In 32 years, I have seen it all. I have seen drug use run amok and depression. I have also buried four of my farming colleagues. Rural folk often and in hushed tones refer to it as the black dog or the hitchhiker or the bloody thief in the night. Farmers and rural folk are often pragmatists and we tend to treat mental illness like broken bones or the flu. But in truth, it's very different. Ultimately, we know we can't put time frames on these things. Sadly, the help we often want or need just simply isn't coming. There are good people, these were us, they were our people, and they are Kiwis. 