Purring Orange Machines (or Lawn Mowing Through the Generations)
 

A reel mower
 I thought my Grandpa Glennon was a cool guy, except when he mowed the lawn. He had the strangest lawn mower I'd ever seen, or heard. It was quiet, but it wasn't a reel mower that you pushed to make it run. It wasn't powered by gas either. My Grandpa's lawn mower was electric, and it purred. To run it, he had to open a house window and thread the electrical cord to an outlet inside. During the summer months, the yards and yards of electrical cord were always neatly coiled outside that particular window. I had no idea that this mower was energy efficient and that it was environmentally sound; I just knew it was weird.
    What I didn't know was how smart and cool my Grandpa really was.
    Last year when I moved to Pullman, I needed to buy a lawn mower. When I bought my last one, a friend who is more environmentally aware than I am gave me lots of grief because I bought a gas-powered one. As I shopped for a lawn mower in July, that friend's voice kept reminding me of the "right" thing to do. Buy an electric mower and help save the environment. I hoped, however, that in 2003, trailing around an electrical cord would be a thing of the past. I didn't want to be as weird-looking as I remembered my Grandpa being.
 

The Black and Decker "Lawn Hog"
 Well, the cord is a thing of the past if you have unlimited funds. Electric lawn mowers can be quite expensive. My budget didn't allow for the model that was cordless, but I could handle one with a cord. As I purchased the Halloween-themed, black and orange "Lawn Hog" and yards and yards of blaze orange cord, I couldn't stop thinking about Grandpa Glennon. And I couldn't help but wonder if my move to use a technology that was better for the world would also make my grandchildren think I was just slightly weird. We'll see about that when they see me in action.
    For now, at least, the voice of my friend is no longer chiding me for buying that nasty gas mower, and I feel like I've made one step in the right direction toward less polluting technology. Now when I shop for a new tool or appliance, I pay attention to its energy efficiency. I just hope no neighbors make a video of me tangling with that orange cord for one of the "funny home video" TV programs.