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!
