The boys were now hard-working young men. They had loaded a wheelbarrow with materials to go fix a fence down over the hill.
“Pap” kind of hinted that the wheelbarrow was overloaded. His hint didn’t sink in. The oldest son grabbed the wheelbarrow saying “I can handle it.” The gang started down the hill. (The hills here in southwestern Pennsylvania are steep.)
As the hill got steeper, the wheelbarrow started picking up speed. The operator of the wheelbarrow was soon running to keep up.
For some reason, it’s hard to let go of the handles in a situation like this — one of the great mysteries of the universe.
At this point, the front wheel of the careening outfit hit a snag. Our brave wheelbarrow engineer went flying through the handles as momentum upended the rig.
His ornery, unsympathetic younger brother stuck his arms in the air and yelled field goal! My understanding is that it was rather graceful! Fortunately, he didn’t get hurt. The lesson here is to avoid any activity that involves a wheelbarrow!
Gordon Meeder
Midland, Pennsylvania
