Sad news

I wanted to get some good news up about golfing in Florida, visiting Disney World and other family news.

But tonight, I have some sad news to report.

Connie's son, Keith, died last week. Living up to its name as the "silent killer," pancreatic cancer took him at 38. There was no indication that he was even sick until a couple of days before he died.

Mom and I went to the service in Lafayette, Ind. It was a mixture of sadness, fond memories and a little humor sprinkled in. One of Keith's friends read a poem; a couple of Connie's friends spoke; and Connie talked about her boy with the big heart.

But what teared me up the most was when she talked about coming home the day Keith died. They were locking up the house, turning off all the lights and getting ready to go upstairs for bed when Neal went behind her and turned on all the outside lights.

"What are you doing?" Connie asked.

"I want to make sure Keith can find his way home," Neal said.

If you have their e-mail, phone number or address, they could probably use a little comfort. Or leave a message here for them. And maybe a prayer or two would be good. I know I've been praying for God to ease their pain.

Here are a couple of links to the obituary - one in the Chattanooga paper where Keith grew up and the other in the Lafayette paper.

Award winner

Hi guys,

Jeff's golf resort was honored recently. Check it out. Good job.

http://www.iagto.com/Public/Awards/2011/PR7.aspx

New news

Just to let everyone know, Patsy is doing well. She's back in Lafayette staying by herself. And she says she's feeling better every day. She sounds a lot better on the phone than she did pre-heart attack. Give her a call or e-mail.

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Julie just returned from Italy. She had a great time. Took a gondola ride in Venice, a cruise to Greece and Turkey and brought back Gary some Beatles memorabilia. Gary left two days after she returned to hike the Pinhoti Train in Alabama - and of course, see four football games.

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According to Facebook, Shane is back from his overseas tour - back home with his family. Welcome home.

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Kelly debuted her new website recently.

http://www.kellygoochphotography.com/

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I had a couple of recent stories published.

http://jericeckard.net/clips.html

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Hailey is doing well in her senior season at Liberty.

http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID=10854&teamID=8

http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID=10869&newsID=6012&TeamID=

http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID=10869&NewsID=6063

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And so is Hilary at Samford.

http://media.www.samfordcrimson.com/media/storage/paper1166/news/2010/11/05/Sports/Womens.Cross.Country.Repeats.As.Socon.Champions-3955238.shtml

http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/c-xc/spec-rel/110210aaa.html

They both helped their respective teams to first-place finishes in conference tournaments. The NCAA tournament starts this weekend for both schools. Good luck, ladies.

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The restaurant empire continues to grow. Good job, Mark and Ty.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090305368.html

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Maax continues to make funny videos.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MaaXwith2As

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Well, that should do for now. I have a few more tidbits, but I'll post them later when I get more information.

If anyone has news, please pass it along.

Shane's video

Shirley sent me a link to the news story on CBS Atlanta.

Check it out. It's great.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4332550

Good news and bad news

First, the bad news.

Jo's sister, Ann, lost her husband. Here is Ed's obituary:

http://www.tributes.com/show/Edwin-Wade-89231810

I think some people remember him. I didn't, but I've been saying a few prayers for Ann and her family.

And the good news:

CBS Atlanta did a story about our sailor hero, Shane.

Here's the link:

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/24930591/detail.html

There was supposed to be video, but I was unable to find it. If anyone can, message me and let me know and I'll add a link.

Congratulations, Shane.

A hero amongst us

Hero is sometimes an overused word. Often, we use it to describe movie stars, TV personalities, sports figures or celebrities of some sort.

Instead, we should limit the use of hero to teachers, law enforcement officers, parents, troops or anyone who's actually made a positive influence in your life. And then there are heroes in the true sense of the word.

One definition is someone who is "distinguished by exceptional courage."

Here's a story that epitomizes that description.

Shane Neal serves aboard the USS Louisville, a Los Angeles class attack submarine. During a recent visit to Okinawa, a tropical storm hit the region as the boat was leaving port.

"A sailor was about to be dragged and held underwater by some very heavy cables," the USS Louisville's commanding officer wrote in a letter to Shirley. "Your son quickly recognized this dire situation and cut the sailor's safety harness with his diving knife that enabled the sailor to escape without injury.

"About 30 seconds later, a large wave hit the ship and washed another sailor overboard such that he was between the ship and the pier. The sailor did not have any protective equipment on and was about to be thrown into some metal beams under the pier where he would have undoubtedly suffered a lethal blow to the head.

"Your son immediately dove into the water and pulled the sailor to safety moments before another wave came."

Shane was injured, and he could have gone below deck. But he stayed at his post until the boat was safely under way.

I don't think there's much to add, except that the Louisville's commanding officer is right. Shane is a "true hero."

I think I can speak for the family here when I say that we're all proud of you, Shane.

I'm attaching a copy of the letter so everyone can read it.

Good news; bad news

The bad news is that Patsy had a heart attack. The good news is that there was no damage to her heart, and she's expected to make a full recovery.

This all started a few days ago when she checked herself into the hospital because of chest pains. She had been feeling tired a lot lately, but I don't think anyone had any idea it was because two of her heart valves were 99 percent blocked.

After tests in the hospital Sunday and Monday, they figured out that she had suffered a "silent heart attack." So on Tuesday, doctors performed a catheterization and inserted two stents. She was groggy all day Tuesday, but she was feeling a lot better today.

I just got off the phone with Gary who came down to stay with her during the procedure. They just left the hospital, and they're headed to her house to pick up a few things before heading to Lindenhurst. Patsy is going to stay with Gary and Julie for a few weeks, and she's going to receive some outpatient therapy while she's up there.

I think everything is going to be fine. She knows she needs to change her lifestyle some, especially diet and exercise. I think that because she's never had heart problems in the past, those things didn't seem as imminent as they do now. She promised to follow doctors' orders.

So give her a call or send a note or email. Or leave a message here, and I'll make sure she sees it. Plus, say a little prayer for her.