During a recent trip to Casey County, I attended a grain bin rescue training event which in itself was very enlightening. I never realized the many dangers associated with such contraptions if you're not very cautious around them.

The people in charge of the training session were meticulous in their instructions and very careful to fully explain all aspects of approaching any accident that they may encounter with grain bins.

Farm safety is something most of us don't think of unless we are on the farm every day. However, those who have taken up the cause to feed people like me, face any number of dangerous situations regularly. For all of us not producing our own food supply, we should never forget to be thankful for those who do.

In addition to the people giving instructions on that day, there were local first responders on hand to learn and demonstrate the processes used to make such a rescue in the event anyone gets stuck in one of these things.

I found myself mesmerized by all that was going on. It was very interesting not to mention it was a gorgeous day in beautiful farm country with the colors of fall starting to show up and harvest activities taking place all around the area.

But, above all the very important information that was being shared and the scenic area in which I found myself that day, perhaps the most amazing thing to me was how many people had shown up to take part, or simply watch and learn.

Now, I say that because we were very much in a rural area. This wasn't just a hop, skip, and jump to the nearest town or convenience store. We were in the country!

Still, I was surrounded by people who had come from all around the region, from other counties and other parts of the state, all with one purpose, and one goal in mind; how to save a life in the event of an accident, risking their lives in the process.

If that’s not enough to get one thinking about how lucky we are to have folks like that around, remember this. In small rural areas, many of the emergency rescuers, and firefighters are volunteers.

They don't get paid to put their necks on the line to save others. They are doing this because they have a will to volunteer their time and talents to make our world, on and off the farm, a safer place to be.

It made me realize how wonderful this life would be if we all had the heart and mind to volunteer in some capacity, be it with the local fire department, at your local church, or with any type of organization that depends on volunteers to carry out their missions.

I met a lot of people that day who gained my unending respect for what they do, on a regular basis, to help their respective communities.

The places in which we live are far better off having these types of everyday heroes around, especially when we need them most, as we travel down the backroads.