Have you missed me?

“I’m back, big as life, and twice as ugly.” – Andy Griffith as Gen. Rancor, “Spy Hard”

For months, I’ve had people asking me when I would start writing again. It has seemed like more than a few folks have missed my musings. 

I finally decided today that I’ve been quiet long enough. 

To say the last nine months or so have been difficult for me and my family would be a huge understatement. I lost a job, a leg and a tooth within a week. How many people can say that?

I can’t say thank you enough to the people who have reached out to our family with so much love during this dark season. I wish I could name each and every person, but it would take all day and many of them do not want any recognition. If you’re reading this and you’ve done anything for us, including just taking the time to text or email, please know that I’m forever in your debt. 

I’d also like to thank the people who I thought would at least call and check up on me but didn’t. That has made it tremendously clear who always cared and who never did. 

So if you didn’t know, I came up with an infection in my foot back in October. I fought that thing with every fiber in me, but after having two toes amputated and taking more antibiotics than any human should, my body gave up the fight with me becoming near death on at least a couple of occasions. The last time I almost bit the dust, the infection was in my bloodstream and in my bone, leaving doctors with no choice but to amputate my left leg below the knee. 

That was in February. I spent three weeks at UAB and Spain Rehab before coming home wheelchair bound until late May when I got my prosthetic leg. I walked the first day I had the leg, and that was an amazing feeling. I’m pretty much a pro at walking again now, but I’m continuing to work hard to build up my strength and endurance.

I have two odd goals before the end of this year. I want to wrestle again. I want one match to show I can do it. I also want to skydive. I figure if that Infection couldn’t take me out, jumping from a plane shouldn’t scare me at all. 

Even though I’ve been quiet, I’ve been busy. As you may have noticed, you’re reading my column on a different format. That’s neat. 

The Community Journal is the combination of two ideas that came from two friends who believe that Walker County is the greatest place on earth, and we want to highlight that fact. It won’t all be super happy news. We will “keep ‘em honest” like some TV news personality used to say, but we are also going to be the biggest cheerleader for our area. 

I would ask that our readers be patient with us. I consider this to be as grassroots of an effort that there has ever been. It’s also a new model for community journalism. I’m proud to be starting this venture with Jeffery Winborne, someone who has been so loyal to me that it was to his own detriment for a while. 

This is about community. It is going to take a community effort. I would ask that anyone who wants to contribute in any way to please contact me or Jeffery. We appreciate the comments and well wishes that we’ve received so far. The Community Journal is just over a week old, and we’ve seen amazing growth and audience reach in that short time. That’s thanks to a community that cares. 

I’ve still got a long ways to go as far as being where I want to be physically, mentally and as a person in general, but I know I’ll survive bumps in the road or possibly even not realizing a bridge is out and running off it. 

I got some new ink on my forearm a month or so back. It reads “What doesn’t kill me, makes me…STRONGER,” and I firmly believe that at this point.