• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Coon Rapids Man Mows Lawns Free To Lose Weight

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Jul 6, 2006 12:43 am US/Central

Coon Rapids Man Mows Lawns Free To Lose Weight

by Jason DeRusha
Coon Rapids, Minn. (WCCO) ― What would you think if you saw an ad reading: "Free Lawn Mowing"?

Jerry Woods thought there was no way it was for real.

"I thought it was a scam at first," said Woods, "but thought, 'What the heck?'"

When he called the number listed on the Craigslist posting he got in contact with 44-year-old Darrell Nelson, a Coon Rapids man looking to lose some weight.

"I was mowing my lawn one day," said Nelson, "one of the warmer days, and I was sweating like a pig. I thought, 'I should mow a few lawns, I could probably lose more weight.'"

So Nelson logged onto the "Free" section of Craigslist, and wrote, "I used to compete in powerlifting many years ago. I now lack the commitment to myself to go out and exercise. I figure if I make a commitment to someone else about mowing their lawn once a week, I will stick to it."

Along with his own lawn, Nelson wants four other lawns to mow. Since posting his ad on Monday, he's already lined up two clients, including Woods. "I told my buddies, 'Hey, I got a free lawn service!' and nobody believed me!"

Nelson is hoping to lose 50 pounds by watching his diet and pushing a mower. He's had many false starts in recent years trying to get back to a decent weight.

"It's a commitment to myself I don't follow through on, I've done it before," said Nelson. "This is a commitment to somebody else, then I have a tendency to follow through on it."

Nelson said he doesn't even enjoy mowing the lawn. But he hopes to enjoy the fruits of his labor, all the while clipping blades of grass and clipping inches from his waistline.

His generosity does have limits, though: "I won't bag and I won't do any trimming."

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Top News

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.