Safety, safety, safety.  This is something I cannot stress enough.  Machines are mean and are NEVER to be trusted.  If you don’t believe me, just scroll through the internet one day.  Machines break, cut, disembowel, and kill people.  Jesh, that sounds so harsh.  But the truth is the truth and hiding from the truth only gets you dumb.  There, I stated that nicely. When working with machinery the first and most important safety skill to observe every minute of every day is PAY ATTENTION.  Accidents are accidents and they always happen in the blink of any eye but this does not excuse your attention level.  PAY ATTENTION!

Other safety measures are learned over time and experience.  Blisters are not signs of strength and durability.  Chicks don’t dig scars when they remove an eye.  Artificial limbs may have come a long way in recent years, but a real leg is always better. Broken toes cannot be fixed and as the body ages, the toes become stiff and rigid, making shoes uncomfortable and flip-flops not possible.

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Nothing is more comfortable than an old broken into, molded to you, pair of ……  The best pants are about to blow out in the knee, the thigh, or the famous crotch stitching.  Shoes are most comfortable right before they develop holes in the toes.  And gloves, gloves are best when they become your second skin.  Unfortunately, this happens at the same time the briar mesquite thorn pokes through and the material rips along the thumb line.

As the inevitable will come, the best safety measures will need replacing and the new sucks!  The gloves are stiff, the boots leave blisters, and the pants rub against the inner thigh.  Moaning, complaining, and band-aid usage will take place for a few weeks.  Then one day, the boots will be scuffed and pliable, pants will be soft and stained, and gloves will have molded from days of sweaty hands.

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Like I said, accidents are accidents and all the safety measures, attention, and precautions won’t keep your hand being smashed on the tractor steering wheel from the broken branch that fell from the tree.  Notice, there are no cuts or scrapes on the hand.  Glove protection, just saying.  So when working with machinery, remember to wear your safety glasses, gloves, boots, ear plugs, and protective pants, shirts.  It could be the difference between life and death.