More confusion

It was a real foggy morning

11/19/07 Monday
It is frustrating to find another thing I’ve gotten confused on. We took the credit application to Beene tractor for the Mahindra tractor we are thinking of buying. I had a few questions about the price and was surprised to find that the tractor we got the quote on didn’t come with the frontend loader I thought it did. The one with a front end loader costs five thousand dollars more. Not good. There is a lot of dirt we will need to move all the time with this farm. First is setting up the raised beds, there is making and turning compost, hauling it to the garden beds, a henhouse and small barn, and lots of other areas it would be useful and save wear and tear on my back. Another five grand makes a big difference in what the monthly payment will be. We went ahead and told them to run the original credit application for the tractor without the frontend loader.

I just called and asked her to go ahead and do the math on the one with the frontend loader. For one thing that tractor has power steering but more importantly is what they call an auxiliary remote hydraulic valve. This means that tractor can use a wide variety of implements otherwise unavailable. It greatly enhances what we can do with it in the future as the farm and it’s needs grows. Also the tractor has a dual clutch system which I suppose is much better but I really don’t know much about it yet. So she called back with the new numbers. The final price goes up from $14,563.00 to $20,310.00. It will require a down payment of $731 versus $356 before. And the monthly payment goes up to $283. Not as easy as the $210 with the bare bones one (model 3325) but still doable.

I went online to look at used tractor prices and found that used ones are usually higher in price for something comparable in a John Deere or other American brand and that is without a front end loader. Hell, a 1973 tractor was listed at $7,000. Nothing will be easy but most things good aren’t easy anyway. I think things through by writing so as I did so the idea of buying the better model (# 3525) without the frontend loader on it came up. That should bring the price down close to the other one as they are pretty close to the same tractor. I could always add the frontend loader later after we start making some money with the farm. I’ll just have to work harder for a while.

So what else has happened in our life? I know we went and visited Don and Cynthia (I’m finally remembering your name). Don’s leg is a mess with fractures that are having a hard time healing due to diabetes and his kidneys not working well. Then to add to all that he has blood clots in the leg, which are potentially life threatening. Don is the guy who let us use his mower for a while. Anyway, I know how hard it is to not be able to get out and do things so knew he could use a little company. We had a good time visiting but probably stayed too long. I know he was getting tired, or at least I think he was. I don’t figure things like that out real quick. They showed us some work that people we had recommended did for them in their garage. They talked about how good a job it was but it didn’t look that good to me. They might just be being nice. I don’t know.

It’s such a small world out here. In talking about our past we brought up the bible college Cherie and I first met at, Christ for the Nations Institute. They got a big smile on their face and Don pulled out CFNI’s magazine. It seems that some of their relatives, Cynthia’s sisters I think, had attended that college. They knew the campus well and we talked about that trying to learn if we knew any of the same people. Come to find out Ron Wahlrobe, my favorite teacher had been the pastor of their church. He died tragically in a plane crash while we were at the school. Such a small world here in Midland. Don and Cynthia also know some of Steve’s (of Steve and Janie, last name left out because…) brothers.

I can’t think of much else that has happened in the last couple of days. Today we went to the “Homebound Ministry” meeting at church. That is where folks visit with those who are not able to get out and about, at least not without help. We had tentatively signed up for it but I am unsure how well I will do at it. Cherie and I will visit one elderly couple to see how it goes. This is the kind of thing that I will only try if Cherie is there with me as she provides a degree of security that helps me stay on track. I know I have problems but don’t allow this disability to totally hold me back. I can do a lot with a little help from my wife and friends.

Speaking of a small world we ran into some we know from the first church of Stanton. She was nice and said she, or they, missed us but we wonder if she really meant it. You would think that if we were all that missed someone would have come out to visit. To date no one has in the year we have lived here. In all fairness one person Cherie ran into did invite her to come out and visit but Cherie has yet to take her up on it, probably because she feels so insecure.

So that is all I’ll write for now. I’m still frustrated about the tractor but it will work out one way or the other.