tractor canada

With Mike being President of the fair this year, I'm sure you can imagine that we talked to dozens upon dozens of people this weekend. We talked to volunteers, friends, vendors, committee chairs, folks participating in the fair, those just visiting and so many more. Then we got a call on the radio.... the tractor guy is here. Mike was thrilled and I absolutely no idea what anybody was talking about.

Turns out the "Tractor Guy" is former MacMaster University professor Dr. John Varty who Mike had just read about in our local paper. Which would explain why I didn't know anything about it. I gave up reading the paper sometime ago. Reading the bad news was not gelling well with my insomnia. Now I count on twitter and my family to keep me informed with what's happening in the world.

In a nut shell the Tractor Guy along with his New Yorker fiancee have ditched their jobs and are driving across Canada in a tractor with a little farm house they've built on a trailer coming along behind. Why are they doing this? Well, to raise awareness about agriculture and family farming in Canada, to let the farmers have a voice, maybe bring about some change.





When John and his fiancee, Molly, were on the grounds we went over to introduce ourselves and I have to say I was truly awestruck. It's no secret that Mike and I do a lot in our community. We have our fingers in lots of different pies and I am always on the look out for ways we can give even more back, but taking on something like John and Molly (and their camera man Michael) are doing... well I'm not sure I have that in me. That is a true leap of faith, at the end of the day you have to be okay with the outcome, no matter which way it's going to go.




Having spent some time with John and Molly (Michael, their camera man, was on a little holiday) I know what a huge investment this trip is on many levels. When I do have the opportunity to meet some one like this I spend days afterwards wondering what it is that is missing in me. To be clear, I'm not getting down on myself in any way, but I just find it curious. It really is remarkable, don't you think? Meeting people like John and Molly inspires me, it makes me want to be better, to do more, to teach my kids the value in giving back. I was expecting a lot from this past weekend, but I wasn't expecting an experience like that. I'm thankful for it.




Thank you John and Molly for doing what you do. If you have a moment consider visiting John, Molly and Michael at Tractor Canada and consider making a donation to help them along their way.