This afternoon I had a rather frightening experience. I was driving a Ford 5000 tractor that I had borrowed for a few days from a friend. This is a fairly common older tractor with no cab, but, with a front end loader and a bale spear on the back. I was going down a typical county road in road gear with a big hay bale on the spear when I hit a good-sized pothole on one side of the tractor. You know the phrase, "Grab the steering wheel and hang on!" So I did. Which would have worked great except somehow the nut holding the steering wheel to the steering rod popped off resulting in me holding a steering wheel in both hands that was no longer connected to the steering rod. So, I'm doing something like 15 MPH, stepping on the clutch and trying to steer as much as possible by stomping on the left brake to not fly off into a very deep ditch on the right. The front wheels were aiming any direction they liked. As I started to veer off the road I missed a power pole by a matter of inches and finally hit a huge, sloped rock with the right front wheel which took the final monumentum away leaving that wheel inches from a barb wire fence and the rear wheel next to the power pole. Had I veered off from 10 to 100 feet earlier I would have surely rolled the tractor sideways one or more times resulting in certain death.
Apparently, the Devil doesn't want me and Heaven isn't ready for me yet. I'm still rather shaken up by what happened. Another mile down the road and I would have been where it runs along a good-sized dam with at least a 60-foot elevation change on the back side. Yesterday I came across that dam doing close to 20 MPH.
I am sure glad that you are still here. You were very lucky.
It is obvious that you still have a purpose here. Be safe, and thank you for the reminder to always think ahead during our daily activities. We all get comfortable in our daily routines, and lots of times that is when things happen.
I've had a similar incident with a railroad speeder. Inches from my day with destiny. Glad you pulled through.
Can't help but think of Homer Simpson's luck with tractors. Couldn't find it in English, but you don't need to translate to understand:
[flash width=420 height=315] http://www.youtube.com/v/i-RXehg1zPs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0 [/flash]
Sounds like you have something "Holy" watching over you. :angel:
wow, that is scary! Farm equipment is dangerous enough just doing what it's supposed to do. Grew up in farm country in Illinois and know of quite a few people maimed or killed in accidents. It must have been your day.
andy
