When a man like George Jones has a thirst on, nothing is going to stand in the way of him and his local liquor store, even if it means driving a lawnmower 16 miles.
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I'm not sure what the legal drinking limit is for a lawnmower, but it appears that George Jones didn't care. When a man needs another drink, the closest thing to transport will do. If it wasn't the mower, it may well have been a push bike or a horse, who knows?
Either way, when his wife left him for a few days back in the 60's, she decided to take the keys with her. Whether this was in an effort to keep him locked down at home or not is anyone's guess. If it was, it wasn't successful. Geroge Jones was on a multi-day bender, and he was all out of liquor. The only thing to hand was a rotary lawnmower, so that's what George Jones decided to take.
A Long Road Trip For George Jones On His Lawnmower
It was no 15-minute ride to the local store either. This was well before the days of Uber Eats, and as he notes, it was probably about 16 miles away. I don't know if you have ever ridden a mower, but they really don't clock many MPH.
The 10-horsepower lawnmower rotary engine was pushed to its limits as George Jones rode it to the store. As he points out in this biography, "I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles per hour," he remembers. "It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did."
I think you may have been able to get away with a little more back in the 60s, especially if you're a legend like George Jones. I can't see anyone getting away with a three-hour round trip to a liquor store these days on a mower. Imagine seeing one of those trundling along a freeway.
You can't knock the man's determination. Even a 10-CC rotary lawnmower isn't enough to stop George Jones from getting what he wants.
