for some, autumn is a time of reflection on the beauty of nature, the passing of time and the coming of winter. for others, it's a time to fire up the leaf blower and gout out and blow their lawns.
no other power tool requires so little of the operator, so most people don't even really know how to use it very well- the result being that they spend hours chasing their leaves around the yard before creating anything resembling a pile.
the advent of the leaf blower has meant the virtual disappearance of mildly aerobic activities like raking leaves and sweeping sidewalks.
it has also resulted in a decrease of neighbourly conversation. leaf raking and sweeping and such are quiet activities, but they do take time. few are the neighbours who would mind being interrupted by a "hey, how's it going while thus engaged" and breaking off for a few minutes conversation.
leaf blowers discourage such interactions with a frightening finality. you cannot communicate with anyone using one of these aggressive appliances without a total shutdown and/or risking that the user will turn to face you and blow dirt, small stones, bits of stick, dried dog foeces and anything else not glued to the planet at you and into your eyes, mouth, ears etc.
- if there is a hell, may the inventor of the leaf blower be found there, with one of the high-powered gas-driven industrial models
blowing up his butt, forever and ever, amen.
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