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Sorry Tom about being late for this news. I visit my dad often as possible to send him and my brother flowers. My dad and I were like buddies, enjoying hunting, fishing or taking him for senic rides. My last photo of him was at my house having him and mom over for hamburgers.

My deepest condolences.

mike

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Another thing I never told him-

When I was a senior in high school I only needed two classes to graduate-English and Government. I only went to school for those two classes in the morning, then i'd go home and help him.

I was picking corn one day about 5 or 6 miles from home, we had a mounted corn picker on a Ford 5000 tractor. I was by myself, when I finished the field I would go home. I'd been raised on the farm, we had mowers,bush hogs, hay rake,hay baler,combine,corn picker,and about every thing else- my brothers and I were running this equipment since we were big enough to get on it. So I knew not to ever do anything to any equipment without turning the PTO off, that could get you killed. The hay baler and the corn picker were especially dangerous.

But this one time, I put the chute that puts the corn into the wagon out of gear- when you finish a row and turn down another row you stopped that chute, or as you were turning the ears of corn would miss the wagon and drop on the ground. After the corn stalks went through the snapper- rollers that snapped the ears of corn off the stalks- it collected in a hopper before it went up the chute and into the wagon. There was a big fan there that blew the shucks away, and as I was making my turn I noticed that there was a lot of shucks there that hadn't been blown off, so I just reached back and started clearing the shucks with my hand.

It was in the fall of course, October or November when you pick corn- and the next thing I knew something grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. And I knew right then how stupid i'd been, and if I lived i'd have to explain to my Daddy how i'd lost my arm in that corn picker. But the jacket came apart- pulled the whole sleeve off, right at the shoulder.

I felt so lucky and so stupid at the same time. I knew better- had heard stories of a man that lost his arm in a corn picker, and one who was killed in a hay baler.

I stopped the tractor and took the rest of the jacket way down into the woods and threw it away. Then I finished the field and drove the tractor on home, with no jacket as cold as it was.

Nobody asked where my jacket was, and I never told anyone about it, but it was a good lesson learned.

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Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999.

OD:

Sorry about the passing of your father. It seems like you have fond memories of him; as time goes by you will smile as stories of dad are told among the family. When I read your story about your father's interest in your

truck travels it reminded me of how proud my late father was when I started my career with the local fire department. He always wanted to know what was happening, how was everything at the fire station, etc. These are

memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. Best wishes to you and your family.

bulldogboy

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its days like that Tom that you go and buy a lotto ticket! or so I am told lol.

it's a wonder that any of us farm kids have all of our body parts I know I was a SPECAL KIND OF STUPID! with too many close calls to document, sometimes I think the whole guardian angel thing must be true. I've walked away from things without a scratch that have maimed and or killed other people.

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Tom, many of these thing you said about the farm are true for me also. Growing up in the excavating bus.things are also very dangerous and I have walked away from many things. If my father ever knew half of the stuff I did when I was younger he would have kicked my ass. The passing of your father will always leave a hole but the fond memories will help to fill it.

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We the unwilling, Lead by the unqualified, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful.

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