human.
The wife has lost her Dad.

These are painful life changing events, as they should be, when viewed in the grand scheme.

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But, for the life of me, I don’t understand the feeling of loss for things mechanical.

I had a 1958 Ford tractor, my first, that gave me years of service as a snow mover, skidder, paddock scraper, & general helper. I replaced her with a shiny-new diesel 4WD unit that outworks the Ford in every respect.

When the new owner came to pick her up, I felt a twinge of the loss & sadness that one would feel with the loss of family or pet (family & pet are both the same, actually).

Same deal with my tree-growing, brass-scrounging, yellow-jacket-home of a plow truck. A bud of mine & I brought her to her new owner Saturday, where she’ll be used this winter as is, then parted out for inclusion into another truck.

All this is not to deride the pain of loss of sentient beings, simply an observation of the human condition.

I never considered myself the "sensitive" type- is it a "guy" thing?

Or, as I’ve long suspected, I’m just a loony?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mechanical things are like that Rattail. I guess it's a man thing.
Another item that men seem to hang onto are old wallets. No, I don't know why I still have five of them.
Firearms are another. I sold one once, then bought an identical one two weeks later. Go figure.

Skul

Anonymous said...

Speaking from a woman's point of view, I can certainly appreciate the loss of mechanical things. You can say I have a strong affinity for cars and I appreciate the design and mechanics behind them. If you are willing to invest your time, energy or money into something than its going to have some impact on you...at least in my opinion...

doubletrouble said...

Skul-
Heh.
Funny you should mention that-
My first rifle was an Ithaca 49, a single shot .22 "saddlegun". Sold it when I didn't see a need for it any longer.
Years later, I found one & bought it.
I still don't NEED it...

JG-
Yeah, I'D say you have an affinity for cars...sheesh