Well, after having solved all other world problems while poking up and down 1/2 mile rows of Switchgrass at 1.5 mph on the 9600 combine, I got to thinking about how my personal comfort during such a job had improved over the years with each new generation of equipment.

I spent time on an open station tractor during my growing-up years, usually the MF 50 or later, the MF 180. Dust, bugs, and weather were daily experiences, like it or not. It was not uncommon to go home for dinner wearing a thick layer of soil that required a good "warshin' an' scrubbin'". And let's not forget the day after day of running engines at full throttle, sitting a couple feet from the exhaust. Ringing of the ears was a daily problem.

I recall the day my Dad told me I would get to drive the MF 1100 back to the farm after having it outfitted with a *cab*! A CAB! The ultimate in cool! No more bugs! No more dust! No more weather on my back! I was ecstatic! 

Alas, that ecstasy quickly vanished, and grim reality set in. 

The new-fangled cab was just a metal-framed glass box set atop an otherwise open cab design. No A/C. In Texas. In summer. It was ok in winter, but in Texas, in our area, "winter" lasted a couple of weeks, at most. The rest of the time, it was brutally hot. We ended up removing the doors and glass. Back to the dust and bugs. And did I mention Noise, yet? It was so loud we had to wear ear muffs. Even in those dark ages, we were concerned, and rightly so, about hearing loss caused by prolonged exposure to extremely loud sounds.

Here's where my personal comfort zone makes a quantum leap: John Deere introduces the Sound-Guard Cab.

Finally! My dream realized! Now if only the would put one on *everything*! Cotton strippers! Combines! Sprayers! Anything that was otherwise heck to operate!

The air conditioned, pressurized, sound-insulated, ergonomic cab of the future had arrived!

I casually mentioned to my dad that I had seen the new 4230 on the dealers lot and had just had to stop and look at it, it was so weird-looking! And the sales guy had caught me looking and invited me to sit in the cab and run it a bit. Boy was it quiet in there! For once the PR wasn't just more BS!

Next thing I know, this truck pulls into our driveway and unloads a 4230! And darn it, I was leaving for college, 2500 miles away. I really looked forward to Christmas Break and a chance to see if it really did live up to the hype. I don't recall any disappointment.

Each succeeding generation of cab since has just been improving on the original. No quantum leaps. Some large steps, but nothing that matches the step from open station to sound-insulated and air conditioned.

Boy am I spoiled now.