Lawnmower: 1 Humans: 0

Remember the neighbor's garage sale in which we bought a riding lawnmower?

It's one of these, with a 30 inch cutting base. A decent lawnmower that's still in great condition. Not sure exactly how old it is, but it was obviously kept in the garage as there's absolutely not rust. Either way, we got an awesome deal at just $150.

Anyway ...

I went to use it on Friday and couldn't get it to start. It should be simple - turn the key to on and pull the chord.

But it wouldn't fire up. And seeing as I'm not exactly Hercules, I figured it was just that I wasn't able to pull the chord hard enough.

So Patrick tried when he got home. Several times.

Yesterday morning, Saturday, we tried several more times. Patrick took things apart and put them back together. He cursed and grumbled at spending money for something that didn't work.

Although, in the neighbor's defense, I saw the guy mowing his lawn with it, he drove it right up our driveway, and Patrick started it again with no problem and drove it into the backyard and into the shed. So it was working when we took possession of it.

He even removed the ignition thing and took it to a local Snapper dealer, who said there wasn't anything wrong with it.

When we got home, I made him leave. Really. He was grumpy and irritable and pissed with a capitol P. Which I understood. But he was beginning to ruin my day as well and I wasn't having it. His brother was working nearby and had offered to come help look at it, but that would be a few hours away still. So I shooed him off to visit his brother.

When he and his brother showed up a few hours later, they repeated all of it. They broke that lawnmower down and both cursed and became frustrated.

Then his brother asked ... does this thing have a parking break?

Why yes, yes it does.

Patrick climbed on, pushed the break and slid this little metal bar to the side.

Pulled the chord.

And the mower fired right up on the first try.

When I heard the mower, I went outside - excited and relieved that it was working.

When they told me about the break, I said ... I remember reading something like that on the mower. On. the. mower.

And there it was - on a large white sticker with black text, at the very top - Before starting your mower ...

I even remember reading it when I was trying and I did play with that little bar (everything else is marked, so that'd be the only thing that could be the parking break), but didn't know you had to push the break pedal in to get it to stay. And when it wouldn't stay, I figured it was some sort bar that really didn't do anything.

So our mower is working and I plan on giving the lawn what will probably be its last cut of the season.

And Patrick owes our neighbor an apology.