TV Coverage Pays Off! October 5, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
On My Way to Bay City, MI
I was due to walk to Saginaw, but I had a feeling it was not going to happen. The contacts with the hospice there had not worked out. I planned to head towards Bay City instead.
I left the Comfort Inn to walk to Avalon Hospice at around 8 am. I had managed to eat breakfast and checked out. As I was walking close to a major road three deer came ambling down the road in the middle of the city. It was quite a sight to see.
At Linden Road Melanie from Avalon Hospice met up with me and walked me down to the hospice. As we approached the building a TV crew from a different station arrived. Film was taken as I walked up and into the building. The cameraman also recorded parts of my presentation to the staff of the hospice.
With interviews completed and my story told, it was time to head out.
The hospice volunteer coordinator, Shirley Gring, lived at Birch Run, about twenty miles from Flint. She offered to give me a place to stay. Melanie had also made a connection with Beverly Thiesen of McLaren Hospice in Bay City. I would try to reach there by Tuesday.
A Lot of Attention at McDonald’s, Thanks to TV
I left Avalon Hospice at about 11 am. Heading onto Linden I decided to stop at a McDonalds for some quick food, before heading for Birch Run. As soon as I entered McDonalds, two men stopped to talk to me. They had seen the television interview. The restaurant manager Tim Harper and a second manager, Jan Hubbs who was visiting from a place called Flushing, came over to my table with the shift manager Liz Granger. They gave me coupons and a card for free food. Jan had also seen name on ABC-12 news. I thanked them and posed for photos with them. A lady and her husband sitting next to me had also seen me on the news and we talked as I ate.
At almost mid-day I said goodbye to the people that I had met in the McDonald’s and headed down Linden Road. Twelve people stopped me as I walked out of Flint. They gave donations and I gave them my card with the details of the Web site. It was a good day and the television coverage had worked wonders.
As well as money I was given Gatorade and water to drink and an apple to eat. It was quite a day.
The people I met were called: Dave, Mary Ann, Rick, Mike, Maria, Capri, Connie, Sandeelah, Hadia, Chris, and Nancy. There was also a woman who stopped her car in the middle of the traffic to give me money. I thanked her quickly and let her drive off before she caused a major accident.
Staying with the Grings
By 7 pm I reached the outlet mall at Birch Run and phoned Shirley Gring. Shirley picked me up and back to her house. Shirley's husband Michael worked at the hospital in Bay City in the operating theatre, but he had been in the medical corp of the U.S. Navy. The Grings also had a little dog called Dakota, who barked like crazy when I first arrived. Fortunately Dakota got used to me and settled down once I had shown her some attention by tickling her behind the ears.
My stay with Shirley and Michael was good. We had good home-cooked food: chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables. I had a shower and Michael showed me his 'den', which Shirley called 'the man cave'.
Navy Memorabilia
In the basement of the house Michael had mementos from the places he had visited during 32 years of service in the Navy. There were two ceremonial swords that he had been given upon his retirement. There was also a naval uniform from the Second World War in a glass frame, which a friend had given him. There were flight helmets from the Naval Medical Corp, commendations from the President for over 30 years service.
Michael had medals from active service. He also had sand taken from the beaches of Iwo Jima and Omaha Beach. There were pieces of the Berlin Wall that Michael had personally broken off with a hammer and a stick branded with markings from when he had climbed Mount Fuji in Japan. It was quite a collection.
Now Michael worked in the operation room, handing surgeons instruments and assisting in operations. He said it was still good to be working in a close-knit team, but he missed his old friends in the medical corps.
Although I had just met Shirley and Michael we made an instant connection.
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