>But I also have a push-mower that I sometimes use just because I >like the exercise. Makes me feel more involved. (And no, I'm not >being facetious...<G>) And the push mower doesn't make a racket, waking up the neighbors from their Sunday naps. A push mower also doesn't force you to breathe fumes and it doesn't stir up dust and pollen as much as a power mower. And it doesn't burn oil mixed with the gas (power mowers used to do that, anyway) producing the same pollution as multiple cars; and push mowers don't waste fossil fuel. They take far fewer resources to manufacture, and push mowers last longer than an internal combustion engine, if they are stored inside and not allowed to rust. In the spring you don't find that you have to take them apart because you didn't drain the gasoline in the fall, and it gelled in the carburetor. And you never will throw out your shoulder pulling the starting cord of a push mower. I think of the ETD-aural argument the same way. You put up with the drawbacks of a power mower when you have too much lawn to mow. If you just have a little bit of lawn, the push mower's a heckuva lot more more fun to use, especially if you keep it sharp, lubricated, and well adjusted. There is something awfully pleasant about being in touch with the instrument, without the distraction of any extraneous non-musical data. People may call this a luxury --- well, it is, but a fairly innocuous one as luxuries go. As they say, life isn't a rehearsal. Susan who uses wetware ...
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