PLTP needs a drink…maybe two

摘要

I should have never had the lemonade. After the second glass, my brain checked out. It was a hot and steamy August day, the perfect day for my Dad to haze my initiation into becoming a man. Since my parents divorced when I was 10, my superior was trying desperately to show me the ropes of life ... to get me accepted into the tribe. Drywall construction, painting, attic clean-outs, and, of course, lawn mowing. I was charged with mowing his lawn in Clarendon Hills, Ill. It was really a Cakewalk that I made into a death march. However, on this hot and steamy day in August he found the perfect grounds to break my adolescent spirit. One of his friends needed his lawn mowed. They owned a house on a corner lot that had to be at least a quarter of an acre. I was left to my own device: a true push mower. I attacked the project with vigor, for about 20 minutes. I kept on looking at the immense lot, and with every look my motivation shrank. I tried dividing the area up into squares. When that didn't work I moved to the front lawn, which carried a considerable amount of shade. It didn't help. I couldn't breathe (yes, I could) and I was seriously dehydrated. I went in and asked for a drink, and was offered a lemonade. Then came a second glass. Man, the air conditioning felt so good. Mentally I was done. I told the wife that my asthma was acting up and I could not go any longer. My Dad picked me up, and I think he had to finish the job the next day. I walked off the job.