Yesterday, the "Great Outdoor" was calling my name, so Fischer and I stepped outside for about ten minutes. It took one minute to realize it was cold, but the air was nice and fresh!As Fischer visited with our neighbor's white furball, I picked up his miniature hockey stick and swung it a few times.
It reminded me of my teen years in Africa, when we had to work for the school. That's right, the school had the students take care of the grounds and do various other oddjobs. One of the worst jobs was mowing the lawn. It really stunk because we didn't use lawnmowers, we used slashers, like the one pictured here. It is a lot like a sword with the end bent...and the handle is usually just made of wood. Using a one-handed grip (unless you're in really thick stuff) you make a golf-swing type of motion and hack away at the turf, then get some more on the return swing!
After about 15 minutes of this, your hand begins to ache unless you have a well-wrapped handle. If you slash for more than 30 minutes (as a beginner) you will have blisters the next day.
The first lawnmower was invented in 1830 by an Englishman named Edward Beard Budding. You had to push it for the blades to move and start cutting your lawn. But, that was a vast improvement over the slasher or scythe! Today almost every American household has a gas-powered lawnmower, including our home!
It's amazing that some people in other countries are still 176 years behind our technology. How blessed we are. I hope I never have to use a slasher again!
