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Cancer Steals Voice, But Not Man's Drive

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: March 6, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - Ken Parks hefted the Craftsman lawn mower onto a table.

That's impressive for a 150-pound man who stands 5-foot-4.

He propped the mower under a small jack, placed a pan beneath it and turned a wrench a few times before backing away and muttering hoarsely in a voice tattered by his second, ongoing bout with cancer.

In moments, the 61-year-old former dairy farmer brought out an adjustable wrench from a large toolbox, jammed it under the oil gasket and gave it a twist. Thick, black sludge oozed into the pan. Parks - the owner, operator and only employee of Ken's Small Engine Repair - exhaled loudly.

"I'm a worker," he said with a rasp and shrug of the shoulders. "I love what I do."

That's a good thing.

Parks, who has run the mobile repair business for about four years, recently began receiving chemotherapy treatment for a tumor that pushes on his larynx, leaving him with a whisper of a voice.

In 2002, he survived tonsil cancer but remembers the debilitating chemotherapy that left him as sick as an overindulgent New Year's reveler. This time, he says, the chemotherapy won't be as intense, and he plans to work through the treatments.

He doesn't have much choice.

Dawn, his wife of 13 years, is in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease and is on a waiting list to get into Zephyr Haven Nursing Home.

A Marine in the 1960s, Parks receives medical insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs, but he still needs to earn a living.

He has a steady base of loyal customers from across Pasco County who keep him busy, but he worries about losing more business because it's hard for him to return phone calls.

Despite the slowed economy, Parks' busiest time of year is fast approaching.

"I'm trying to find someone who can make appointments for me, just someone who can ask callers when I need to come over" for a job, he said. "All I need is a voice."

A native of New York, Parks moved to Florida more than 30 years ago. He said he was a mechanic at Pasco Power Outdoor Equipment until the company went out of business. He started doing repairs soon after.

Neighbor Bill Howard said Parks has done excellent work on his Craftsman lawn mower and described him as a "real nice guy."

"He's got a real serious case of cancer, though," he said.

Nevertheless, there was work piling up outside a small, tidy garage at Parks' home on a recent visit. A riding lawn mower, several self-propelled mowers and a pressure washer needed his attention.

"In the summer, I'll usually get home around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., and I'll sharpen blades out here in the shop for another few hours," he said. "Then I'll get up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. and do the quieter work, the spark plugs and air filters, and I'll get everything ready to deliver that day."

The man, after all, is a worker.

He just wants to keep going.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Ken's Small Engine Repair

INFORMATION: (813) 743-3852

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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