Going Orange

Tuscaloosa is the home of the University of Alabama and the school’s formidable Crimson Tide football team. You can’t drive two blocks anywhere around here without seeing the slogan “Roll Tide” emblazoned on billboards, stores, cars, and clothing. When we moved here, my pal DC Stultz sent me a couple of Roll Tide decals for my vehicles so I could blend in. We wouldn’t want the locals to think I’m a spy for some other collegiate team, after all.

Now, please don’t tell any of my new neighbors, but I have absolutely no interest in football or any other organized team sport. I never have. When I was a firearms instructor at West Point, I could have gone to any of the Army football games at Michie Stadium for free and never did. So I guess I won’t be flying any Crimson Tide banners around here.

Instead, I went orange. Kubota orange, that is.

I said in a blog a while back that I was researching small tractors to use here on our acreage and at my son’s place just fifteen minutes away. After looking at the different units on the market, I settled on a Kubota BX2680, a subcompact four-wheel drive workhorse that will handle any chore we need. A week or so before we moved, I contacted a very nice young man named Brad Bosch at Tuscaloosa Tractor, a family-owned business that came highly recommended. I explained my needs to Brad, told him I knew next to nothing about tractors, and he suggested the 2680, the same model I had in mind.

So Friday we went to the shop and I signed the paperwork to purchase the tractor, a front bucket loader, a 60” mower to keep our pasture and trails in good shape, a tiller for our gardens, and a back blade for smoothing out driveways, spreading gravel, and things like that. Here I am taking the tractor for a spin around the parking lot at Tuscaloosa Tractor.

And what kind of father would I be if I didn’t let Travis have some fun, too?

The next day a wonderful man named Willy delivered the tractor and its attachments to our place, and then spent a couple of hours with me, going over the many controls, giving me pointers on maintenance tips, and a crash course on how to get the most out of the machine. I can’t say enough good about our experience at Tuscaloosa Tractors. No pressure whatsoever, the price was very reasonable, Brad and Willy were very patient in answering my many questions, and you can’t beat Kubota’s 0 Down, 0 Interest, 72-month financing.

This thing has more levers and buttons than a small airplane! I will be spending a lot of time studying the owner’s manual and getting familiar with what all they will do.

One of the reasons I chose this tractor is that, even with the loader and tiller attached, it will fit inside our 14-foot cargo trailer. So it won’t be a problem to take it over to Travis’ place to get his gardens ready for all of the crops he is so good at growing. He says it sure didn’t take me long to go completely country. That’s okay, even if I didn’t go crimson.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – At my funeral, take the flowers off the coffin and throw them into the crowd to see who’s next.