Last Sunday, as my father lay dying in his bed in our family home, we were struggling to get my sister here to say goodbye. Her family's vehicle happened to be broken down at the worst time, and they were having trouble arranging a ride from their tiny town in central Kansas. I was my Dad's caregiver; I had to stay to tend to him and be there for my Mom, who also has advanced dementia. Feeling that he only had hours left, I picked up my phone and asked the biggest favor I've ever asked from anyone in this life.
"We'll do it," came the immediate reply.
Within minutes, Bethany and Kehl Murray were off, embarking on the 3-hour roundtrip to pick up my sister.
They made it back early that evening, and my Dad was able to see his little girl one last time. They were able to share a last, long hug, and to sit for hours holding hands. She was able to tell him how much she loved him, and he was able to say "Love...you...too." He passed away early the next morning.
There is no price that can be put on those moments. It was a very special time for our family, and we owe it to fig people.
Kehl and Bethany run Flint Hills Figs. It is a beautiful creation, but it is not their best. Their best addition to this world is their son Dean, a very gifted young man with a very good heart. I remember one day, about 7 years ago, when I was working with Kehl in my garden and a young Dean came sprinting up to us:
"The toads are drowning!" He pointed off toward my tilapia brooding pond. "Toads are jumping in and they can't get out! We have to help them!"
I dropped what I was doing and ran off to a lumber pile with Dean, where we picked out a 10ft long 2"x10" plank and carried it to the pond. After situating it, we quickly scooped out all of the toads that were struggling around the steep edge of the pond, and from that point on, the toads came and went using their plank. That plank is still in place to this day, and I often think of Dean and his family as I walk past it. He's halfway through high school now, and it remains apparent that the special doesn't fall far from the tree in that family.
Their family was recently covered in a very nice article at https://kansasfarmfoodconnection.org/profiles/growing-an-orchard-fig-by-fig which I encourage everyone to read. The pictures of their fig farm are beautiful.
They've also started a YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@FlintHillsFigs to document their fig journey and to help others. I strongly urge everyone to subscribe to their channel and follow their progress.
To Kehl and Bethany: let me say again how thankful I am and how much I love you. Thank you for what you did for my family.
