Rental Agreement For Tractor Pull: Fill & Download for Free

My friends consider me to be a very generous person. Generosity, kindness, and compassion are very important to me, and are values to which I want my children exposed.When one of my children was in elementary school, he came home from school and shared that it had been career day at school, and several of his classmates’ parents had shared about their careers with his class.I asked my son why I wasn’t invited to share, and my son laughed and said, “Dad! You don’t do anything!”I was surprised to hear this answer. In fact, I thought that I did many things. For one thing, I owned a farm. Albeit, it was a small farm, and it was a timber farm, so there wasn’t a lot I had to do other than wait for the timber to mature. Sure, there were some things, but it wasn’t an ongoing, daily thing.Also, I had some livestock. Basically, I kept them fed and made sure they were safe and healthy. They pretty much took care of the rest.I had a lot of dogs, many of them strays who we took in. We also nursed a lot of other animals to health — rabbits, birds, turtles, etc. And when we weren’t able to save them, we mourned them and honored their lives in ritualistic ways.I also turned my property into an animal sanctuary, and took great pains to care for the creatures on my place. It was not at all uncommon for deer to approach me and nuzzle my back in search of a pet or a snack. This was unheard of in an area known for hunting white tail deer.Not only did I think this important, I thought it a way for my children to learn to give to the environment/nature, to take care of it, much less to notice it and how we interact and depend on it.I also owned a multi-million dollar company that I started at my kitchen table and mostly ran from my mobile telephone and / or computer, either at the kitchen table and from my pickup truck.My children didn’t see my work on the farm (or theirs) as work, because I enjoyed it so much. It was fun to me, and it was fun to them. Nor did they see the running of my business as work — they just saw me on the telephone. They didn’t see all the behind the scenes stuff that was going on to run and build a successful business.This concerned me. I wanted to instill a positive work ethic in my children, as well as an attitude of service. In fact, my lucrative business only existed as a way to pay the bills and also as a way to further my community activities. I built a football field for local children to play on, and a pool for them to learn how to swim and have fun with the water.We often took in hitch hikers and other transients, fed them, lodged them, and befriended them. My children saw this daily.And yet, they didn’t think I did anything.I tried to think of something tangible that I could do as an example for my children. I had been upset at the horrible housing conditions for the working poor in our county. I contacted Habitat for Humanity about starting a chapter in our county. Habitat turned me down — they said our county was too small (population.)I decided to start my own housing organization to provide excellent housing for people who did not presently have that option.I started buying houses. I had befriended a number of local tradesmen, and I sold them on my vision, and they would help me and teach me how to make repairs and renovations (this is in the days before YouTube.)I bought and renovated many houses, and I had my children help me. They did jobs suitable to their age. I hoped that the process would teach them skills, build confidence, and most importantly, instill in them care for others.We rented our houses to working poor families. These were excellent houses. I determined that if I would not live in a house with my family, then I would not rent the house.My children were a part of the business. We would discuss decisions to be made, and why these decisions were made. Once, I noticed that one of our renters’ grass was way too high — they hadn’t mowed in some time. The renter’s agreement stated that if the grass wasn’t mowed, I would have it mowed at their expense.One day on the way home from the boys’ school, I saw my renters in the yard, and stopped to ask about the grass. They told me they had been so busy, and they were sorry. I learned that one of the family was hospitalized, and this was causing much stress in the family. They apologized profusely about the grass, but I told them not to worry about it.I went home, got my tractor, returned to their house, and cut the grass. My boys were excited, because, according to the rental agreement, there would be a hefty charge for this. However, they were surprised when I said there would be no charge — these people were in distress, and we would not compound their stress. My renters were even more surprised.About a year after this, these very same renters called to say they were having a problem with the sewage backing up. I rode over and deduced that it was a septic tank problem, most likely the line from the house to the septic tank. It was July 4th weekend, and I didn’t want to have to mess with this. I told the renters that I was sorry, but nothing could be done until Monday, 3 days away.That night I couldn’t sleep. I realized how horrible I had been to my renters. I got up the next day and drove to their house to apologize, and to put their family up in a hotel until Monday. I took my children with me so that they could see their father own up to a mistake, to a wrong doing to others.The father met me in the driveway, grinning. He wanted to show me something. We walked round to the septic tank, and I saw that he had dug up it and the pipe going to it. By hand. In the hot Georgia July heat.He had dug it out himself, and replaced the broken pipe himself. He was very proud. I was very impressed, and very humbled. He had fixed the problem.I asked him how much I owed him for his time and materials. He was taken aback and insisted that he would not take a penny. He reminded me of my cutting the grass (several times) the year before when a family member was in the hospital. He said he was so happy to finally return the favor.My children saw and heard all of this.This man and I shook hands, and I invited his family over to our home for a cook out and swim in the pool, and they accepted.Other people who owned rental properties told me I couldn’t be friends with the people who rented from me. They warned me. But I did it my way, and I learned that these other people, though well meaning, were incorrect.I saved 10 percent of every rent paid to me in an account for the renters so that whenever they moved, they would have a little something to help them in their move, with deposits, etc.I also was able to transfer ownership of two houses to two families who otherwise would have been unable to have a home of their own by conventional means. My children were aware of all of this. They were a part of it. They debated me about it. They had their input and I took their input to heart and we discussed things.Their mother was usually in disagreement with the decisions I made. She thought that the point of the housing business was to make a profit. I thought the point was to change lives and teach our children the meaning of life.In hindsight, it was probably good that our children had such opposing views to consider. In this way, my children could see the results of decisions that were based solely on taking, and decisions that regarded the lives of others as important and were based on giving.The housing business grew into other ways to help people, and my children were a part of this. Some of these other ventures were my children’s ideas, and they were great ideas.One such idea was to host a Community Christmas meal at our farm on Christmas day for people in the community who would otherwise be alone. This ended up being a great tradition and great fun!One of my most prized possessions is a note written by one of my children on behalf of one of our friends’ and guests (he couldn’t read or write.) His name was July, and he squatted in a fallen down house in the forest. He lived in one room. He had no electricity. No heat. No plumbing.Also, he was an alcoholic in the worst sense — he was usually drunk. He was a great tractor driver, and most of the farmers would ‘hire’ him to work all day, then give him a half pint of cheap liquor.When I first met July, he wouldn’t enter the front door of my house. He said he had to enter the back door, and even then he wasn’t sure he could enter. I told him this was nonsense, and brought him in.Over time, we became friends. One night, it was very cold (for that area of the world) — below freezing, in fact. I couldn’t sleep, because I was worried about July, as I knew he had no heat.I got up and drove over to his house to check on him. He was sleeping between two mattresses, trying to stay warm. I tried to get him to come to my house, but he wouldn’t, so I gave him a down sleeping bag I had brought over.The next day, I took a couple of my boys shopping. We picked up some supplies for July. Some solar lighting (he used candles and his walls were black with soot). A solar / wind up radio (he loved to sing), a portable propane heater. Plus a bunch of other stuff so I could build him a solar shower, and dig a proper latrine. Oh, and a bunch of toilet paper. (He used cloth strips that he made from clothes he found on the side of the road and in the dumpsters.)My boys and I went to July’s house and helped set up these things for him. And we built a solar shower and dug a latrine and had a proper outside privy. He was ecstatic.Other friends of mine who also knew July warned me that I was making a huge mistake. They said that July would sell everything I had given him if he needed some liquor. I realized that they were correct.What could I do?My boys and I talked about it. The answer was simple.We went to see July to talk about our concerns. He admitted that, yes, he probably would sell something if he was in bad need of a drink.I had a suggestion for him. I said that during the summer months, I would collect the propane heater and store it at my place so that he wouldn’t be tempted to sell it. He said he thought that was a good idea.As for the other stuff, I invited him to let me know if ever he needed a drink and I would stop whatever I was doing, drive him to the liquor store, and get him whatever he needed. Only, do not sell your things. Just let me know.July agreed to these terms.My friends told me I was crazy, that it would never work. They said that, at the very least, July would take advantage of me and use me to get him liquor. I imagined they might be correct.My boys observed all of this, wondering how it would work out.I knew July for nine years after we struck our deal. During all that time, he only came to me once, in bad need of a drink. He apologized profusely. I told him no apologies were needed — he was honoring our deal, and I was so proud of him and honored at his doing so.We went to the liquor store and he got what he needed.Only once. In nine years.My boys took note. My other friends were shocked.Over the years I would keep July supplied with toilet paper. Every month or so I would leave a big package of it by his door. And every Christmas I would do “the 12 days of Christmas” for him, leaving a 1/2 pint of moonshine for him at his door each of those 12 days (I had an excellent supplier.)And every year, July would bring me some collard greens and other veggies that he grew in his garden. And our family would cook them and eat them and they were very good.And then that one Christmas meal, July pulled my middle son aside and asked him to write me a note — it was his Christmas gift to me. The note reads, “Thank you, Will. Thank you for letting me know I haven’t been forgotten. Thank you for letting me know that I matter.”My children were so excited to give this to me. I was so humbled by it, and so excited to see my children excited at one of the results of living a life of giving, rather than taking.I continue to try to instill these values in my children, and I continue to learn the same from my children.Peace.