An unideal hero..

My friend Levi is 20 years old, but he is without a doubt the most best man I know. In this day and age, there is a difference between a man, and an adult male.

Levi works harder than anyone I know. Every morning he starts working before the sun comes up, and comes home to sleep well after 1am.

What makes farming so hard, is that the work is never done. There are no holiday vacations, and the milk check doesn't pay overtime. You are in the barn every day regardless of rain, snow; weather -40, or 120 degrees outside. And if you think it doesn't get that hot, you haven't stacked hay in a steel roofed barn. There is no calling in sick, there's no one else to rely on, except yourself.

He starts his own chores on his dairy farm before the roster crows. He milks 40 Holsteins near Norwalk. When he finishes up all of his chores; cows are fed, milked, and the barn is clean; he heads of to the other farm. Levi is a hired hand on another, bigger farm. On this farm he milks over 80 cows. He single-handedly runs this second farm on his own, as the owner is getting older, and can't offer much more than experienced advice. When Levi is finishes up his 3 hours of chores, on the second farm, his day isn't done. There is still two farms worth of field work and maintenance yet to be done. With all of the work to do, there is no time for a lunch. Maybe a soda, maybe a packed sandwich, but no time to sit down and relax. Levi is dedicated to the success of both farms.

Levi is constantly on the road between the two farms, he never has time to watch television, or eat his meals at a table. It isn't easy supporting a 2 year old, and her pregnant mother. But Levi does it.
Devoted father, and family man.
Levi and I used to go out and party quite often, we were almost insuperable. Now days, I couldn't pay him to skip going home and come out drinking with me. And for just cause. At age 18 Levi was expecting a child. Now he is expecting a second.

It isn't a lot of peoples ideal life plan to farm all day, everyday, to feed your daughter and her pregnant mother. Levi provides for a family, at a mere age of 20. Most 20 year olds I know, wake up at noon, to go to class, then party with their friends at night. It probably wasn't the life Levi would have chosen, had he had an option. Irregardless, he is up and at it everyday. He puts his nose to the grind stone, and does what he has to do, to ensure his family is taken care of. I can think of no greater motivation that that. His family is the force that drives him.

It isn't ideal to have two children, unmarried at age 20. But in a world where many men would have packed up, and jumped town leaving the women to raise the child on her own, Levi took up his responsibility like a real man should. Levi is loud, sarcastic, and even rude. The roughest cut hero imaginable, but he is a hero none the less. Levi is devoted to his family.

Everyday Levi makes it happen. He spends endless hours between two farms. He tirelessly works and cares for his family. He supports his family. He is a true blue collar worker, the back bone of america. His story is one of taking responsibility, and maturity. I know no greater man than Levi.