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June 2008
Grandpa, I’ll save mom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The family vacations together every year.
The sisters, their kids and husbands. Dozens of them. It’s a gift from dad.
In the past, they’ve traveled to the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Mexico. This year, they returned to Mexico, spending five days in Playa del Carmen, a former fishing village turned beach town. For six days, they stayed in an all-inclusive resort that offered stellar amenities.
Snellville’s Colleen Bosworth fell in love with the guacamole. It was always fresh and chunky.
“I ate it at every meal,” she told me.
On day No. 3 of the vacation, a Tuesday, lunch would be no exception. She indulged in some chips and dip. That day she shared a table with her father, Hank Hudson, and her sons. Michael and Zachary are 12-year-old identical twins. The boys love sports. They play in a south Gwinnett football league. At home, they play hockey and baseball.
“They’re sports nuts,” Bosworth told me.
So it stands to reason that they both enjoyed P.E. at Snellville’s Britt Elementary School. Jim Moore, the physical education instructor, was one of their favorite teachers. They were his “gym helpers” in fifth grade. That’s the year Moore taught students how to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
“We practiced it in class,” said Michael, a rising seventh-grader.
In Mexico, practice proved worthy.
During lunch that Tuesday, an object lodged in Bosworth’s throat while she ate guacamole. She coughed and coughed to dislodge it. No avail. It only traveled further down her airway.
Panic hit.
“I couldn’t breathe at all,” she told me. “A gentleman at the closest table got up and brought napkins. All I can think of is that he thought I was going to puke. I was bent over, facing the floor.”
Zachary didn’t see what was happening. He was at the buffet. Bosworth’s father, Hudson, seated next to her, pushed his chair back to try and help. Too late. Michael shot past his grandpa and straight to his mother.
He wrapped his arms around her waist. He made a fist and gave her upper abdomen a quick upward thrust. Nothing. He pressed one more time, this time more aggressively. Out popped a jagged piece of chip, the size of a nickel.
“I had just gotten up and walked out of the restaurant,” said Colleen’s sister, Barbara Mock of Dacula. “[Colleen] came over, crying. She was very, very close to being gone. It’s pretty amazing to hear that your 12-year-old nephew was the one who saved her. I’m not sure I would have had the composure to do it.”
Neither would I.
As the ordeal that took place a week or so ago unfolded, Michael assured his grandpa that he would save his mom. What a calm, quick thinker.
“She was kind of coughing a lot,” he told me, “and she was wheezing. “I just got up and did the Heimlich maneuver. First, I was thinking she might die. Then I did it a little harder and the chip came out of her mouth and onto the napkin.”
Naturally, Bosworth considers Michael a hero.
Wouldn’t you?
“I gave him so many hugs,” the accountant said. “I told him he was my hero and that he had saved my life. It was very scary. I was very scared. The thought of what could have happened makes me cry.”
The ordeal left Bosworth with a sore throat. She didn’t eat a thing the rest of the day. She recovered just fine, though. Fine enough to resume eating guacamole (and other dishes, of course) the rest of the trip.
She just did a better job chewing.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com
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A steppingstone on the path to life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It serves individuals with disabilities, people like Andrea Aycock.
Monday through Friday, she attends Creative Enterprises Inc., off Hi Hope Road in Lawrenceville. It’s a nonprofit, one of 21 community rehabilitation programs in Georgia.
Aycock of Dacula is one of the 100 or so clients currently enrolled in the facility’s day habilitation program or its work adjustment program.
“This place is great for people with disabilities,” said Aycock, who took a break from keyboarding when the Badie Tour stopped by Wednesday.
Much goes on at Creative Enterprises. A greenhouse, like everything else at the facility, is tended to by the clients. Plants are for sale to the public daily. A garden is chock full of zucchini, squash and pole beans. Creative Enterprises sells the produce on site and on Saturdays at the Lawrenceville Farmers Market.
Because of the drought, clients recently have taken to making and selling rain barrels. A supplier provides the facility with 55-gallon, food-grade plastic drums. The clients turn them into conservation kits.
“I bought one myself,” Thomas Macaulay, a volunteer, told me. “At $45, you can’t beat the price.”
Nor the purpose of Creative Enterprises.
It runs deeper than learning how to make rain barrels, nurture flowers, tend produce, create art or work in the production workshop (more on that later). The idea is to help people with mental and/or physical disabilities reach their highest level of social and economic functionality. To contribute to, and live in, the community.
Leigh M. Couch, CE’s executive director, and I watched clients in the workshop as they packaged packets of coffee creamer. The creamer will eventually find its way to U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Couch gave an example of the role the nonprofit plays in the lives of clients and their families.
Disabled individuals can’t be left home alone without a caretaker. If they could not attend Creative Enterprises, one of their parents, or a guardian, would have to stay with them.
“In situations where the mother is the caregiver of a disabled person, the median income is about half of what you’d find in a typical household,” Couch told me. “So this just doesn’t help the client. The mother, who’s usually the caretaker who stays home, gets to work. The client might eventually be a taxpayer, too.”
At Creative Enterprises, though, clients like Aycock are already employed.
The nonprofit contracts with local companies so its clients can work. The tasks are usually a one- or two-step process, like packaging creamer or snapping together the parts of catalytic converters for self-cleaning ovens. (Yes, there is such a thing.) Clients are paid a “piece-rate,” a federally sanctioned pay scale based on the task and the client’s ability and efficiency.
In some cases, clients progress to the point that they are employable. They might end up at Publix as baggers or on the production line of a plant. The nonprofit tries to match them with the type of job they want. It also keeps tabs on clients for up to a year after he or she has moved on, stepped into the real world.
Where you and I exist.
“People need to understand that people with disabilities are just like anybody else,” Couch said. “They want a chance, an opportunity. Does it mean they can do everything they want to? No.
“But people need to accept the disabled for who they are. Accept their strengths. Don’t focus on their weaknesses. That makes it better for everyone.”
For more information about Creative Enterprises Inc., call 770-962-3908 or visit www.ceisite.com.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Equal rights just a dream for gay pairs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“They met 14 years ago at a gathering of the “Friday Night Group.” It used to be a group of gay women who’d gather on Friday nights, share potluck and have intelligent discussions.
Susan and Betsy Byers have been together ever since. They have two children - Dylan, 11, and Justin, 3. Lilburn was their home for several years till they moved to Decatur.
I’ve known the Byerses since Miles, my 12-year-old, and Dylan were toddlers. They met one summer day at Lilburn Park. Been buds ever since.
From what I’ve seen, the Byers clan is a family, their love just the same as yours or mine. Susan and Betsy are as “married’ as any heterosexual couple. But because they are a gay couple, they are denied the benefits and protection of marriage - things such as survivor benefits through Social Security and the right to make health care decisions for each other.
Last week, California became the second U.S. state, behind Massachusetts, to make marriage licenses available to same-sex couples. On May 15, the Supreme Court of California overturned the state’s ban on such marriages; the decision took effect June 16.
Unlike Massachusetts, California does not have a residency requirement for same-sex couples. Susan says hordes of female couples and male couples in Georgia (estimates put the number at about 25,000) will feel inspired to exchange vows on the West Coast.
“Absolutely,” she told me. “People are already talking about it.”
The Byerses have already tied the knot once, back in 2004 during a trip to California, Betsy’s home state. At the time, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, had ordered city clerks to perform same-sex marriages. His decision to ignore state regulations that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman is what, ultimately, led to the recent state court ruling that legalized same-sex unions.
Susan and Betsy have no plans to join the estimated 68,000 out-of-state couples from across the country who are expected to say “I do” in California. For one thing, it’s cost prohibitive. Secondly, while gay nuptials may be emotionally symbolic and bring newlywed bliss, a California marriage license won’t mean diddly in Georgia.
“We would have no legal recognition here ‘cause there is a constitutional amendment against [gay marriage],” said Susan, a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the state Department of Labor. “It doesn’t bring us legal rights here; the only reason we [got married] in ‘04 was because we were there.”
The Byerses, like gay couples nationwide, have learned to dot their i’s and cross their t’s. When the couple travels out of the state or country, they pack legal papers, such as medical power of attorney documents. If something were to happen to one spouse, the other would have no legal rights without them.
“You have to take all these extra steps in order to protect your family,” Susan said. “There are [thousands] of federally recognized rights that heterosexual couples have that we don’t. You have to be prepared for battles.”
I’ve yet to figure out the harm same-sex marriages supposedly do to the institution of traditional marriage. Heterosexuals are already doing a fine job of cracking its foundation, given the country’s high divorce rate.
Here’s a way to preserve the sacred union between a man and a woman: Make it illegal to get a divorce.
So much for sanctity.
And so much for equal rights for all.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-387
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On GPB: A close-up of gangs in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Meet “Stefan” and “Carlitos.”
These are fake names because these teens are gang bangers, members of SUR 13. They saw violence and crime at an early age, and took to committing it while they were quite young.
On Tuesday night, you can hear what they have to say about gang life in a Georgia Public Broadcasting documentary. “Growing Up with Gangs” deals with why children join gangs, their inspiration for doing so. Viewers will be able to speak with experts.
The documentary was written, directed and edited by David Zelski, a GPB senior producer who also co-hosts “Lawmakers,” a GPB political show. Some visual footage in the documentary dates to 2003; interviews with law enforcement officers, gang experts, and current and former gang members are more recent.
There’s an estimated 750,000 gang members in the United States. Thousands abound in Georgia - Dalton. Douglasville. Gainesville. Gwinnett. According to ScanGwinnett, the online radio communications Web site, authorities have identified hundreds of street gangs that operate in the area.
They may not be household names, but some are colorful and menacing. Brownside Locos. SUR 13. Latin Lords. You’ve probably seen their graffiti in Gwinnett. Some of it appears as footage in the documentary. The film also features interviews with local authorities who are on the front lines to combat street gangs or deal with the after-effects.
Dedicated professionals like Det. Marco Silva of the Gwinnett County Police Department, a former “Latin King” as a Chicago teen. Today he’s co-founder and president of the Georgia Gang Investigators Association.
In the film, he offers a statewide perspective of gangs, recruitment, and he hammers home a point he tirelessly espouses: Get educated.
“Find out how the Gwinnett gang prevention unit or I can educate you,” he told me. “Get with law enforcement departments in your city, such as Lilburn and on and on. People in the community don’t get involved till they become a victim or they are affected personally.
“But that’s the case with everything, not just gangs. That’s just how a lot of the public is. Look at the gasoline crisis. Now we are making a lot of noise about it. Same thing with water.”
By no means will this half-hour film answer all the questions regarding gang proliferation in Georgia. Nor does it examine or expose every measure local and federal officials implement to curb it. It’s definitely a good public service, though, the kind of programming you’d expect from GPB.
Zelski said “Stefan” and “Carlitos” were excited about telling their story, showing their toughness. During the interview, he asked they if they had any goals in life.
“They both said ‘of course,’ ” Zelski told me. “But the saddest thing is that they both had the same train of thought - that when you join a gang, you have to stay in it for life.”
A Frontline documentary on cyberspace safety kicks off an evening of topical programs on Georgia Public Broadcasting. “Growing Up Online” airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday. It will be followed by “Growing Up With Gangs” at 10 p.m. For two hours beginning at 9 p.m., viewers will be able to speak with experts by calling 1-888-685-2815.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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TIME to make a difference
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He cut to the chase quickly.
It wasn’t his idea, Chris Honein told me, to spend part of his summer re-roofing a house for the needy.
But before the five-day project ended Wednesday night, Chris was digging it. Mom and dad were right.
“Every morning you wake and you’re tired and you have to get going,” the 13-year-old said. “But once you get up on the roof, you get into it. It’s cool.”
Well, actually it was hot for a group of young people who hung shingles on three homes in the Tucker area this week. What started out as a youth project for Tucker First United Methodist Church has morphed into a privately-sponsored nonprofit called TIME , which stands for Tucker Interfaith Mission Experience. Its purpose: To re-roof one-story homes at no cost to select homeowners who can’t afford it.
TIME volunteers will tear off an old roof and tack on a new one if a homeowner qualifies and lives within a few miles of Main Street in Tucker. New shingles are the tangible benefits. Others are immeasurable. TIME aims to improve the community, connect the church to the people, and it is hoped, instill in teens a benevolent spirit that continues into adulthood.
The Badie Tour was drawn to TIME for a number of reasons, some selfish. My family attends Tucker First. My son Miles, 12, took part in TIME. Like Chris, he had a change of heart as time moved on. So it was special to see my church and its youth take the lead in a project so simple and humane yet practically an anomaly in these parts.
See, I get it.
Perhaps you don’t. Maybe you take issue with “hand outs” and “helping hands.” Maybe you believe individual responsibility supercedes and overcomes most any and everything. Maybe you generalize about the less fortunate, judge them, their situation, with scant evidence. Criticism from a position of comfort is crude, callous, inhumane, arrogant.
Know what?
You probably could benefit from spending a little time with TIME. If nothing else, think about the “what ifs.” Imagine. Dream big.
It’s what John Lukens, the nonprofit’s board chairman, and I did Tuesday evening. Dinner had been served, the tables were clear. The TIME volunteers were lounging around the Tucker First campus.
“Can you imagine what our youth could be like in 20 years?” he asked. “This is like putting a down payment on the future. Can you imagine the power if every church partnered with another church and did three or four [roofs] a year? You could help people in a way no government assistance could ever provide.”
Make no mistake: TIME is youth driven, though adults work, supervise and chaperone. Teens from Tucker First and Tucker’s Northlake Church of Christ teamed up this year. They bunked at Tucker First and ate most meals there. They were on the job sites by 8 o’clock or so most mornings, and back at the church in the afternoons for dinner, chapel, activities and down time.
Lukens and his daughter, Libby, were part of the 2007 inaugural mission project, when TIME repaired four houses. This year, they worked on the same roof, part of the same 22-person crew. Libby, a rising senior at Parkview High, was the “timekeeper.” In order words, she was the boss.
“The house we worked on this year was in better shape than the one I worked on last year,” she told me. “I love this experience, and I have learned a lot. I want to play a part in this as long as I can. The youth have to keep this going. We’re helping the community. And we’re all just one community.”
See photos of the work at http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/metro/gwinnett/0618badie/. For more information about Tucker Interfaith Mission Experience, visit www.timesmission.org. Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Pain at the pump altering our habits
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gas prices had just surpassed the $4 a gallon mark.
Roy K. Hendee III of Norcross didn’t foresee any respite in regards to petro prices anytime soon. So Hendee, 43, single with no kids, made a decision.
He put his 2004 Lincoln Navigator - his “rolling cream puff” - on the market. He sent out an e-mail to people who could use a large vehicle, friends and colleagues with families. I got the e-mail. I know Hendee from my college days. We lived on the same floor one year in UGA’s Milledge Hall.
“Never had so much as a hiccup out of [the SUV] except at the gas pump,” he quipped in his e-mail.
There’s one good thing about spiraling gas prices. They’ve become motivators, tipping scales. They are getting more of us to follow the example of Hendee - who’s in the commercial real estate business - to think differently about what we drive and how we drive as it relates to work or pleasure.
Gwinnettians are commuting and car pooling more. A June 12 AJC Gwinnett News story stated the number of people who’ve asked to join the Clean Air Campaign’s alternative commute incentives program has more than doubled compared with the same period in 2007.
Since the 2008 year began, 424 people who work or live here asked to join the program. Compare that with the first five months of 2007, when only 207 inquired. That same Gwinnett News story stated that about 50,000 Gwinnett residents car pooled or took mass transit in 2006, the highest number of any metro Atlanta county. Of course, that’s just a drop in the bucket, since a U.S. Census report showed 80 percent of working Gwinnettians - or 265,000 people - drove solo to work that same year.
But it’s a start, a reflection of a metrowide trend. This region’s drivers are adapting to alternative sources of commuting at one of the fastest rates in the nation, according to a May survey by the IBM Institute for Electronic Government.
At the state Capitol, Gov. Sonny Perdue has experienced an about-face on transportation issues. Last week he held a news conference to announce his full support for a proposed commuter rail line that links Atlanta with Lovejoy. He also wants to act aggressively on transportation alternatives.
In a matter of days, Hendee was able to unload his Navigator for $18,000 or so. His experience may have been gruesome at a car dealership. Drastically so.
Jeff Burg, a car salesman for Ed Voyles Acura, told me about a customer who wanted to trade in a 2007 Nissan Titan that contained all the fancy bells and whistles.
“Just loaded out,” said Burg, recalling the $42,000 truck.
The used-car sales manager checked with wholesalers to ascertain the truck’s value. Burg relayed the bad news. The value came in at $20,000, but even at that price, no wholesalers, who represent used car dealerships, wanted it.
“I’ve never seen that happen in all my years in the industry,” Burg told me. “Gas prices are so high that trucks and V-8s aren’t wanted on car lots. It has everything to do with gas prices.”
After his Navigator sold, Hendee bought a 2007 Infiniti M-45. It lists a fuel economy of 19 miles per gallon in the city and 23 mpg on the highway.
“This is the first vehicle purchase that I’d ever made in which miles per gallon factored into the purchase decision,” he told me. “I am getting significantly better gas mileage. The 4.5 liter, V-8 isn’t exactly a hybrid, but it’s a step in the right direction. I just couldn’t justify 11 miles per gallon any longer.”
Who can?
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Investigator donates time to missing kids
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She went jogging like she did most mornings.
But on May 27, Crystal Sexton, a rising junior at Loganville High, kept running. Her mother got in her car and drove around, looking for the 16-year-old.
“I said, ‘Something is wrong,’ ” Donna Sexton told me. ” ‘This is not right. Something is just not right.’ “
She called Loganville Police and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. She passed out fliers with Crystal’s photo.
Before long, Tina Elkins got wind of the missing child. She’s a licensed private investigator, owner of Snellville-based TAMA Investigations, Inc., Elkins has been a P.I. for 14 years.
Her mother’s difficulty dealing with a workers’ compensation issue got her into detective work. Her injured mother had a tough time seeing the doctors she needed to see.
“I came to the conclusion that the reason we were having so many problems was because of fraud in the workers’ comp industry,” said Elkins, a married mother of three. “Being naive, I thought I could become a private investigator and clean it all up.”
So Elkins took a private detective class at a community college. She completed the required two-year stint as an apprentice with a local agency. “It took me about 3 years to do that,” she told me. “Then I took the state exam.”
She belongs to a couple of associations that alert her via e-mail when kids nationwide go missing. That’s how she heard about Crystal and decided to join the search.
Last Thursday, Elkins had gotten a telephone call from someone who thought they’d spotted the girl. She was en route to the location when her cellphone rang. Crystal’s mom. Her daughter had been spotted in the backyard of a house in Loganville. A woman recognized her and contacted Loganville police. Crystal hadn’t been abducted. She, for some reason, had run away. Unclear why.
“What matters to me is she is alive,” Sexton said. “I’m happy she’s back and thank God that she’s alive. We definitely will be getting her some counseling, some Christian counseling.”
Elkins started working the Sexton case on May 30, Day No. 3 of the girl’s disappearance. She and a colleague saturated nearby towns with posters. They vetted tips, some legit, many bogus. They set up surveillance of homes and locales suggested by tipsters.
And guess what?
Elkins did it all pro bono. Free. It’s her way of giving back to the community.
“I’m very fortunate that this community has supported me for 14 years,’ she told me. “When a child comes up missing, if there is anything I can do with my professional experience, I try to do that. If they are in my area - that being Lawrenceville, Snellville, Grayson and Loganville - I get involved.”
Sexton, a stay-at-home mom and licensed hairdresser, appreciates Elkins’ benevolence.
“That girl is awesome,” she said. “She helped me, listened to me, talked to me and we fussed at each other a little bit. I am very grateful to her. She needs to be honored.”
In all, Elkins figures her agency poured 150 person-hours into the search, a bill that would have amounted to several thousand dollars.
“It’s a lot of time and our fees are standard with the industry,” she said. “But hey - a child is home.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. He can be reached at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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A town so nice, let’s hail it twice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Larry Brannon was making his way around the tables when one particular design caught his eye.
“Hey,” he shouted to Ed From, who was on the other side of the room. “Norman Rockwell submitted an entry.”
The men served on an eight-person committee that met Wednesday to pick the design that will grace —shirts and posters for Suwanee Day, which takes place Sept. 20 at Town Center Park. More about that celebration - and the winning entry - later.
The Badie Tour stopped by City Hall to inquire about an interactive event that unfolds this weekend. It’s the inaugural “Life is good in Suwanee Festival,” set for noon to 9 p.m. Saturday in the park.
Definitely check it out. You’ll get to play hoops with a rubber chicken or horseshoes with a toilet seat and plunger. The festival highlight, though, will be the “World’s Greatest Backyard Athlete” competition.
Eighteen people will compete in a series of events, including a watermelon seed-spitting contest, burger building and a potato sack race.
Remember the name DeWayne Davis. He expects to rule the sack race, if not the coveted crown.
“Maybe,” said Davis, chuckling.
In all seriousness, though, Davis said he decided to suit up for a good cause. See, each athlete either contributed, raised or had someone sponsor him or her for $500. That money, along with all proceeds from festival sales and an auction, will go to the Life is good Kids Foundation Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit. It helps plan charity festivals like Suwanee’s across the country.
The foundation distributes money to nonprofits that serve children. Suwanee’s proceeds will benefit Project Joy, a 19-year-old, Boston-based nonprofit that helps kids (think Hurricane Katrina victims) recover from trauma through play. Training and resources are provided to educators, child-care providers and other professionals who work with children.
Amy Doherty, Suwanee’s events coordinator, said local organizers hope the festival nets $10,000. The money will be used to set up a Project Kids program in metro Atlanta.
“The money stays in metro Atlanta,” Doherty told me. “This is the first time we have done anything like this, but the big thing about this nonprofit is that it has credibility. That makes a big difference.”
From, one of the judges for the Suwanee Day Celebration design, doesn’t doubt the event will succeed. After all, this is Suwanee, ranked by Money Magazine as the 10th-best small community to live in. Town Center Park, located off Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, basically serves as the town’s front yard. It’s the locale for community concerts, movies, fun. Children frolic daily in the Big Splash interactive fountain.
“Everybody loves the park,” noted From, a local business owner and part-time actor. “If it’s not raining, we’ll have a good turnout Saturday. I’ve never seen anything up here not have a good turnout.”
Now, back to choosing a commemorative design for Suwanee Day. This was no willy-nilly, knee-jerk decision. Judges started poring over the 73 prints at 10 a.m. Wednesday. A winner was not voted on till an hour and a half later.
“We’re going to be a while,” mused Doherty, after the top choices had been narrowed. “May as well sit down.”
One by one, designs were critiqued, then rejected. “Too professional.” “Too busy.” “Too much clip art.”
Then, the winner: A design by Ashleigh James of Buford that featured symbols of music, art, nature and good times.
“This is a big year,” said Suwanee spokeswoman Lynne DeWilde. “The 25th celebration. We want everybody to know about it.”
For more information about the “Life is good in Suwanee Festival,” contact Suwanee City Hall at 770-945-8996. Online: www.projectjoy.com; www.lifeisgood.com. Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-270-5235 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Family needs support more than ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The weekend started out on a high note.
On Saturday, Chuck Peavy got to see his 2-year-old twins, Matthew and Megan. Then Julia, his 5-year-old daughter, and her grandmother paid a visit Sunday.
Father and daughter talked about the future, better days, after he got his new heart, left Emory University Hospital and got his life back. Back to their home in Snellville, to Cindi, his wife of 15 years, to the kids.
To living.
“His spirits were good,” Barbara Morales, a neighbor and family friend, told me. Then, Peavy took a turn for the worse, something that’s happened several times since his admittance to Emory in January.
Last month he “coded,” Cindi told me in May, and had to be shocked back to life. Once his blood pressure plummeted to 70/31. More recently, a staph infection developed in his cardiac catheter.
The Peavys hung tough, though, despite Chuck’s congestive heart failure, their money woes, the untenable stress. The couple talked about life after the heart transplant, not life without Chuck, 46.
“We’re pretty optimistic people,” Cindi, 43, had told me. “We have to be. We talk about ‘when you get a heart, when we get this.’ “
Obviously, Peavy, a service writer for Stone Mountain Ford, quit working. Cindi quit her job as a marketing manager to stay atop things. They needed help - with baby-sitting, meals and yes, money. I wrote about their plight in a May 25 column.
No surprise here, but this community responded splendidly. People wanted to baby-sit, donate, clean the house, pray. A kids’ bake sale raised $1,126.
“People were giving $20 for a cupcake,” said Barbara Myers, whose daughter, Allie, helped plan the neighborhood event. “Nobody asked for change.”
Offers of support continue to pour in. It’s still needed.
Patsy Reynolds, a friend of the Peavys’, sent me an e-mail and left a voice message on Friday with an idea that was to be today’s column topic.
“Chuck Peavy needs a heart today,” she wrote. “Why am I telling you this? To see if some information about being a donor could be gotten out to the public right away.”
Right now, there are 56 patients on the waiting list at Emory’s Center for Heart Failure Therapy and Transplantation. According to its Web site, the center performs about 20 heart transplants a year. More than 90 percent of its patients survive a year or more following surgery; about 60 percent live up to 10 years or longer.
But the single biggest limiting factor to transplants of any kind are organ donors - the lack of them, said Lance M. Skelly, a spokesman for Emory hospitals.
Julia and her grandmother had to be removed from Chuck’s room on Sunday. He became nauseous, then his weak heart stopped, said Morales, the family friend, and Cindi’s mom, Charlotte Daniel. Doctors were unable to revive him.
Cindi, who for the most part has been rock solid through this ordeal, finally broke down emotionally and mentally. Late Monday, with the help of Morales, she planned to tell Julia, maybe the twins, that Daddy won’t be coming back home.
At least not to the one here on Earth.
Donations to the Peavy Family Fund may only be made at Bank of America, 840 Oak Road, Lawrenceville. Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ ajc.com.
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Illegal immigration on the campaign trail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Local politicians have a surefire way to draw media attention, brand themselves and acquire cachet on the campaign trail.
Just utter two words: Illegal immigration.
They pronounce their strong opposition to it. They say they deplore it and lament how illegal immigrants have ruined - or are ruining - this stellar county and its towns. They add a few hot-button topics like declining property values, crime and packed schools.
Then maybe, just maybe, they toss out an idea to curb the tide. Or they pledge, if elected, to work diligently to do something, anything, to stop the decline and decay.
Often, a concerned citizenry and voting public hang on every word. It doesn’t matter who the politico is, what his or her track record shows or, most importantly, how impractical or farcical their proposals appear. It’s a can’t-lose platform.
Last week, the AJC Gwinnett News ran an article about how illegal immigration is a major focus in some county commission campaigns.
Commissioner Lorraine Green is challenging incumbent Charles Bannister for the county chairman’s post. Her campaign issued a statement that called on Bannister to “end his continual roadblocks to the implementation of the 287(g) illegal immigration enforcement program” or “place these decisions in someone else’s hands.”
Green referred to a federal act that allows local law enforcement authorities to determine whether inmates are here legally, regardless of the offense they are picked up for, and to refer them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible deportation.
The county has ponied up $1.5 million to pay for 18 new deputies to run the program, which should be in place by the fall. The matter, Bannister has said, is now in the sheriff’s hands.
But Green’s statement said enforcement could start immediately if the county cancelled contracts with the State Department of Corrections to house state inmates. Then, currently crowded local jails would have space for illegal immigrants.
In a related matter, Shirley Lasseter, the former mayor of Duluth running for the District 1 seat, announced a proposal to build a new federal detention center for illegal immigrants. She lacked details, but told me when we talked Friday that they would be forthcoming and shared with the public.
Days later, her opponent Carol Hassell issued a statement that questioned the logic and rationale of an “immigrant” detention center. She also criticized Lasseter for creating a “sanctuary zone” in downtown Duluth for illegal immigrants.
“It hurts our property values all over downtown Duluth, as well as the whole district, to have illegal aliens openly walking around the streets,” the statement read.
See, not only do politicians plan to fix the problem. They can tell who’s illegal and who’s not. Just by looking.
Everybody’s talking tough, ready to clean up Dodge City. They seek election to get rid of “them,’ the problems they cause, the trouble they make, the burden they’ve become.
So be it.
But also be forewarned, my Gwinnett brothers and sisters.
Weigh the grandstanding, exchanges and pledges carefully, no matter the messenger. State and local attempts to deal with illegal immigrants typically get struck down because they encroach on individual Constitutional rights (even illegal immigrants).
Illegal immigration is one of the most convoluted and complex issues of the 21st century. Don’t let your justified concern for the county be exploited by professional politicians or office-seekers.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Scooters looking better everyday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He started riding a scooter in 1955.
Then, Bill Scoggins was 13. Gas was cheap - 15 or 20 cents a gallon. The Atlanta native rode a Cushman scooter to school and to deliver The Atlanta Journal.
“Now gas is almost $4 a gallon, and I am still riding one,” said Scoggins, 66, who rides a scooter from his Lawrenceville home to his business, Scooter World. “I like them because you’re out in nature and you can smell the roses and enjoy the scenery.
“I am a 365-day rider.”
Scoggins has seen an uptick in customers at his shop off Grayson Highway in Lawrenceville. You know why. Gas prices. The shift from four wheels to two reflects a national trend. Some dealers have reported sales boosts as high as 30 percent when compared with this time last year.
And that’s what brought the Badie Tour to Scooter World. I wanted to talk to someone who knows scooters, maybe ride one.
Scoggins has sold motorcycles, scooters and mopeds since 1985. He recalls two other scooter surges. One was during the 1990 recession. The other was two years ago, when gas inched toward $3 a gallon. Neither period, though, compares to the current traffic flow in his service and sales shop.
“I have seen more people in three months - and that’s 90 days - seriously in the market to buy than I have the past 10 years,” he told me. “I’ve had quite a few sales. I see people every week come in here who are getting 15 or 20 miles per gallon in their vehicles. With a scooter, you can get from 80 miles per gallon on the little one to 60 on the bigger ones.”
Scoggins specializes in the more popular engines - the 49 cc (top speed is 35 miles per hour); the 150 cc (60 mph) and 300 cc engine (80 to 85 mph). More power equals a higher price tag. A new scooter with a 300 cc engine runs about $4,000. (You don’t have to have a tag or insurance to operate a 49 cc scooter. A tag, insurance and motorcycle license are required to operate anything bigger.”
How practical is it to ride a scooter in Gwinnett traffic?
Before answering that question, Scoggins told me what he usually tells customers: If you’ve never ridden a two-wheeler, or haven’t done so in months or years, take a safety course. At the very least, practice starting, braking and accelerating in a parking lot before hitting the streets.
“I can tell right off how skilled or unskilled a customer is,” he told me. “The main thing is balance. If you can ride a bike, you can ride a scooter. The only difference is you have a throttle for gas. You have to know when to give the gas and when to stop.”
As for scooting down Gwinnett roads, Scoggins does it all the time, weather permitting. He said only a seasoned driver should brave busy arteries like Ga. 316 and U.S. 78.
“I tell people you can go from Maine to Miami on secondary roads and never get on the interstate,” he said. “Highway-capacity scooters are ideal for secondary roads. If you are going on [U.S.] 78 or [Ga.] 316, I would drive with caution - unless you’re an expert driver.”
Scoggins and I didn’t navigate a busy road, but we did cruise through a nearby neighborhood. The view was panoramic. The breeze delightful. Fun ride.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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Folksy spin on history travels well
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She taught in public elementary schools for 34 years, spending time in Coweta, Gwinnett, Baldwin and DeKalb counties.
When Mary Long retired in 1992, she didn’t forsake her desire to educate. She took it to the road.
She doesn’t know how it all got started, but colleagues began asking her to give group talks and presentations on history. She now travels the state to talk about three of her favorite topics: Georgia history, Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe and Abraham Lincoln. The presentations are packed with tidbits left out of most school texts. She shared a few with me.
Lincoln, for example, had a pet cat. And while I knew his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was mentally unstable, I’d never heard her condition described so colorfully.
“The butter had slid off her biscuit,” Long said. “He had a wife who was later committed and had two sons to die before he did, and had to deal with the War Between the States. I don’t see how the man made it with all the stuff he had on his mind.”
And of the 20 or so men who petitioned the King of England to create Georgia, Long said Oglethorpe was the only one to join the voyage. “He was a bachelor, and his mother had just died,” she told me.
“A real interesting fella.”
Long schedules about 60 speaking engagements a year for church groups, civic clubs, whomever. She’s speaking to a Methodist group this week, “and I’m Baptist,” she said, chuckling.
Sometimes she asks those in attendance to make a donation. Contribute what you can, she tells them.
‘I get anything from $25 to $200 - whatever they come up with,” she said. “The more the better, though sometimes I do it for free. Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t think I’d make much at it and if I did, I’d just give it away.”
And that’s what Long has been doing with her honoraria. She started a scholarship program that benefits students at her church, Lawrenceville First Baptist. She’s awarded about 15 scholarships through the years. Recipients must have completed one year of college. Applications are judged by educators from outside of the county with no affiliation with the church. Just to be fair.
On Sunday, Lawrenceville First Baptist held a ceremony to recognize the 2008 winners Kristen Tribble, a sophomore at the University of Georgia; Bryan Prevatte, a junior at Piedmont College; Andrew Clack, a Georgia Tech sophomore; and UGA senior Karen Ward. Each received a $1,000 check.
“I was fortunate enough to work with her this year, and choose the candidates,” said Bruce McGee, the church youth minister. “When the winners are announced, you see they have the same type of character that Mary has, even though that’s not a requirement. She is a wonderful example of what a community leader is.”
Long downplays the generosity. “I’m not that great,” she said.
After all, she told me, when it comes to money, “You can’t take it you.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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