John Deere

Noah's favorite movie right now isn't exactly a movie...nor is it television show. When he wants to watch TV he asks me to put in the John Deere tractors DVD. What is so odd about this DVD? It's a commercial: a promotional DVD sent to my Uncle Ken, (who, incidentally, epitomizes all farmers in Noah's eyes) meant to promote the 9030 series Tractor with pictures of the engine, information about improvements in stability and horsepower, and a demonstration of the three-way hitch. For a time, this 20 minute video was often being played on one and two hour loops in our home as Noah played. Not that he was even watching the television, so much as he just liked to have it on as background. I, on the other hand, was being driven mad.

As a compromise solution, my cousin gave me 5 different videos of live action John Deere "educational" shows which talk about the history of John Deere machinery (including Noah's favorite, the Johnny Poppers) and their functions today. The shows are ostensibly aimed at children, but they are odd to watch. For example, they spend time talking about old tractor restoration techniques and spend time not only on harvesting, bulldozing, and tilling, but also on John Deere collectible toys. I feel as though we are living in a John Deere dealership. These new videos give me some variety, and are undoubtedly better than the 20 minute commercial. However, I have found it necessary to cap our John Deere time to an hour a day. This is a very difficult compromise for Noah, but I worry that more than an hour a day would force me to eventually drive a John Deere bulldozer into our television.