We often live in areas where we don’t know our neighbors all that well. We might know the names of the people who live next door to us but we don’t know much more beyond that basic information. Other people who live in the neighborhood are nothing more than individuals and families that drive by our house on occasion on their way to and from home. It’s that way for many of us but not for all of us. In some rural farming communities, you still know your neighbors and you care about them.
This became evident last year in Floyd County, Texas. A cotton farmer named Greg Bishop learned that he had leukemia. Suddenly, he was going through chemotherapy and other types of treatments and it left him feeling weak and fragile. His 450 acres of cotton didn’t stop growing, however, just because he got sick. When it came time to harvest the crop, he knew that he would not be up to the work that was required to get the crops in.
That is when Greg’s neighbors stepped up to the plate.
They learned about the problem he was having and his fellow farmers and friends begin to spread the word that somebody needed assistance. On a Monday in November, farmers from throughout the community came to Greg’s farm with 20 cotton strippers and everything that was needed to bring in the harvest. There were also up to 90 farmers that showed up to give the labor that was necessary to get the job done. There were so many people that turned up they started turning them away.
Robert Dixon is a friend of Greg’s and a neighbor. He said that the decision to help was simple and it was something that anybody in their shoes would have done.
“Greg is just a very humble guy that is fun to be around, likes to laugh and have fun,” Robert said. “Like I said, he’s just a really well-respected member of our community. He’d do it for us, so that’s why we did it for him.”
If Greg had been doing it on his own it would’ve taken them as long as three weeks to bring in the harvest. As it turns out, having many hands on the job made the work light and with everyone working together they got the job done in one day.
“We started around 10 o’clock this morning and a little before 3 we were done. I mean we had that many people,” Robert explained. Working together, the farmers brought in around 1,200 bales of processed cotton that’s valued at about $420,000.
Lunch was provided by a local chemical company and when the cotton harvest was finished they did some other work around the farm to help him as he goes through his chemotherapy. Farmers put tarps on the bales and cleared the tumbleweeds from the fields. Local businesses provided service trucks and fuel.
“He’s got a rough row to hoe and he’s got a lot more worries down the road than just getting his crop in so we were all just real glad to do it,” said Greg’s longtime friend Dave Carthel as he fought back tears. “And I was glad to be a part of it.”
Greg was not the only one who was touched by the extraordinary kindness that was shown that day. Everyone who was involved as well as onlookers were humbled by what was provided. They also were happy to know that if they ever run into hardships, there will be others who are there for them as well.
We sometimes feel isolated in our own homes but this is a reminder that there are people out there who care.