Yesterday, I was sent to Merkel to cover the inaugural (they called it the “first annual,” but I like to hedge my bets on these things) Merkel Tractor Pull, an official event sanctioned by the Texas Antique Tractor Pullers Association. My last two assignments could be the start of a book: Country Folk + Mechanized Objects = Good, Clean/Dirty Fun. Mud bogs and tractor pulls, oh my!
Now, a story like this could go two ways. It could be a sterile “What, when, where, who, why, quote 1, quote 2, wrap up” kind of story. Or, it could be a “Find an interesting angle and use that to get in the who, what, when, where, why kind of stuff” story. Thankfully, I was able to take the second approach with this one.
I showed up in a field, where the organizers had carved out a 300-foot track. There were bleachers on one side, and old tractors on the other. I was walking around thinking, “How can I make this into something I would want to read? Sixty-year-old tractors, moving at a walking pace, hauling a heavy trailer. Riveting, right?”
Just then, one of the organizers came over and said, “I don’t know if it matters, but there’s this guy over here, and he’s blind.”
Bingo.
It turned out to be a pretty amazing story. George Toone, born blind, was raised on a farm near Pecos. He earned a bachelors and masters degree from Texas Tech, and works as a rehabilitation counselor for a local agency. He has learned to do some amazing things, despite his inability to turn reflected light into chemical and electrical signals which his brain interprets. He can, for instance, rebuild tractors. He builds mental maps of things, from feeling, and can put back together most any part he has broken down.
And he drives a massive 1975 International Harvester in tractor pulls. His wife, Amy, usually sits alongside, giving him directions on steering. But, all of that is covered in the article I wrote to go along with the photos, available at the Reporter-News website.
George and Amy Toone wait on 'Big Dale' before the tractor pull. George drives, while Amy gives directions.
Haulin'....sled. Turns out there's more to a tractor pull than hitting the gas. That 28,000-pound sled really requires some deft handling.
This kid, participating in a toy tractor race, was not blind. But, people didn't hold that against him.
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