If you borrow something...
...try not to break it!
I haven't even gotten my "new" Haybine and tractor home, and the haybine is already broken! I went over the Alfie's estate-sale last night after work, and I noticed the tractor and the haybine in the ditch at the farm. Hmmmm, that really shouldn't be - once I own the thing, it's really not proper for them to be using it. In any case, it was already late and heading towards dusk, so I didn't think much of it.
Today though, when I went back to look at more stuff and get a better look at the machines, they told me they had a "bit of an oops" with it the day before. *sigh* As I had feared, they tried to turn too sharply with it on an embankment, and they snapped off the welded-on towing-flange, and bent the PTO-Shaft on the haybine! The welded flange is easy enough to mend, but they have to take the PTO-Shaft into Andy's shop to get it fixed. They're picking up the tab for the damages, and they're also bringing the tractor and the haybine here into town and parking them at the shop (Andy's shop is just across the street.) That works well, since that takes about half the trip of getting it home off my shoulders.
They had also discovered another stash of old engines that Alfie had squirrled away under a truck-topper, and offered them to me for free as another part of the apology for breaking my new toy. The only questions are, how to get them all home, and where to put them?! They're all in excellent condition, which is probably why Alfie had them under cover instead of just laying out in the open like most of the stuff out there.
I am rather annoyed that the guys used my machine (without permission) after I had paid for it, and that they broke it - but at least they're making ammends by getting it fixed and bringing it into town. As I said to Stephen (one of the brothers) as we were looking at the damage, "Stuff happens." It would be the same as borrowing a tool or machine from a friend or neighbour, and accidentally breaking it: Fess up, fix it, and move along.
I remember when I was about 11 or 12 years old: I had borrowed a set of Allen-Keys from my neighbour to fix an old riding-mower that I was working on. The Hex-bolt was stuck, and to my horror, the Allen-Key snapped when I put too much pressure on it! I was terrified, and felt sick to my stomach; This was a neighbour I had a lot of respect for, and really looked up to, and I had broken the tool he had loaned me! It took me about 15 or 20 minutes to screw up my courage and take the broken tool back to him, and explain what happened; Of course, I also offered to replace the tool (though I had no idea how much it cost.) He didn't get angry or anything! He said he was very proud of me for telling the truth, and not to worry about it - these things happened! He gave me the rest of the set, and I soon learned that a replacement key was only a couple of bucks. It wasn't the cost that mattered - it was telling the truth, and that's a great lesson to learn at an impressionable age. :)
At least now I won't have to spend a bunch of time on Sunday going out there to drive the thing back. The only downside is that now it's going to be a few more days before I can get my hay cut down. The weather forecast is calling for some showers this week, so it's not the best time to be cutting hay anyway. Things happen, let's move on... :)