05/16/2026
Most of you probably don't realize that I have an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. During all my studies, what I was realizing was, that try as they might, most philosophers failed in their attempts to explain ethics, God, existentialism, or pretty much anything else. Don't get me wrong, the logical exercise and deep thought put into their writings are interesting, insightful, thought provoking and in a lot of ways helped to shape me into who I am today. However, a couple of years into my studies, I was introduced to a book called Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein was a German philosopher who wrote in the early 1900's. This book of his really caught my attention because in it he wrote about the way I had been feeling. Modern pholosophers, while extremely brilliant and thought provoking, ultimately mostly failed in their endeavors to explain anything. In his Tractatus, Wittgenstein wrote brilliantly, that no matter how talented and intelligent one was, that some things are beyond the realm of logic, language or human understanding. He finished his thesis with a famous phrase among those who study philosophy, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent". That has always stuck with me, it is so simple but also so profound. I don't necessarily agree with it in every case but on many occasions it really is better to bite your tongue than to give your thoughts on something you haven't the foggiest idea about.
Yesterday, I posted about 5 mowers being returned with mechanical issues in the past week. Someone commented if I have that many returned like that I should stop loaning them. What that person and many of you probably don't know is that mowers and weedeaters make up about 40% of all my loans yearly. I do my best to provide what people need the most and lawn equipment is at the very top of the list. I've made close to 1,000 mower and weedeater loans each of the last two years. Out of all of those loans, over 9 years, I've had 3 mowers returned to me that were unfixable due to damage by irresponsible users. Some of you may remember one of them that I banned from borrowing not because he destroyed the mower- people make mistakes - but because he blatantly lied to me about it and that was the feather that broke the camel's back. I wrote about it when it happened.
So when I say 5 mowers were returned with mechanical issues, none of them were the result of neglect or improper use by the borrowers. All of my mowers and most of my weedeaters are hand-me-downs that people donate to me after using them themselves for years. I have to work on them often to keep them going. The 5 returned had varying issues. One had vibrated the motor mount bolts lose, one had broken where the motor mounts to the frame, one had a wheel fall off where the frame wore out around the wheel, one had a pull cord that broke, and the other I haven't figured out yet, but the carburetor seems to have vibrated loose.
It was definitely an unlucky week for mowers. The pic I've included here is a really good example of the equipment that I battle with pretty much on a neverending basis. The mower is the engine off of its original frame that gave out and the frame is that which had another engine that gave out. They are Frankensteined together and have been working great for 3 years since I merged them. The weedeater was donated to me about 5 years ago, it came from a lawn service who had used it for years- I have to do a mini overhaul on it pretty much yearly to keep it going. The truth is, though it runs great, after 10 or 15 years of service where it has been used pretty much every nice day, it could give up the ghost at anytime to where it isn't cost effective to repair it anymore.
I haven't made this post to call out the one who commented on the other post saying that at all. I actually appreciate him for voicing it, because if that was his thought then there were probably many others thinking the same thing. I just didn't want people to think that most people who borrow from me mistreat the equipment when it's exactly opposite to that. They may bring it back without cleaning it up correctly but most folks are mindful that they are using equipment that our whole community share and depend on. If that weren't the case I wouldn't continue to put in all the work that it takes to continue to loan them.
Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!
