Held Up High

Friday, August 18, 2006

Can and Together

What do these words mean? Awe. Inspiration. Power. Love. It's the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt.

You may or may not have heard this story, but it's about the lives of a father and son. It is one of the most incredible stories I have heard in a loooong time. Here is the article by Rick Reiley of Sports Illustrated. Read and then watch.

Strongest Dad in the World

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for
their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in
marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair
but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112
miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain
climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your
son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was
strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and
unable to control his limbs.

``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him
and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an
institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed
them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering
department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the
boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going
on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot
was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching
a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.
First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed
in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked
out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more
than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.
``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two
weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it
felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick
that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he
and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a
single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few
years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they
found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another
marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following
year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was
six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in
Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an
old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick
does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a
cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston
Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best
time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record,
which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by
a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the
Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild
heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95%
clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him,
``you probably would've died 15 years ago.''

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and
Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find
ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in
some backbreaking race every > weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to
give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair
and I push him once.''Here are the 3 videos (click on the links)...one from the son's perspective, one from the dad's perspective, and another from a third party's point of view.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Ever Have One of These Days?

Laugh. Cry. Empathize. Whatever you do, think back, recall, and remember that we all have bad days and manage to survive (it's just that we don't have plastered all over the internet for all to see - thank the Lord above!). This is too funny, however. Click here.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Our Budding Photographer

Sarah loves to take pictures. So I decided to put some of her photographs in this virtual gallery so that you can see what Kelly and I see as a gift (and a means of early retirement! hahaha). Enjoy! Below each picture are titles that Sarah has given each of these works of art.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

What Color is your Flip Flop?

Maternal Influence

No Parker!!!

Number 4

Exploring Indy

Over the past month or so we have ventured out into the vast expanse and wilderness know as Indianapolis to see what we could find for fun and adventure. Two of our stops: The Canal at White River State Park in downtown and Cool Creek Park and Trails in Westfield.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Girls Night Out

My sister, Marcie, and niece, Scout, came out for a little girls night out on the town here in Indy. They ate some food, shopped a bit, and talked a ton. It was really cool having them out. My nephew, Alex, and I held down the fort, played with the kids and successfully wrestled my wild (albeit sweet) little buggers into bed. Good times were had by all.

What would a girls night out be without a little reading from the Berenstein Bears!

The terrific trio!

Guess who got goosed?!

Work it...very nice...give me more...strike a pose...there's nothing to it...vogue!

Come closer, Scout...too close - a little too close!

Where in the Crib Is Sally Cat?

It's the fast growing blog game sensation in America. It's taking the country by storm. Look for the book, DVD, CD-ROM, and music video at a Barnes and Noble and cable access stations (and of course Costco!) near you.

Relational Floaties

Just wanted to honor my friends that have helped during these past few months to keep me afloat and moving forward. I am more like Jesus because of their influence on me and my family. This is just a "snap shot" of the many that have loved us deeply during this stretch of life.

A Party, A Princess, and Their Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Sarah's big #4! It was a great day...thanks to all the friends and family that came and made is such a special day for our biggest girl!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

April showers bring May AND June...

Muddy waters. That's about how it feels these days. Lack of personal vision. Inability to sense God's vocational directive or hear His voice. Inner struggle of how to work in conjunction with the hand of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit. All of that and then some adds up to some confusion and not much clarity. Ugh. It's tiring having to trust this damn much, but, just maybe, that's part of covert plan for my life. So I keep going. Punching that clock. Taking those breaks. Searching those web sites. Reading those job descriptions. Feeling huge discouragement. All in an effort to communicate to Kelly, the kids, and the world around me that I will follow (good U2 song, btw!).

I have to laugh because if you ask me at certain times (like right now) if I enjoy my faith journey, I'd have to say, "Heck no! This faith thing is for the birds!" It's hard, messy and unpredictable - I guess that's why we call it faith. It can be really tough to wade through. But - and that's a big but - I continue to remind myself of the truth that God is not about my comfort, but my character and that is driven by His great love for me. It's so that I can continue to experience how awesome He is and to continue to unearth who He's making me to be. It's truth. It's real. I read it in Scripture. I see it in the lives of people dead and gone and also those alive and kickin'. And that my fellow trekkers is good - very good. God is at work...He is always faithful...I will still worship.

So there you have it...faith, uncertainty, mud, follow - muddy waters. That's where I'm at and it's where I'm swimming. And thank you, Jesus, for those wading in the water with me: family, my prayer triad, friends across the country and oh that amazing bride of mine - Kelly. She is amazing. God only knows where I'd be without her. Babe, you have been, are, and always will be the best! And what can I say Whodie and the Wildman - Sarah and Parker? From spontaneous ballet sessions to spotting HUGE bia bags (I'll give you three guesses as to what that is), God reminds me to stay on my toes, keep laughing, and be about the Father's business of loving and serving people no matter what.

Grace and peace.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

The Ultimate Autograph Ball - The Finale!

I wrote a few post back about the amazing accomplishment of my uncle gathering all the "john hancocks" of the living Heisman trophy winners. Here is the final chapter in the story as told by a news station in Dallas, TX: http://cbs11tv.com/video?cid=56. It is so stinkin' cool. My uncle is getting more run than the Donald and for even better reasons!

Thursday, June 08, 2006

The Newest Rings

I'd like to welcome the newest member of the Rings Clan here in Indy...Sally Cat!

We are excited to have her. She is super playful, very snuggly and too stinkin' cute! We are having a ton of fun and look forward to the day when she can pull her weight aroung the house by eradicating our ground squirrel and mole population!

As you can see Sarah loves to hold and "mother" her. Every time Sally walks away from her food, Sarah has to pick her up and bring her back to dish. Parker loves the "kitty!", but finds it most intriguing to simply lie down next to Sally and stare at her while she chills out on the floor...funny little boy, he is.

Welcome, Sally Cat!

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

April _ bring May _

Ah, the last day of May. Weird. Time flies when you are in limbo - spiritually, emotionally, and vocationally. It seems like just yesterday that I was getting myself and a team of almost 75 people ready to go to east Africa and urban Indianapolis (that was a year ago). It also feels like it was just the beginning of September with a sense of anticipation of what I was going to discover about myself and my calling as I resigned from Grace. Now it's the end of May and I'm just trying to figure out what tomorrow's closing time is going to be like at Costco. Life comes at you fast and from unseen directions. Weird.

April was a tough month...lots of showers. So what has that brought me in May...flowers? Things that make you go hhhmmmmmm. I'm not really sure. I'm still strugglin'. I'm still scared. I'm still searchin'. But I'm also still hopeful. Still thankful. And still grace-full that God is still working on this battered and bruised tool willing to be formed. I can only chuckle at times that He doesn't throw in the trash heap. Weird.

So here comes June with all its glory and heat. I'll keep you posted as the journey continues (doesn't it always?). I wonder what pithy slogans will come out of this time...May hhhmmmmmms bring June _______. We'll have to wait and see. Thanks for being there and taking part. Your thoughts, prayers and conversations are huge! In the next couple of days or weeks I'll post something on some musing on this book I'm reading about desire and how I'm working through that.

My hands are held up high (and I'm totally pitting out. Kelly can we turn on the air?).