Patience and pulling...

 James 1:2, 3 KJV
² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Patience?? We've sure learned some this past week.
The Allis Chalmers pulling tractor had sat in the front yard for about five years. The beloved son and his cousins had climbed all over it and played for hours. They had mowed, bush hogged, plowed and pulled it to the finish line in their imaginations.

Gage and Jason and Allis -
 taking over the house garage

Gage (proudly) "getting greasy"

After much talk and planning and finally carving out some time, Jason and Gage rolled her into the garage. There Allis sat for another two months...waiting.

Finally, after yet another 14 hour work day, Jason went straight to the garage and I didn't see him until almost midnight. The work had started to get her back into pulling shape. He didn't work on the orange tractor alone, though. Gage helped. And talked. And chattered. And commented. And questioned. And wasn't quiet for even one minute. They both were greasy and smelled like gas night after night.

Work had been slow since a go-cart wreck
almost halted progress with a broken arm.

Our plans were to take the Allis to the USAP Independence Day Pull at John Lampkin's Farm in Philpot, KY. The week before the big day, the brace came off of Gage's once-broken arm, and the two Salmon men got down to business.

First, the smoke alarm went off. No biggie, I thought, just exhaust fumes making the sensitive alarm shrill. Then I heard an even shriller voice screaming there "had been a fire" and the ignition switch "just doesn't work any more. But it wasn't a big fire, Mom, just enough for the smoke alarm to go off." 

After another hour's worth of tinkering, I heard that young voice again, attached to running feet in rubber boots. The front door flew open and Gage ran through the house squealing like a chased pig. I felt like Fred Sanford...it was the 'big one', because I could hear my heart beating in my ears and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. 

Me and my beloved boy

My boy's round blue eyes were huge. "We got it started! We got it started! Do you hear it?!" No, son, all I hear is the blood rushing around in my head and my knees are sorta wobbly. Go back and help your dad, and please, please don't scream any more. Your momma is getting way too old to go through this much longer.
  
After a loud trip around the yard, my men decided that a squirt gun in the radiator was very bad news. Two squirt guns and a green puddle were even worse. A quick fix...a box of black pepper, some sneezes and the hole was temporarily mended. And no one even dared to touch the radiator. Until it had to be taken out for the sheet metal to be put back on.

Then, there was the issue of the starter. After a lifetime of service, it was tired. Let's see how fast we can get it rebuilt on the Friday before Saturday's pull...$71 dollars and lots of new innards and we were back in business. Again.

Pull morning dawned cloudy and humid. Hot. Miserable. KY summer weather. Allis wouldn't stay running long enough to even drive upon the trailer. Someway, somehow fuel wasn't feeding. Out come the wrenches, shop rags and sweaty foreheads. A clog in the line resolved and let's try this again.

She was on the trailer, strapped, chained and ready to roll down the road. We gathered up the camera, cooler of ice, bottled water, chairs-in-a-bag and decided we could maybe start to relax a bit because now came the fun part...enjoying a day at the track. 

Watching the action

Jason - hooking to the sled

Allis pulled a respectable 122 - not bad considering the week we all had. We didn't place, but we had great time. Lampkin's Farm is always a fun place to be, and we've been attending the annual summer pull there for almost as long as we have been married. We were able to partake of the cookout and sit under the gazebo canopy we brought. We talked to our friends, created new friendships and sunburned our noses. 

Pulling Allis down the track
at Lampkin's Farm

Then Allis had the final say of the day. Sitting on the trailer, a front tire blew. After the week we had, we just shook our heads, laughed and piled in Jason's work truck to head toward home.

And oh, what a bonus - the patience we learned during the week turned into sweet enjoyment as we found out that yes, we did have time to stop at Mel's on the way home through Whitesville, KY and enjoy their famous ice cream.