The Lawnmower Man

The engine sputtered and died. He did not know for sure how far he had left to go. But he was close. A couple of miles away he guessed. With some effort he climbed off of and regarded the old John Deere. It occurred to him that it might never start again. That would be a hell of a thing. He thought back over the past six weeks and started to look for a ride. This is the story of how Alvin Straight drove his lawn tractor 240 miles across Iowa to see his brother in Wisconsin.

It began with a phone call. Or a letter. The accounts vary on that. Alvin's brother Henry had suffered a stroke. The two had not spoken in years. That did not sit right with Alvin. He knew that he had to go see Henry. But he could not get a driver's license due to diabetes, emphysema and poor eyesight. So it was that he set out from Laurens, Iowa on July 5th, 1994 atop his Airens lawn tractor with a trailer full of supplies in tow. He made it all of 25 miles. Breaking down a few miles from the Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption in West Bend. That would have been the end of it for most men. But Alvin was not deterred.

He returned to Laurens where he upgraded to a 1966 John Deere 110. This time he made it all the way into West Bend before needing to stop for repairs again. He spent $250 to replace most of the electrical system. But with a new condenser, spark plugs, starter and alternator the little tractor proved reliable. A few hours a day Straight made his way down the shoulders of Iowa's highways at a top speed of 5 mph. I bought my riding mower from a dealer the next town over. It was a little too long to fit in the back of my short bed pickup. When the salesman asked me how I planned to get it home I told him that I would drive it. "On Route 12?" he said, pointing at the busy highway out front. They were so concerned for my safety that they got one of their guys to stay late and delivered it for free. Mind you it is only four and a half miles. But Alvin did it day after day. Camping out in fields along the way.

He made it 132 miles to Charles City before he ran out of money. Having already gone more than halfway he stayed there waiting on his social security check. The local newspaper got wind of what he was doing and interviewed him. The associated press picked up the story and when he got back on the road he found he had well wishers. Many offered help including rides but he was not the sort to accept it. Straight was a veteran of World War II and Korea and spent his life as a laborer. He was husband to one woman and father to seven children that lived. By this time he had seen most of what life could throw at a person. So he pushed on for two more weeks, over the Mississippi, before finally breaking down on August 15th. A farmer showed up and the two of them pushed the tractor the last two miles.

Alvin spent a few weeks at Henry's home as the latter recovered and the two of them reconciled. That was where the New York Times caught up with him. After their visit his nephew drove him and the mower back to Laurens. He turned down offers to appear on The Tonight Show and David Letterman. An equipment dealer in Texas sent him a brand new 17 horse John Deere GT262 to replace his old one which is in a museum now. Disney made a movie about the trip called The Straight Story directed by David Lynch. Richard Farnsworth received a best actor nomination for what would be his final role. It is a great Iowa movie and a look at the world I grew up in.

You might ask why he could not take a bus. Or tally his expenditures and realize that he could have taken a cab for less. But a man does not do damn fool things because he needs to. Alvin Straight rode that mower for six weeks until long after his ass went numb as an act of penance. A grand gesture of love for his brother. As someone who used to be close with his brother, but does not talk with him as much as I like I understand. You start out as young men together against the world. Sooner or later though, you have your own families, and you grow apart. There are few people who can be there for you when your parents are gone. That know all about how you grew up and can help give context to your life. There is no distance too far to go for that.