The Lawnmower Men
We needed money. We mowed yards. Two yards to be exact, Uncle Don’s and Uncle Ivans. Uncle Don lived about a mile away on Ukiah, and Uncle Ivan was a little closer on Jennie Lee. Tony and I pushed our mower (and sometimes the edger too) to their houses and mowed their yards for a couple of summers.
Uncle Don’s yard was a killer. It was thick green grass. It wasn’t very big, but very tough to mow with a push mower. This was real work, and we had to rake the grass and clean the sidewalks. Sometimes after we mowed it, Uncle Don would let us play pool in the garage. Sometimes he even played with us. Once he paid us, and threw down some more money and I asked what that was for. “Bonus”, he said. I like bonuses. Tony says he remembers Uncle Don must have called Dad cause we didn’t do a very good job so we had to go back and perform a do-over.
Now, Uncle Ivan’s yard on the other hand, was easy as could be. He didn’t fertilize it or even water it, so it didn’t grow much between mowings. So, between his yard and Uncle Don’s, it kind of evened out.
How much did we charge for this top grade landscaping service? 5 bucks to mow and 2 more if we edged. And we split it. It wasn’t such a bad deal. Dad was supplying the mower and the gas.