Wednesday, April 30, 2014

The Value of a Good Friend

     This past Monday, my teammate Chance and I found ourselves in what had the potential to be the worst day ever. We were on our way to the Southwest District Banquet in Scott City (4 hours away) when the transmission went out in Chance’s truck. Here we were, two college kids broken down on the side of I-70 outside of Hays, America—about two hours from both Manhattan and Scott City—on a balmy western Kansas day, with blustering cold 65 mph winds. Our situation had all the makings of a disaster.
      In a desperate attempt to figure out what in the world we should do, Chance and I quickly gave a phone call to each of our parents. My dad reminded me that our family friend, Pete Weber, lived in Hays and told me that he would give Pete a shout. Within five minutes, Dad called me back and said that Pete was on his way. And, within ten minutes, Pete was calling me to see if he needed to bring a flatbed trailer and asking what else he could do to help us.
     Pete soon got there and we quickly loaded the truck on the trailer and headed to Enterprise to pick up a vehicle to take us to Scott City. James, the manager, went above and beyond to expedite the process as we picked up Fred the Ford Fiesta. We soon were on the road and ended up making it to Scott City on time for the banquet! Thank goodness!
    Our potentially horrible situation was made easier by a friend who was willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to help us out. I’ve known Pete Weber for pretty much my whole life, and this actually wasn’t the first time that he’s had to bail a Bilberry kid out of a vehicle disaster (my brother Rusty hit a deer outside of Hays a few years ago). Pete probably had tons of other things he could have been doing that afternoon, but he was willing to drop everything and brave the less-than-ideal weather to help us out. Pete is living proof of the value of a good friend.
    Over the last year, I have been blessed with some wonderful people in my life. Whether it was my Louisburg gals, the great friends I’ve made here on campus, my teammates, my friends from back home, or my family, there has never been a shortage of people who have gone above and beyond when I needed help with a task, found myself in a pickle, or just needed someone to talk to.
     I hope that I can be that person to others. Take a second to think—do you go above and beyond when others find themselves in a bind? A lot of times we take, take, take, but are we remembering to give, give, give? Sometimes, in order to receive, we need to remember to first let others receive. Good friends are few and far between, but if we are willing to first be a good friend, we will find good friends. Help out others when they’re in a bind, even if it’s not the most convenient. Because of our friendship, Pete changed Chance and I’s situation from bad to good just by offering a helping hand.


Kansas FFA, let’s help others change their bad to good!