Farmer Entertainment

One night I was in the living room watching the news, when I heard a bunch of typing sounds in the office behind me. Joe was in there. He’s not really much of a computer guy so, naturally, I was intrigued.

“Are you typing?”

Yes, he was typing. So, of course, I had a follow-up question.

“What on earth could you be typing?”

He needed to look something up.

I heard a video start playing quietly. He hollered out to me, asking how to turn up the volume. I hollered back the instructions and he got it done.

I could hear his video over my television. He wasn’t watching a music video or an episode of a favorite show he missed the week before. He was watching a promotional video – for a fuel trailer.

I didn’t comment on the loudness. I was just grateful I wasn’t in the room with him. I have been subjected to other farm-related video entertainment in the past. Not entertainment like watching “America’s Heartland.” I’m talking hardcore farmer entertainment – instructional videos.

“How to Operate Your John Deere 9100 Tractor”

I think I almost literally died of boredom that night. I am not being dramatic.

Anyway, he was moved by the video and felt the need to share from the next room.

“Hey…”

That’s his pet name for me these days – “Hey.” In college it was “Smiley.” Too many instructional and promotional videos, I’m thinking. But I digress.

“Hey… this fuel trailer just pumped 370 gallons of fuel in 11 minutes!”

Now he had my attention.

I’m just kidding. I decided to take the opportunity to use him as my latest status update on Facebook. He was a hit. I told him he was, and he threw some comment my way.

So, to humor him, I asked him to tell me about it again. I have a problem though. It’s really more of a disability. As soon as he starts talking about farm machinery, my ears immediately get clogged and I don’t really hear much. I had to ask him to repeat it a few times so I could get all the facts. He was happy to educate me.

He explained that it only took 11 minutes to empty the 370 gallons of fuel, and that included the time it took the producer to fill the combine, move the hose to a tractor, fill it up and move it to another tractor to fill.

“…and he wasn’t even running.”

God love him. I know I do – bad taste in videos and all.