Threshing
 
    Threshing time was the high point of the year.  Everybody worked hard.  A 
suspenseful time was before the grain was even ready for harvest.  That was when 
my dad and Uncle Nick tried to the old Rommley tractor running.  One more year 
to power up the threshing machine.  We could feel the tension before Dad even 
went to Uncle Nick’s farm.  Each year it was the same old worries.  Would the 
old machine start without a hitch for once?  Or would it require a lot of 
expensive parts we couldn’t afford?  Would the needed parts be available before 
threshing?  Would repairs take more time than we had?  Harvest time for small 
grain is short and must be weather-right.
     We listened all day for the rumbling from across the garden and wheat 
field.  It started and stopped.  Started and stopped.  When the rumbling 
continued we figured the harvest would get done and everyone sighed in relief.