“A local soldier was killed in Afghanistan and he’s coming home today for burial.”

“Oh, really?  Do we have any chips?”

“No. He was the father of one of the kids at my school and the first Henry County casualty in Afghanistan.”

“Do you know the kid?”

“Sort of…I was thinking we could go up to the square to watch the procession.”

“I don’t know. I’ve got a lot going on. I guess we can.”  

That’s how the lunch discussion started between my wife and me. I consider myself patriotic. I can belt out the pledge of allegiance as loud as anyone. I always remove my hat for the pledge and for prayers. I’ll argue the reasons for military action in all sorts of third world countries. My father served this country in the Korean War, World War II and the Vietnam War. 

But…I’m not sure that I have time to “go watch the procession”. I have work to catch up on. I’m behind as usual. I’ll go, but I’ll be thinking about everything I have to do.  

Something happened as we stood on the side of the road, waiting, watching. There were hundreds of people there. All of them had something else to do, but chose to be there. Someone came by with little American flags. It was hot. We could hear the procession before it reached us. I surveyed the crowd around the square of our small town. I saw Boy Scouts, lots of them. I saw veterans, watching solemnly. I saw people with all sorts of flag-wear. I saw couples holding hands. I saw old, gray-haired widows crying. I saw teenage girls crying. As the hearse with tinted windows past us, I cried. I couldn’t help it. 

Here past the now lifeless body of Sergeant First Class John Beale, a 39 year old husband to one and father of two, one of whom is a student at my wife’s school. I didn’t know Sergeant Beale…until then. Instantly he became “family” to the hundreds of Americans lining the town square. Afterwards, my wife and I walked through the Henry County Wall of Honor, an outdoor walk memorializing war veterans like Sergeant Beale and a place I had never been before. 

I lamented over the ultimate price so many have paid for this country, but I also lamented over how easy it was for me to forget that sacrifice. I could have easily stayed at home and been just a missing person in the crowd. No big deal. I am grateful tonight, that we chose to go. For a moment, the rest of my busy world seemed a lot less important, a lot smaller.

How can I continue to feel the oneness, the pride and the ownership in this country that I felt as I watched Sergeant Beale pass? How can I instill that same feeling in my own children?

-Steve Sellers   

Peter Courtney passed away Saturday and the Simmental breed lost a true hero. He had been a cattle breeder and successful businessman for most of his adult life, but cranked his Simmental program up a notch in 1994, when he made a volume purchase at the High Ridge Farms dispersal. High Ridge Farms had been a prominent Simmental outfit and their ads ran on the back cover of the breed magazine, the Register, for several years. Peter never thought twice about carrying the torch and moved his Triple C Farms right into their permanent advertising position in the same spot.

Peter had built a very successful product distribution and warehousing business and set out applying those management skills to cattle production. He called a meeting in Kansas City with a group of industry professionals and formed a strategic planning session, the first of several annual meetings. He posed the question “We want to become a leader in the Simmental breed, so how do we get there?” Another question of particular interest to me was “Who is the best cow in the breed?” It was a question we all stumbled around, but couldn’t completely answer. Peter had the answer though, and proclaimed “It’s the cow that is advertised the most!” From that day on, the course was set and Peter put all his energy and resources into become a breed leader.

A father, grandfather and avid family man, Peter understood that any positive, lasting changes in the breed had to start with impressionable juniors. He knew if he could somehow spark an interest with the younger generation, the older generation would have to follow. Within his Triple C Farms, he engineered full-blown Junior Field days, events that drew juniors (and their parents) from far off states. He made them fun, educational and rewarding. He spearheaded the inception of the American Simmental Association Visa Card and was instrumental in resurrecting the ASA Foundation, a sponsorship endowment that helps fund American Junior Simmental Association growth. Triple C Farms initiated a well structured junior incentive plan that paid thousands of scholarship dollars annually to juniors that exhibited Triple C-bred champions and each year Peter proudly presented the junior scholarship checks.

Peter was never referred to as “quiet and unassuming”. His hyperactivity was often tiring and his pursuit for perfection demanding. He seldom raised his voice but rarely lost an argument. Unassuming? No, Peter always assumed you knew right from wrong. He always assumed you knew what to do and would do it. He always assumed you were friend rather than foe.

In a culture where good role models have become increasingly sparse, some may argue that “hero” is a bit of a stretch, but others will certainly say Peter Courtney qualifies.

-Steve Sellers