To those curious enough to read this, hello, I am Landon Easter. I am from Kingston, Tennessee, located just outside Knoxville. I am majoring in kinesiology and working to be a physical therapist. Sports and a healthy lifestyle have been a part of my life since I was young. Most of my friends have been the same way, and that is what has created the bond we share.
Originally, I said I was from Kingston, which isn't a lie, but I lived and went to school outside of the town. I graduated from Midway High School with a whopping 35 other students. The school produced primarily blue collar workers or farmers when looking at the male demographic. The surrounding area of the school is also mostly composed of farmland. With that being said, if I wasn't taking classes to help my future career choice, I was taking agriculture classes.
Every spring, my high school does a greenhouse sale, and the classes are the ones to make sure everything is up to par.
Out of the six, yes six, agriculture classes I took in highschool, one always stood out to me when looking back. The third one I took, I sat at a table with two other people. I didn't know one of them, but we were both mutual friends with the third guy. When you think about it, the first thing that comes to mind when you think about produce typically isn't how fun it is to grow and how you can connect with others. Well, I guess that is, unless you're me. Let's clear the confusion instead of leaving the guys I sat with nameless. The one I was friends with before the class started is Brayden, and the guy I didn't know is Caleb. To this day, I consider these two to be some of the best people and friends I have ever met.
To provide a little backstory, Caleb and I were tasked with watering, aerating, and mixing soil. A simple task that doesn't sound exciting or memorable to most. Again, I didn't know Caleb too well at the time, but we quickly became best buds (unintentional flower joke). Caleb, who is not one for awkward moments, tries to kill that tension, and immediately, I knew this was one of the funniest guys I've ever known. I can't recall exactly what he said, but I remember us laughing until it was time to leave.
I mentioned earlier about my friend Brayden, the sole reason I took so many ag classes. You could point out your car and ask this man, "Hey Brayden, what is this plant?" and the dude would be able to tell you, along with when the ideal time for it to grow is. He's learnt this information over years of growing his own plants, to the point that his room has been taken over by them. One day after visting his hous, he asks me and another friend of mine, Evan (who is between Caleb and Brayden in the picture), if we would be willing to come to his garden and help out one day. Now his garden isn't a massive project by any means, but it is most certainly bigger than your grandmother's garden in the front yard. This was our junior year of high school, and we had just a couple of weeks left before summer when he asked for our help. The day he asks us to assist him is the same day as graduation for the class ahead of us. So not only did we wake up to attend the graduation, because we knew some of the people in that class, we also went to one of the graduates' parties. As the party was starting to die down, we left a little early to get started in his garden.
Now I know neither story is all that interesting or intriguing, however when trying to think of what to write about, those were the instances that came to mind first. You may realize how important fresh produce is to your physical health, but what you may not realize is the kind of bond that can come from food. Think back to when you and your friends went out to eat or had dinner with your parents. There is no price you can put on those memories. The other members of Bus 4 Better Health and I have realized this and want to bring that same feeling to those who may not be as fortunate. Please consider helping others in Knoxville live those moments with their family and friends, and join us on the ride.
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