Gordon Blakeslee is 85 years old and lives in Harpursville, New York. One of the pleasures he enjoys in life is mowing his lawn. Yes, there are folks who really do enjoy that, and my dad is one of them, too. However, a heartless person did something unimaginable: they stole this man’s lawnmower right out of his yard. Gordon didn’t want any GoFundMe fundraisers or monetary donations, he just wanted his lawnmower back and he enlisted the help of his community in trying to get it returned. Gordon’s mower was a red 2009 Craftsman riding lawnmower, and it probably wasn’t cheap when he bought it.
However, we have a feeling that Gordon has taken good care of that lawnmower. It’s probably never missed an oil change and probably still looks as good as it did when it was new. And to be clear, Gordon likes mowing his own grass because, as he says, a lot of people cut it too short, and he says, “My son is one of them.” When the COVID-19 pandemic swept over the country in early 2020, Gordon temporarily left his home to go quarantine with his family. While he was gone, his mower was stolen from his yard. Gordon’s daughter-in-law explained just why this lawnmower meant so much to her father-in-law.
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“That was something that was precious to him, everything that he has, has value to him,” said Candace Blakeslee, Gordon’s daughter-in-law. “If it’s not broken, it doesn’t need to be repaired or replaced,” she said. With Gordon back in his own home, he’s on a mission to get his beloved lawnmower returned safely to him. He even insisted on putting a sign up in his yard that says, “Bring back my mower, I’m 85 years old and I can’t push.” But there’s more to the story. “I want it back,” said Gordon. “I used to work out here, when my wife was alive, I used to work out there all day long.”
Candace added that seeing him so distraught broke her heart. “I didn’t realize how much he would miss it until I came here and saw the sign,” said Candace. “It melted my heart.”
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Mowing isn’t just a weekend chore for this man. It’s an opportunity to get outside and feel some sense of normalcy in a time when our lives have been uprooted. Gordon chose to put his faith in the goodness of humanity in the hopes that his mower would be returned. Although he refused to allow anyone to do any fundraisers for him, the fact is, Gordon was correct to put his faith in humanity. Although his mower didn’t get returned, kind strangers wanted to know how to help him once they heard his story on the local news. Candace came back to Facebook with an exciting update: an anonymous donor bought a brand new Craftsman lawnmower for Gorden and it’s not a 2009 model, but it’s still a Craftsman. The lawnmower was dropped off by the Broome County Sheriff’s Office.
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It seems that Candace’s faith in humanity has been restored, too. She said that family is “Beyond grateful for the love, generosity, and compassion by so many.”