Mega Impact

There was never yet a great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous"

Benjamin Franklin

For more info on me click here

For answers to questions on cycling click here

For answers to questions on Fitness click here 

For a program that is automatic and pays 100% Commissions click here

For Heritage Church Click here

My family and I have had rough times and wonderful times in our lives. The rough times make you appreciate  the good times that much more. We have been very poor financially. I remember when the kids were small I lost my job and we ended up living in a 1964 Ford Van for several months. For a while we had a tent too but one day when we went to town for me to look for work some of the cows from one of the ranchers knocked it over and it blew into some hot coals from the campfire we had to cook on and burnt up, so we all 6 slept in the van.

I finally got work and we found a small trailer for 20.00 a week, It was an older camper style trailer, but it had a shower and I had a job, so things were looking up.  That was in Deming New Mexico around 1982. We survived and were a stronger family because of it.   We moved to Silver City where the job was into a 3 room house, that was like a Mansion compared to the Van. we lived in that house for about 2 years before moving to a larger house in Silver City then buying a Mobile Home in Central NM.

Things got a lot better for us for the next several years and I started a printing and advertising specialty business in Silver City NM. It did OK and we made some real good money, but a few business mistakes cost the business and so we moved to Tucson Az where I went to school for Computer Robotics. I received my diploma in 1989 from ABC Technical College. I worked in Nogales as a Medical Technologist and ran a part time computer repair service out out of our house.  We found our dream house and everything seemed to be doing quite well.

Things are not always as they seem and we ended up moving from Tucson to Kansas where I took a job as a Lab Manager and was able to really live, but there were a lot of problems there, small towns in Western Kansas have little to no resources for handicapped chlldren and we ended up moving to Georgia, mainly because hat is where I found work. That was 1995 and we have stayed here in South Georgia. I wonder sometimes if it weren't all in God's plan for us. We have seen more than most people do in their lifetime. We have been hurt by a few people that had bad motives and we have been helped by many people along the way. We have always had faith in the lord and in Jesus Christ and that has sometimes been all we had.

I know for a fact that as bad as some of the things are that have happened to our family there are families out there that have it a lot worse, so I am not complaining, it could have been a whole lot worse.

I mean we never had to bury a child and many people do, Our grandchildren's uncle was murdered a few years back, and every once in a while our oldest will say he misses his Uncle Josh. I can remember walking around the ponds and lakes out by where he was last seen looking for any sign of a body. We didn't find it that day, but the helicopter crew form Warner Robbins did, They picked up the person that murdered him the next day and he is in prison for 30 years.  I am thankful that we never had to bury one of our children though that came awful close when Christopher our youngest who is now 32 had a bad seizure in Dallas Texas and was flat lined for about 3 minutes before they were able to bring him back then he spent a week in Children's Hospital ICU.

Now we are getting older and have settled down, I am hoping for good. We have been searching for a Church to attend since we came to Moultrie and have tried out a few, most of which did not really welcome us with open arms. When you have 2 Children who are no longer really children that have Autism it is really difficult to find a church that doesn't prefer you stay away. Last September we found a church that actually welcomes handicapped adults and children. They actually have a ministry called Breathe and it is wonderful for the children and the parents.

We had pretty much given up finding a church though we really were still hoping and had prayed many times for what we considered a miracle. One day though we received an invitation from the Center where Scot and Chris attend telling us about a 2 hour respite care program at Heritage Church. We called and spoke with Tara Torbert, who git us all set up and we took Scot and Chris out to them for a couple hours. I think she ,may have asked where we go to church and my wife said we didn't because of the boys so she invited us to come. It was several weeks though before we got up enough courage or whatever to try it out. We had some bad experiences before were not really expecting his to be much different.  I think we Ruth and I both knew when we met Tara and then Nettie that it was a good thing and Heritage Church was right for us.  The boys were taken into the main church we were told that they would say there until after the Music was finished then hey would go to their room and they would have activities to do back there. Scot and Chris both seemed happy with that way of doing things, sometimes it can be pretty hard to figure out what is making Chris Happy or upset.

The last 3 years have really drained us financially, first the hospital where I work cut out the call pay which effectively cut my pay by about 1000.00 a month. that was 2009, then Chris had to have surgery on his right arm to fix a dislocated shoulder. Due to what I can only call medical malpractice on the part of  the surgeon he may never gain the complete use of the right arm again. Then Scot was found to have Kidney Cancer and because at the time there was not a urologist that did surgery in Moultrie we had to take him to Emory in Atlanta to get his left kidney removed. We were starting to recover slightly when we found out that Ruth had DCIS Ductal Carcinoma in Situ which after  the tissue was removed, the she has to have daily radiation treatments, she is over 1/2 way through them. I have insurance which I pay the first 500.00 and 25% of everything else up to 5000.00 then the insurance pays the rest. My share went over the 5000.00 in January after the surgery so with what was left from December then added in January I owe the hospital alone over 8000.00. so you can see why finances are tight.

Anyway because the finances are tight and have been for a few years now a lot of things have been let go, especially anything in the house that we thought could wait, things like painting the house and fixing the Central Heat and air unit which will probably cost around 600.00 and other stuff like that.

Well it seems the church has a program they call Mega Impact and this year they have been trying to help as many families that have children  Special Needs as possible. Scot and Chris both have degrees of Autism and the church asked me to make a list of things that we needed so I did , thinking that they could pick out any 1 or 2 things on the list.  Based on what they have told us they plan to do there are projects all over Southwest Georgia and some have already started. A young man's family in Funston GA, got a new roof on his house on the 15th and 16th. Our house was brought up to the City Electric Code which means we no longer have any of the old glass screw in fuses we had last week, and that our electric doesn't flicker whenever we use the toaster and the microwave at the same time. Jeffrey's house in Funston sure looks good in the pictures. The plan as I understand it is to also pressure wash and paint  our house and the Mega Impact Team has about 10 or 15 other projects all over the area. There will be about 120 people coming in from Tennessee, the crew chiefs will be from the church here.

It looks to me as if Mega Impact is going to be a tremendous IMPACT on the community of Moultrie and Southwest Georgia. If you are in the area you can stop by the Church on March 23rd 2013 for the Family Fun Day which will officially kick off Mega Impact for 2013. There will be a lot of stuff going on free food a 5 K and a 10 K race and a wheelchair race also and just a whole bunch of activities.Come out an join in the festivities, everyone is welcome.

Also join us for the Tour de Tifton?Ilse Boyette Memorial Bike Ride on April 6th at the Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park Campus exit I-75 Exit 63 B. Tifton Georgia.

Have a great day

Jerry "The Bicycle Nut" Goodwin

War is Hell

March 17, 2013

I believe it was General Sherman of the Union Army that was credited with "War is Hell" as he burned a path through the south during the Civil War.

I am not going to disagree with him, if war is not hell it is pretty close. It is far much closer to hell than I ever want to be. Yes I served in the military, I was in the Navy serving as a Machinist Mate aboard the USS Jesse L. Brown DE1089 during Viet Nam. I was a plank owner on the Brown and still have my little piece of wood that signifies that. the Brown is now gone as it was Decommissioned in 1996. I believe it was then sold to Turkey for their Navy.

After leaving the Navy in 1976 (probably one of the many mistakes I would make in this life) I served in the Army National Guard for about 14 years mostly as a Combat Field Medic 91B.  In the National Guard I was awarded the Ohio Special Services Ribbon and the  Ohio Award of Merit, as well as the Army Commendation Medal along with a few achievement medals.

I never was assigned to go to the front lines and fight against an armed enemy. The closest I came to that was when a Russian ship came up on the Horizon and went to general quarters for a long time waiting to see what they would do. They never fired and neither did we, then there was working the floods in Ottawa Ohio in 1981 and working the floods in Albany Georgia in 1998.  When you are assigned to a unit, you go where you are told and do the job you are told to do. If I had been assigned to the front lines, I would have went without question and I would have done what I had to do, not only to stay alive but also to keep the soldiers with me alive.

Several years AGO the Ride 2 Recovery was started to help people that have come back from various wars, battles and military actions that are wounded in some way recover. These wounds can be physical like having an arm or leg blown off by an IED. These wounds can also be mental such as PTSD.  These men and women are heros in every sense of the word and they deserve every bit of respect we can muster. Many of them find it very difficult to fit in once they get back to the states. They are changed and they need the support that events like Honor Rides cam help them get. Honor rides help with raising funds and awareness of the trauma and the pain that these man and women have gone through and are still going through to protect our rights.

Currently I am trying with a great bit of determination to get an Honor Ride Started her in South Georgia. I have sent an email to my friend Jimmy Moore at the Tifarea YMCA to find out if we could use the same facilities in September that the Tour de Tifton will be using April 6, 2013. If I get a positive response then I will start looking for sponsors, if a negative response then I will start looking for other places to have the Honor Ride for Southwest Georgia's Wounded Heros.  In my book every Veteran of the Armed Forces is a Hero. If you think about it this way I think you will agree. Every Veteran of every US Armed Force has when he/she took an oath gave the American People a Blank Check Payable with anything up to and including their life. Since most of these people joining the military are 18 and 19 years of age that means they actually are giving up 2 lives, the lives. They are giving up the life they have right now, and the life they would have had if they had never joined the military in the first place.

Anyway if all goes well we will be having an Honor Ride to Honor the Wounded Warriors on September 28th  2013 and we are expecting to make that an annual event here in Southwest Georgia. At this point we are expecting that the honor ride will be out of the Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park Campus, but dates and locations are subject to change if need be.

In the meantime for the runners that are reading this post there is a 5 K and 10 K run at Heritage Church in Moultrie, Georgia on March 23rd, It is Family Fun day so there will be free food and lots of other stuff going on also. You can get info on the run at www.active.com

For cyclists don't forget the Tour de Tifton coming up April 6, 2013 at the Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park Campus Exit 63B off I-75. You can find out moe about the TdT by going to www.tiftareaymca.org.

Have a great day

Jerry "The Bicycle Nut" Goodwin

A Home for the beautiful

March 16, 2013

"Though we travel the world over to find beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not" Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen in your life? Was it the sunrise over the Grand Canyon, the moon at the end of the desert, a magnificent painting or maybe an eagle flying majestically in the sky.  If you are the parent of a handicapped (special needs) child it could be something as simple as them picking up a spoon or saying bugga bugga at a bag of hamburgers.

Once you have seen these things they can become part of a magnificent life. You can call recall them and maybe visit them again, possibly. These things of beauty can lead you to ever more beautiful experiences.

Today why not be on the watch for the beautiful things in life no matter how small or large.

I personally have had a lot of wonderful experiences in my own life and enjoy sharing them with people. As I grow older I seem to recognize more of these beautiful things and happenings. There have been plenty of bad times too, but those just make you appreciate the good times that much more, and as many would say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Sometimes something wonderful and beautiful comes from something tragic.

A few years back I met a wonderful lady named Ilse Boyette.  Ilse and I both had a few common interests. She was a cyclist, I am still cycling, She was a Nurse at the same hopsital where I work. We rode together in the Honey Bee Festival with Ilse's good friend Sharon.

On our bikes we rode through downtown Hahira Georgia, Ilse told me as we were riding along that my jersey made her homesick as it was the same colors as her homeland's flag. I asked what country that would be and she told me she was born and raised in Germany. Germany's flag is yellow, brown and black apparently, because that is the color of my jersey. Ilse was married to an American Soldier and had moved with him from Germany to  South Georgia. She was a nurse at Tift Regional Medical Center, loved nature and was just an outright joy to be around.

4 years ago Ilse joined Dr. Wagenhorst and several others to setup an annual charity bicycle ride called the Tour de Tifton.  The Tour de Tifton is a fund raising charity bicycle ride which benefits the Tiftarea YMCA.  Unfortunately Ilse was stricken with a type of Cancer and passed away last year. This year the TdT organizers decide to name the ride in her honor. The ride this year will be called the Tour de Tifton/Ilse Boyette Memorial Bike Ride and will be held on April 6, 2013 at the Tiftarea YMCA  Hunt Park Campus.  The money raised from past TdT events has all went to the YMCA programs, htis year it will be split between the YMCA and a Nursing Scholarship fund though Tift Regional Medical Center.

Losing Ilse was definitely a bad thing, everyone that knew her will miss her, but because of her and the way she lived there will be funds set aside for another nurse that may not have been ab;e to become a nurse without the funds set aside by that scholarship. Also because of Ilse and other like minded cyclists there has been funds helping the YMCA to provide services that may have had to be cut for the past 4 years. This may not be something that some would consider beautiful, but beauty is in the eyes of the eye of the beholder. Personally I think Bret, Ilse, Sharon and all the others associated with the Tour de Tifton are beautiful people and the world could learn lessons from their selflessness.

If you would like to join us for the Tour de Tifton/Ilse Boyette Memorial Bike Ride you can find out more by calling the Tiftarea YMCA at 229-391-9622 or go to the website at www.tiftareaymca.org There are rides of 11,25, 45, 62 and 100 miles.

I will be providing SAG for the Tour de Tifton again this year. I will riding around in my van trying to keep everyone safe and on the right route.

Have a great day

Jerry "The Bicycle Nut" Goodwin

For more info on me click here

For answers to questions on cycling click here

For answers to questions on Fitness click here 

For a program that is automatic and pays 100% Commissions click here

For Heritage Church Click here