Two Racks Of Beer For A Snow Blower

When we moved into our home a snow blower came with the house and was stored in the basement.  It had not been used much by the previous owner as the winters were not always intense, and in addition he was not much of an outdoors type of guy in the cold season.  I think also he might have had some difficuties getting the blower in and out of the bulkhead door.   In fact for the past nine years the blower had sat  untouched, and as such we thought perhaps the engine had “gunked up”, and would no longer operate.

During one of James’ private language lessons at a local coffee shop this fall he met a worker there who liked to dabble with engines.  Within minutes arrangements were made for the snow blower in our basement to be checked out.  The young man came to our home and loaded the blower into his vehicle and took it to his place.  Two days later he brought it back and it ran like a charm.

And all he wanted for the chance to practice on our machine, and learn more about engines, was two racks of beer.  Spotted Cow to be precise.  You can’t beat the price. 

Last year we shoveled a record amount of snow that fell in Madison.  And unlike those with short driveways, and limited sidewalks to take care of, we have what seems likes more space to shovel in winter than look at in summer.  That is the way Wisconsin winters can play on the mind.

In reality, we have 2,331 square feet of space to shovel.  That comes out to about 1105 square feet of driveway, and 1226 square feet of sidewalk, as we live on a corner lot.  When 10 inches of snow fell this past week, and then a couple inches with drifts on Saturday and Sunday, it was nice to get the blower out and let two racks of Spotted Cow do the work.

If for some reason the engine had not been able to work and function after having been looked at we would have continued to shovel.  We would not have expended money for a machine.  I can think of some nice trips to be taken in summer for the price of a snow blower when it really is used for only a few winter storms, and then just needs to be housed.    We would never consider for a moment paying $1,000 for a machine.

But two racks of Spotted Cow?  In a heartbeat.