Casey's summer job

Kristie got Casey a job working for one of her former customers, a middle aged farmer near Grand Forks. Casey originally planned to work for the summer rec program during the week and then at the tubing place on the weekends. However, he figured he would get more hours and better pay (nearly $8 an hour) working for a farmer. Plus he would have weekends free for paint balling (his one true love).

But that all ended yesterday. For a week or so now, Casey has been grumbling about wanting to quit. I attributed it to a couple factors. One, as a city kid, he has zero experience on a farm, so he was frustrated that he didn't feel like he ever really knew what he was doing. This is totally understandable. Kristie and I both told him to hang on until his first paycheck at the end of the month. We figured once he saw his paycheck, that would change his mind. Second, his summer paint balling plans have - for the most part - fallen apart. Originally he planned to be in tournaments (along with some of his friends) nearly every weekend from late May through September, but so far those plans have not come to fruition. Third, the farmer is a bit of a grump - often yelling at him and making him feel lousy.

But yesterday was the last straw. Casey came home in the early afternoon with a look of woe on his face that no 16 year old should experience. He said that today was the last straw. First, he was helping the farmer spread manure in a field. But he got the tractor stuck. He panicked and only got the tractor mired deeper. So the farmer had to stop and come over. But they couldn't pull both the tractor and the manure spreader out. So they had to unhook the tractor. Casey was then able to get the tractor out on his own. But they had to hook the manure spreader back up. They were trying to get a pin out of the hitch. Casey's boss was holding the pin and he had Casey pounding the bolt with a crow bar. Keep in mind, Casey has handled a crow bar maybe once in his life. And this was it!

Well, Casey missed and hit the bolt which then hit the farmer's hand. He stopped and had Casey hold the bolt. Then he promptly struck it - intentionally - with the crow bar to sting Casey's hand. "How does that feel?" he asked.

And this is from a grown man who has several foster kids! What cruelty! So now we fully endorse Casey's quitting.

The poor kid's other thumb was smashed earlier (or so Casey claims) when he was holding a PTO shaft and it slipped down onto his thumb. He is most certainly going to lose the nail. And he spent the rest of the afternoon cradling his thumb in a dishtowel wrapped around an ice cube. Then he went promptly to bed and stayed there. He was still there when I left this morning.

The really sad part was he was doing his best not to cry as he told us about his day.