The Kindness of a Stranger

To set the stage for this particular story, we had 16 fainting goats and 2 horses in our corral back in 2018. In 2017 we were able to cut our front yard, the road ditch, and another small piece of grassland for hay production. In 2018 we were granted permission to cut a small 6-acre field of grass and alfalfa. We made the decision to square-bale the field instead of round baling. These bales typically weigh in between 30 and 50 pounds and can really only be handled by hand. The previous year we baled nearly 200 bales and managed to haul the bales to the yard within a two-week window. In 2018 we were expecting our first child, so my wife was not able to help lift the bales onto the trailer when we were loading the bales to haul home. She helped by driving the truck while I loaded the trailer. This particular year we had close to 400 bales sitting on the ground. We can typically load 100 to 150 bales on a trailer, so this means several trips of loading and unloading.

We made a few trips over the weekend but did not get the field completely emptied. So, one day after work I went out to the field to collect the remaining bales. I figured that I could load the truck instead using a trailer. This field is located near a gravel road that has a lot of oil-field workers traveling back and forth between work sites. I was driving around and collecting a couple of bales and then moving the truck forward. I looked over and noticed that a semi-truck had pulled over on the side road and watched as the driver got out and started walking across the field in my direction. When he got close to where I was loading bales, he asked if he could help. I told him that he certainly didn't have to do that, but instead of walking away he started to grab bales and throw them on the truck. He told me that I could stack and drive while he grabbed bales and hauled them over to the truck and loaded them into the bed for me to stack. During this time, I found out that he was from Florida and drove truck for a few months at a time before returning home for a while. He didn't grow up on a farm, but he had been watching as we worked in that field, and he was curious about the job and what we were doing. With his help we were able to gather the remaining bales in no time. I thanked him for his help and watched as he returned to his truck.

This story has made an impression on me in more ways than one. It goes to show that people are still willing to stop and help complete strangers. I never did see this driver again, but I would have certainly grilled him a steak for his selfless help!