Tuesday TwitterdeeSNOWDAY

"Make sure she can start it," I heard Bill Pagano, Sr. say from his desk off in the corner of the lobby at Sun Rentals. 

A few minutes later, while standing near the second Mantis tiller the staff had brought out for me to take home on my rain check, I heard another announcement from another employee coming out the door.   

"He says to make sure she can start it,"  the staffer told his co-workers.  

I had tried to start the first machine, right after the employee fired it up on the first pull. Three pulls of the cord and nothing.

This situation yesterday morning was a lot like the mini tiller had behaved last week when I brought it home to work up my garden.  

That day I tried starting it so many times that I wore a blister on my index finger---even through my gloves. 

Midway through my attempts to get the thing working that day, I called the rental agency, seeking clues on what I must be doing wrong.  It had all seemed so simple at the shop, but, of course, I hadn't tried to start it there.  

The mechanic did.

After an hour or so of frustration and a litany of bad words that afternoon I finally gave up and took the tiller back to the rental agency.  

The counter clerk gave me a rain check, telling me I could come in any time in the next month to get a tiller.

So, yesterday when the machine refused to start with my woman's touch, I felt for certain that these guys had me pegged as a dumb woman.  

That was my assumption---not theirs---but I'm guessing those thoughts may have crossed their minds when I brought the tiller back the first day and the mechanic started it right up. 

"What am I doing wrong?" I asked as the two guys stood next to me during yesterday's visit. 

Then, one of them grabbed the cord and pulled and pulled.  No start'em!  

Sigh of relief from me!

They called the mechanic.  He took it into the shop and later, one of the staff members brought out an identical tiller with a blue ribbon tied to it. 

Turned out IT was a different tiller.

"Is there something wrong with the other one?" I asked, trying to stifle my glee that I didn't look so dumb after all. 

"Got a carburetor problem and air bubbles," the mechanic explained, and that information explained exactly why I had had so much trouble with it last week.   

The guys worked on the second tiller, started it up a couple of times and then asked me to do the same.

First pull, and it started easily.  I was happy.

I took it home, and once again, the machine started easily.  

I happily worked for about half an hour tilling up the garden to almost a powdery stage. Then, after a short break, I came back to top off the job, to make sure I hadn't missed any spots. 

Once again, the tiller started like a dream.  

Thirty seconds later, something didn't feel right.  I looked down and found a segment of one of the handles had broken off. 

"Oh, goodie," I said out loud, thinking those guys and Mr. Pagano were really gonna get a hoot out of this.  Upon closer inspection, I saw the remnants of a weld.  

Thank God.  I hadn't broken it after all.  The weld had simply given way.  

I washed the tiller, filled the gas tank and took it back to the shop where I met no skepticism whatsoever.  

"These are old machines," the employee told me, "but you'd better go inside and tell them."

It was a busy place, so I walked back outside and saw Mr. Pagano.  When I told him the weld had broken on the tiller handle, he simply asked, "Did ya get the job done?"

"Yes," I said. 

"Good," he responded and went about his business. 

I endeared a good amount of frustration on a job which should have been very simple, but I came away, very pleased with the service and, at least "outward" patience the staff and owner of Sun Rentals showed me. 

As a side note, I must give a shout out to the owners of A to Z Rentals also.  When a small tiller was not available, the owner immediately called Sun Rentals to see that I would have what I needed that day.  

The best part, besides these two businesses and their wonderful service:  my garden is tilled and now covered with about four inches of snow.  

Truly the nick of time.  

Yes, the weather forecasters said there might be snow today, but I don't think anyone expected this much.  It's heavy stuff and even heavier now that it's turned to rain. 

And, this afternoon, they've promised us "hurricane force" winds ripping through the area through midnight.  

So, we'll be buttoning down the hatches and hoping for the best.

At least, most of my preparation for the winter ahead is complete, especially due to some nice guys at the rental agencies.  

Small town stuff at its best!

Happy Tuesday.