It ain’t much, but it’s honest work. Farmers never get their deserved recognition or appreciation for putting most of our food in grocery stores and markets. One such farmer, Greg Bishop, is known among his peers for his humble, hard work in the fields, and also his good nature as a friend.
But like many people around the world, that dreadful, horrible disease that goes after your cells came for him. Greg Bishop had leukemia, and with chemotherapy in session, he had no time to tend to his cotton anymore.
Greg became part of the hundreds of thousands of people with Leukemia.
With chemotherapy weakening his immune system, Greg is especially vulnerable to the Coronavirus pandemic too. Outside is the last place a high-risk senior with a weakened immune system would want to be.
He’s already fighting one deadly illness, no need to throw another into the mix.
This was a double whammy. First, a life-threatening disease that rendered him unable to work, and the trouble paying for chemotherapy since he can’t work anymore.
Greg tends to over 450 acres of farm land, and those 450 acres might have been doomed to not be harvested had Bishop’s peers stepped in. Without any hesitation, Bishop’s friends and neighbors stepped in and harvested his cotton for him.
Around his community of farmers, Greg Bishop is not just another farmer. He is a friend as well, and a loved one at that. No task is too big when helping a friend in need, and this truly came to fruition when the senior farmer had to tend to his cancer treatment.
Farming equipment, some of the most expensive variety, came in one after the other.
Each one with a fellow farmer operating it, and each one willing to lend a big helping hand to someone in great need.
Aaron Hendricks was eager to share his impression of Greg, having known him for over 25 years. Aaron is the manager of Floydada Co-op Gins, and more importantly, a good friend to Greg Bishop.
If your friend was battling cancer and needed help taking care of something, I’m sure you’d absolutely volunteer without hesitation too.
“They all said, ‘What can we do? We’re ready to help.’”
In fact, nearly the whole town jumped to action to help Greg. Aaron told KCBD that the sheer number of people who offered help was incredible, and they had to turn down many since they already had enough people.
In the face of trouble and hardship is where friends shine the brightest, and it’s another reminder to the rest of us about how powerful we are when we’re kind and work together.
Sorry, Leukemia. But Greg is our friend, and his cotton is getting harvested whether you like it or not.
“We probably had anywhere from 300 to 400 acres, and we started at around 10 o’clock this morning, and a little before 3, we were done. I mean…we had that many people. It was just overwhelming how many showed up.” – Robert Nixon, farmer
The golden rule comes into play once again. We know it as “Treat others the way you want to be treated”, though, as others have noted, a farmer may prefer the phrasing “You reap what you sow”.
Now Greg can rest easy at night, knowing his fields are taken care of, and his friends have his back.
“He’s got a lot more worries down the road than just getting his crops in, so we were all just real glad to do it. And I was glad to be a part of it.” -Dave Carthel
The Golden rule is appropriately named here, as it shines and glimmers brightly when people are reminded of it. Kindness breeds kindness, often much faster than any crops that grow in the fields.
With his harvest in safe hands, Greg can still receive income from his farm. A blessing for someone paying for chemotherapy.
Growing acres of cotton, corn or wheat is rewarding, but not nearly as growing a circle of supportive, loving and trusting friends.
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