text: Yes, I did, DG. 
  A Model T flatbed truck too. I was a tall boy, and the ability to reach pedals made the world much bigger for me than my mates.
  In the later days of kidhood, my Uncle caught his right hand twixt the stalk rollers of a two-row corn-picker. Took him in to his elbow where he was able to kick and disengage the power take-off and stop the goddam thing. He sat on that tractor in agony and then shock through an entire afternoon before he was found. He was a man's man, and I loved him endlessly, and often think about that time he spent on his rig, alone.  
  I'll never forget the sight of his blood on that machinery. 
  To his great fortune, my aunt was a woman's woman and pulled him through it.
  My great fortune was to come from people like them.
  For most people, John Deere's are cute, little tractors now. 
  Long ago, you could associate a field amputation with every harvester model they made. 
  It was as common as highway death. Some things are better.