Breakdowns

Hubby and Mr 17 have really been putting in some long hours as harvest has started. They typically leave around or before 9 a.m. (Have you ever tried getting a teen out the door? Don't judge until you have a teen up, running about 5 miles for Cross Country and then try to get them showered and fed and out the door, it is really not an easy task!) and they return sometime after 10:30 p.m. Things were going fairly well with only minor breakdowns in the combines, things that could be fixed in hours or a few moments. That all changed on Friday. Mr 17 had moved on to the old machine and was combining a lentil field while Hubby worked feverishly in the heat and humidity to clean out all the barley from the new machine. (Never worked with barley dust/chafe/filth? It's incredibly ITCHY!) Hubby kicked in all the systems to check over the working parts and a huge banging greeted him. I won't go into details, but so far the bill for parts without labor costs incurred by having a mechanic come out to help (it's really a two or three person job to fix this breakdown) is over $3,000. So the new combine is sitting still waiting for the remaining parts so it can get up and running.
Saturday evening Mr 17 is running the older combine. (thank goodness for this machine; nothing fancy, and really old, but she keeps plugging away) Mr 17 is on his last pass on this field so Hubby leaves the two way radio out of his earshot briefly while he moves something around. As Mr 17 tries to turn a corner with the combine THE FRONT TIRE FALLS OFF! Seriously! Can you imagine. Without the two way radio on Mr 17 can't reach Hubby, so he has to run a mile back to the home farm to get Hubby's help! Good thing Mr 17 is a runner and a mile was a piece of cake for him, oh wait, he was in untied work boots, jeans and running through lentil stubble in 95 degree heat and humidity you normally see only in Florida. Maybe I exaggerate when I say a piece of cake.
So, now the old combine is down as well. It is in need of serious repairs as well. So on a beautiful harvest weather day, Hubby and Mr 17 are stuck at home because no one works here on Sundays, so no parts can be had to fix the machines. An unexpected and very frustrating day off for them. Me, I feel a bit selfish, I was glad to have them here to help with the daily mundane. I feel bad that the machines are broken, and that Hubby is so frustrated he throws his hat around, but still, glad to have him here for a day.
(PS What was with all the parenthesis in this post? Heh!)