The "Barterer" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished mowing my lawn with my 17 year old Craftsman riding mower.  Carol and I have about an acre of property with plenty of hills and valleys so I determined when we first moved to our "Beach House" that it was in my best interest to buy a riding mower.  Over the years the mower has taken it's share of abuse. More than once I have tried to mow on a rather steep incline and lost the mower while trying to lean with the angle.  The mower would start to slip and slide and I would end up jumping off it as it rolled to the bottom of an incline.  Often would have to get the 4-wheel car involved in rescuing the mower from the ditch.  Another time I misjudged a tree or two and clipped it with the front of the mower.  The tree never lost any of those bouts.  Well today, after pulling my mower back into the garage, I was amazed at how much fun it was to mow my property.  You see, my friend and fellow teacher in the Industrial Arts department at Manheim Township High School, Clyde, just finished a three month overhaul of the Craftsman for me.  My total bill:  $22, and that didn't even go to him, but to his friend who helped him pickup and deliver my mower.  Can't beat the price for the refurbishing and renewing of the mower that has helped me mow perhaps 25 to 30 times each summer as well as collect leaves in the rear bagger a half dozen times each fall.  Now, the reason why the cost was such is because of the barter system.  

The guys I taught with over the 30 plus years I taught were well versed in a variety of skills.  Buzz was a master craftsman and sculpture who helped me replace my kitchen at my home of Janet Ave.  In return I shared all my lesson plans with him for the courses in Graphic Arts at the high school.  Barry was a talented woodworker and department head who allowed me to requisition just about any item I thought would help me in my classes and in return I helped him create an outdoor scenic stained glass panel for his bathroom.  Jerry, my longtime friend and fantastic metalworker helped me rebuild my first car's engine, paint another one of my cars and gave me metalworking tips when needed in return for framing projects and photo work.  See how all this works?  Known as bartering or returning an equal service for another service.  Over the years, or should I say my lifetime, I'm sure I have come out on the plus side with all the favors I have collected in return for what I have given.  And the reconditioning of my mower is no different.  Over the past couple of years I have been padding and trimming cases of paper for Clyde as well as cutting a few specialty mats for his wife for her photo collection.  In return Clyde picked up my mower, welded the frame back together which was the result of my encounter with the tree, welded the hood back onto the body which was the result of my fence getting in the way, adjusting the mower bed so it now cuts the same height on both side of the mower, changed the oil and sharpened the blades, and tightened the steering which was dearly needed with all the collisions it had absorbed over the years.  To do the latter job, Clyde machined brass fittings on the steering column rather than use plastic fittings which he said wouldn't last being I drive the mower like a demolition derby mower.  Wow, what great friends and fellow workers I have had over the years.  Sure I have done odds and ends for them from time to time, but I know I have been on the receiving end more times than the giving end.  And, you know, as long as I can continue to barter I will, since the camaraderie which is shared is just as important as the end result.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.