I wouldn't say Homer was tight, but he was definitely cautious with his money. His wife was even more cautious, and she kept a close watch on the purse strings. Women didn't wear pants back then, but if they had, Homer's wife would have worn the pants in that family.

One spring he somehow convinced her that he needed new tires for his tractor. He drove it to town to save the cost of a service call and had four new tires installed.

Homer kept his tractor behind his house in an old log cabin which had one end partially cut out to allow access. When Homer got home with the tractor he headed straight for the cabin. I don't know why it was there, but driven about three quarters of the way into the end of one of the logs was a 20-penny spike nail. Homer had snagged his britches on it several times, so as he drove into the cabin he decided to drag the rear tire on the nail and bend it over.

It didn't bend. The nail punctured the sidewall and ripped a six-inch gash in that brand new tire.

Homer waited until his wife was in the garden, then he called the tire store and asked them to tear up the check he had just written, and add the cost of another tire and a service call to the bill. Then he told them not to come out to the farm until he called them.

One afternood when his wife was in town he called, and they came out and installed another tire. Everyone else in the neighborhood knew what had happened, but luckily for Homer his wife never did find out.