I see you.
You swerve back and forth.
You lean against the window.
You shake your head and throw up your hands.
You swerve again to see if you can pass by.
You go. You go on a double line. You go on a corner. You go when another car is coming. Meanwhile, a farmer is driving as close to the side of the road as possible. Not driving fast, tractors do not drive fast. Maybe there is a passing area just up ahead, maybe he is about to pull into the field, maybe he is searching for a place to pull off so you can pull by. Either way he doesn’t want to be on that road any more than you want to wait behind him. He is just trying to do his job and get home to his family.
But you can’t wait. You have some place to be. Maybe you are late to work or just heading home. All I know is that it must be important. So important that you are willing to drive recklessly to get there. So important that you are willing to risk the lives of others to get where you “need” to be. We have had our fair share of “close calls” both when a vehicle cut off the tractor or almost hit the kids and I in our vehicle with the flashers on.
This past week my news feed has been filled with tractor vs. vehicle wrecks. I have no idea the outcomes of all of them. A grandpa and his grandson. An employee moving equipment to the field. A tired farmer working long days to try to get home to his family. When I see these stories, when I see these graphics and headlines, all I can think of is my husband. The father of our three children. All I can see is someone is such a hurry that they are willing to risk taking that man away from my children and myself. And to be honest, it makes me very upset. It makes me a tad bit angry.
Folks, we have no desire to slow you down or make you late. We are just trying to do our job and keep a roof over our family’s heads. We are your neighbors, fellow business owners, our kids probably go to school together or maybe they are on the same soccer team. We would never do anything to take you away from your family, so from the bottom of our overly exhausted hearts, please slow down.
Your life is not worth it. The farmer’s life is not worth it. Please slow down!
Krista Stauffer
Latest posts by Krista Stauffer (see all)
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As an “old farmwife” I so enjoyed your posts Dating a farmer. I started dating mine riding on the fender of an open tractor to now riding in the buddy seat of an air conditioned tractor! Done our share of mudslinging and picnics in the field. This has been going for 40 years and still look forward to our dates!
I’m so sorry that there are people out there who do this. Back in 1982, I was driving home after dropping my husband off at work, 3 cities away. A car going the opposite direction ran into a tractor on the road. It was early dawn and a bit foggy, but not much. It happened in the blink of an eye and I have never forgot what I saw. I hope someday they will put up signs (Watch for) and even though the news is awful to read, we can hope it stops someone from making a poor choice. Your post reminds or let’s people know that the person driving the slow tractor, is thinking.