OPINION: Carton is a bog-standard response for a good Samaritan

I was in a stew at Mingenew, I started to rev and then I met Kev.

That’s right, I was the hapless city pen-pusher who managed to get himself bogged in the carpark at the McIntosh & Son Mingenew Midwest Expo last Wednesday evening.

It was the first major agricultural machinery field day I had attended during my nearly three weeks at Countryman and, believe it or not, things had gone to plan until that point.

Sure, I was tired, but that’s no excuse for getting lost in a well-lit field and driving into a sodden patch of mud that should have been navigated only by the keenest of four-wheel-driving enthusiasts.

As the feeble tyres on my tiny front-wheel-drive work car sank deeper into the mud, I realised the gravity of the situation and panic set in.

After checking the boot for a non-existent shovel, I took a photo of my predicament and texted my boss — who was tucking into a spud near the spud van while waiting for the Young Farmers Competition to kick off nearly an hour later than scheduled.

“OMG,” she replied. “Sorry, I can’t help. That’s a carton.”

Well, Cally Dupe, if there’s anyone I’ll be buying a carton for, it’s not you.

That reward is reserved for the legendary Kev, a kind stranger who came to my rescue armed with a winch and a four-wheel-drive. “You all right there, mate?” asked Kev as he drove past.

By that point I had donned a jacket to cover up my Countryman shirt, in a pathetic attempt to salvage what little street credibility I had earned during my four hours in Mingenew.

“It’s OK,” I told myself as Kev safely pulled the stricken vehicle out of the mud.

“He won’t know I work for the Countryman and neither will anyone else.”

After thanking Kev profusely, I rendezvoused with my co-workers for a beer at the Expo bar.

It was then that my boss happily let me know how many people she had shared the photo with, and what a great gag they all thought it was.

One particularly amused local — whose farm I happened to be staying at that evening — delighted in telling me how the evidence had already been shared all over social media.

It was the talk of the town that evening, and rightfully so.

My reputation in tatters, all I could do was thank my lucky stars that Kev and I had crossed paths.

Kev, if you’re reading this, I never caught your last name.

The offer for a box still stands.

Adam Poulsen is the new journalist at Countryman newspaper