Farming is risky. Risky in many ways. Of course there are the obvious risks associated with nature: weather, pests, etc. as well as the financial risks of associating your livelihood to the whims of said nature. But it is also physically risky. Just do a Google on the most dangerous jobs in America and you will always find farming in the top 10. Yikes! Why did I go into this occupation?
But the risks aren’t limited to financial and physical. In fact I was exposed to one of the risks this week. And fell victim to it. Don’t worry, I’m fine – for the most part.
But let me give you some background first. A little over a year ago I joined the technology revolution and purchased a smart phone. It is an amazing little gadget, even better than the communicators on Star Trek since my smart phone also has a music playing device (take THAT Mr. Spock!) In the past – prior to my head first dive into technology – I would wear ear protection while driving the tractor. Suffice it to say that the tractor is quite loud (the main reason we have to farm out here in the country — city noise ordinances and all). At first I just wore ear muffs. When these didn’t seem to cancel out enough noise I went to soft ear plugs and ear muffs. Eventually I even purchased a new, bigger muffler. This seemed to work pretty well. And with my newfound quite I could finally hear the voices inside my head again! Most of the time the voices were singing random songs with alternative lyrics. These songs were usually related to the crops I was working with. Who could forget “Moves Like Cabbage”? Or “Hungarian Heart”?
But now with my new fangled communicator/phonograph I no longer have to hear the songs in my head. I can hear them in my ears. And they can be songs unrelated to farming. This was great! So I hooked up with Pandora and started listening to tunes while on the tractor. The music was loud enough to drown out the tractor as long as I continued to wear the ear muffs over my ear buds. The only downside I saw at this point was Pandora did not have a predefined tractor-driving music station. I sent them an email to alert them to this unfortunate oversight.
So what does this have to do with the risks of farming? Some of you are probably thinking that I shouldn’t be listening to music while driving since I wouldn’t be able to hear if I run into something, or if someone is screaming at me, or both. But let me assure you that if I wasn’t listening to music I still wouldn’t be able to hear people screaming at me. Apparently noise reduction wasn’t a priority on Ford tractors built in the 70’s. And in fact, with my fancy phone/phonograph/textual communication device people can text me, call me or email me and it will interrupt the music. So now I am far more reachable than I was living in the small, quiet world known as my head.
No, the risk I’m talking about is far greater than mere physical. It is a risk to me the tractor driver, as well as those left on the ground. It is a risk that I can honestly say I never saw coming. You see, now while I drive the tractor and listening to music I occasionally get the urge to sing. And since I can’t hear my singing and I presume nobody else can hear my singing over the rumble of the tractor I don’t worry about my singing. And this is where the risk comes in. Singing is not a problem when I am on a tractor – no one can hear me. But it is a problem – a big problem – when I forget that I am not on a tractor and I am instead in say a store, or a gym or walking through the halls of my son’s Jr. High School. Talk about embarrassing – for my son that is. Yes, many an ear has been damaged by my singing when I forget that I am in public and not on the tractor. A sad – but accurate – commentary on my singing (dis)ability.
So, whereas most research on the dangers of occupations focus on the physical dangers involved in the occupation, it should not be understated how dangerous some occupations are to the physical and emotional wellbeing of those not directly involved in the occupation – as well as the emotional wellbeing of the occupation occupier.
As they say in farming, “On a tractor, no one can hear you sing.” And in my case, the rest of the world is a better place for it.
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