Monday, October 20, 2008

A funny thing happened this morning

October 17, 2008

Good afternoon everyone,


A funny thing happened this morning after I sent out that e-mail letting you all know that I would not be able to race today. Yesterday Jacob, one of the guys on Mike Kohn's (USA 2 Driver after Team Trials last year) had some pretty bad back spasm's yesterday after their first training run. Jacob figured that it would go away in the morning, so he got some anti-inflammatory meds from the trainers in sports med. I guess he woke up this morning and he could barley walk, bend over let alone run and take a trip down a bobsled run in a race.

Now, my plan was to leave out at 9:30am to finish helping Todd and the rest of the guys get ready to race since I could not race today...or so I thought. At 9:10 am I get a call from Mike asking me if I was racing, I said no and he asked me if I wanted to race with him, so of course I said YES! I am thinking ok, God not sure what the plan is but I guess you meant for me to race and so here I am!! lol Its funny because I have just had a feeling that something was going to happen and some how I would be racing. I have also been trying to calm myself down by repeating the one verse in the bible that tells you "Not to worry because if God clothes the flowers in the fields with such beautiful pedals, and feeds the birds in the air, and how much important God considers us to be then those things, then how much more will he take care of us. Of course I my wording of the verse which I now know is Matthew 6:25 was not word for word in my head but hey I got the gist of in my head....and yeah that works for me! lol And I have just been trusting God to work things out for me and he continues to do so!

So I got to race today! Now keep in mind I have never practiced with this crew, the sled we used was a good 17yrs old if not older (because Mike did not do that good in 2-man last week and was allocated This Big Red Old German sled), this sled has been getting worked on for the last week by our coaches and Mike to attempt to get it race ready! Well in this sled that no one thought we had a chance in we took second behind USA 1 today and blew a lot of peoples mind today because we were fast!!!! This Big Red Clifford the DOG looking sled was fast!!! LOL it was a good day...and I was thrilled that I got to race today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The KID (yes I know I am 30yrs old but in a good story I refer to myself in the the third person as the KID! lol that's just what I do) is feeling pretty good today the BIG MAN has my back and I am going to roll with it!!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and God Bless
Jesse

Friday, October 17, 2008

Lake Placid October Update

October 17, 2008

Good Morning Everyone!!!!

You all should be smiling because today is FRIDAY!!!!

These couple of weeks have been kind of crazy with the way things have been going. We are finally done with our physical performance testing, and I have attached a spread sheet of those results. The testing included a 60meter sprint with timing eyes placed at the 20m, 30m, 45m and 60m mark, a vertical jump, shot put test, and a sled pull test. The sled pull was omitted because the numbers were to erratic since earlier that day it had rained and some people had the advantage of pulling the sled on a wet track which cut down the friction/drag, while others pulled the sled on a dry track which increased the friction. This difference in friction led to a huge discrepancy in numbers making the timed data from the test irrelevant.

We also did some weight testing which involved the Squat and the Clean. To max out the squat you only had to do 220kilos (495lbs) for a set of 3, this is kind of light for me and I decided to just do it as part of my workout so I did 3 sets of 3. Yeah you have to put down a exclamation mark sometimes when you can!! lol I was like 220 THAT'S IT COACH?! are you serious!! Yeah I am going to go ahead and knock that out for you right quick!! LOL Just playing I did not say that but I was thinking it. But hey you have to think that sometime!

Now when it came to the Clean I am still working on some technique issues and I tested out at 160kilos(360lbs). The weight felt pretty light when I pulled it so I tried to go up in weight but I tend to let the weight get to far away from my body and my elbows bend a little to earlier at times so I was unable to pull the weight properly and I was unable to get the 165kilo I tried. Yeah NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT!!! But hey I will keep working at cause eventually I want to get 180 kilos. But the weight I got was still one of the highest weights lifted.

Now this is where things get a little bit complicated and why I am a little bit frustrated this week. After the two man race where my driver Todd Hays(2002 Olympic Silver Medalist) and Teammate Alex sprague ended up wining by more then a second 4-man sleds were allocated out to the different drivers by our coaches. These Bodyn sleds that we use range from 210kilos to 220kilos. Now the rule is that the combined four man crew can not be more than 630 kilos. After a day of training we weighed but we got the math wrong and we thought we were only a few pounds overweight, we weighed again the next day and realized that we were 20lbs over weight. At this point it is two days before the race and the possibility of us being able to loose the body weight and keep the strength we needed to push fast and hard would happen. Some guys on the team were already light and needed to gain a few pounds, but me and another guy have been sitting in the sauna and eating less to try and make weight. We tried using a different sled but the sled was to tight for our particular crew to fit in. So unfortunately for me since I was 225lbs, and my team can not afford to just take a zero for the race I will be switched out for this race ONLY with a guy who is 205lbs. My team will loose time at the start because I am not pushing I have tested above the guy that is replacing me but hopefully my driver will drive out of his mind and the crew will push well. Yeah it would have been nice if we were able to trade sleds with a lighter crew but for some reason (which I still do not understand why not) this was not done. TIB (This Is Bobsled) I guess!

Once we get to Park City, Utah next week we will have the opportunity to get into a lighter sled, plus I have already dropped down to 218 pounds and will be 215 by the time I race out there making weight no longer a factor. I also talked to my coach about the situation and he told me that when I race in Park City the fact that I did not race in Lake Placid will not be an issue, since my performance and ability is not in doubt! It was a little comforting to hear that but at the same time I would rather be racing this week!! But this is the situation and I have to make the best of if for this one day.

My training is still going GREAT with both my strength and speed increasing and I look at it this way 215lb is the weight I was when I played football and I will just rock that weight again and get the job done!!!

Have a Great Weekend and God Bless!

Jesse

www.jessebeckom3.com
www.jessebeckom.blogspot.com

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Elmhurst Trip Intro

October 2, 2008

Helloooooooooo Bobsled Fans!!!!

Cheers to having a great weekend! Ok just as a warning this blog may be a little long so it’s ok if you need to take a bathroom, water or television break (for my gamers TV break includes all video games) LoL but just remember to finish reading the blog cause this is good stuff!!!! This Blog is actually in six parts so please continue to read all the blogs titled Elmhurst Trip.

God continues to bless me with opportunities on numerous levels. After 16 months I was finally able to make it back home to Chicago for six days (normally if I get a chance to get home it’s only for a few hour lay-over at O’Hare, so this was huge) thanks primarily to International Contractors Inc, http://www.iciinc.com/ one of my new sponsors who brought me in and Dr. John Jevitz my chiropractic friend from Elmhurst who set things up for me!

The story begins in a small town of Radiator Springs (direct reference to the movie Cars) where the evil Ogre had been attacking this village for more than a thousand years…..Oh sorry wrong story it is way to late for me to be typing this!!! LoL

Seriously now, this is how my recent trip to Elmhurst began. Every year the USA Olympic Training Centers rotate athletic trainers, massage therapist, and chiropractors, in and out of the facilities for approximately two week stints each rotation. This is actually a good learning experience for these medical professions and a sacrifice, since they are not paid to be there. On this particular rotation I had the pleasure of meeting John Jevitz (Doc Jev) a Chiropractor from Elmhurst, Illinois. Elmhurst is the Number One ranked suburb outside of Chicago (45 minutes from the city), and if you ever visit you will understand why it’s such a GREAT place!! I honestly met some really great hardworking blue collar minded people. Everyone I met welcomed me with open arms and their sincerity was true! It did not matter if I was talking to a waitress or CEO of a company there was no arrogance unwillingness to talk with me, the people I met in Elmhurst had good hearts and were quality people. But I digress, so while Doc Jev was working on the tendonitis occurring on my right patella tendon we began talking about where we were from and our background. This of course when we realized we were both from the Chicago area. We got to talking about football and how I got into bobsledding, and Doc Jev’s office and things, you know friendly convo.

Doc Jev asked me when the next time I would be in Chicago (this was Ironic cause I had been thinking of a way to get back home before team trials to see my family and friends), I informed him that the last time I was in Chicago was about 16 months ago and that was on a 18hr layover I booked just to see my family. I explained how erratic my travel/training schedule is every making it hard for me to get home and that I have to decide between the trips I want to take and the ones I need to take primarily due to funding. Doc Jev told me that he may be able to help me out but I need to get him some dates that I could come into the Chicago Area. Doc Jev thought it would be a great I deal if while I was home visiting family that I could talk at a few schools and groups in the area about bobsledding, commitment, team work, faith and work ethic. I thought that would be a great ideal especially since not many people know about the sport of bobsledding, and I liked the idea of informing people about my sport. I told Doc Jev that due to testing the only dates I could possibly be in the area were September 18-23. Doc Jev told me he would see what he could set up between now and then!

Just for the record in dealing with the level of sports that I have been in the majority of my life I have run into hundreds of people who say they want to do this, or have me do that, and this should be easy and so on and so forth! So honestly I thought this was another one of those times. Doc Jev seemed sincere enough but I was a little skeptical (sorry Doc Jev but I had my doubts). I say this with strong conviction Doctor John D. Jevitz OF ELMHURST http://www.docjev.com/ IS WORTH HIS SALT!!! THROUGH AND THROUGH. Doc Jev calls me a week later and tells me “Jesse I did not have that much time to set up things, and that he is still working on some things but this is what I have for you so far!” I am thinking ok that’s cool and expect him to say one or two things, NOT THE CASE he tells me about TEN different things in a minute as far as places that want to hear me speak and people who would like to meet me and not only that but that one of his friends Bruce Bronge President of International Contractors, Inc would be able to take care of my flight!!! Yeah that’s what I thought… I was amazed!!! I was like thanks God, you are doing your thing for me, big Time.

The next couple of weeks Doc Jev and I were on the phone every few of days confirming the schedule. I was also talking to several other people and business about appearances I was going to make!!! YEAH THAT’S RIGHT I MAKE APPERANCES NOW..LOL! I let them know what you need and I will have my people talk to your people who in turn talk to their people’s people! LoL. Seriously, though they wanted to know what I needed for my presentation and demonstrations that I would be doing, what time I would be there and so forth.

Doc Jev and I continued to talk even while I was up in Canada training just to make sure we were still on the same page. After Push Championships I was able to get in a good week of training in Colorado Springs before I needed to fly to Chicago/Elmhurst on the 17th. The flight to O’Hare went well and I landed in Chicago about 7:30pm. I then waited around for the Avis bus to come pick me up and take me to my rental car. Now I think picking up a rental car is very easy for most people. Uhm yea….I am not most people when it comes to travel and the easy things!

First of all I have two huge bags with me, a carryon bag that rolls and my laptop! Now since I am not a preferred Avis member I do not get dropped off in front of my car, instead I get dropped off at the regular car pick up. And of course when I get of the bus there are no carts for me to place my bags on, so I have to run back and forth till all my bags are together (this was really fun, I recommend it if you are bored! NOT!!) Then guess what after I get everything over I see a cart inside the building…Exactly! This is when you just smile and say “Yup that’s about right”! Ok, so now I have my cart with my bags on it, I finished up my paperwork then headed out to get my car in the sea of vehicles which is the rental lot! I began my journey to the place where my car is supposed to be. One problem there is a mini-van in the spot. (WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT IS THIS!!! That’s what was going through my head) I did not request a mini-van by the way. I run back to the rental counter pushing my cart of bags with me (just a little push training), they then tell me the correct number where my car…hey thank you so much now I can actually leave! No…I did not say it but I wanted to!

I leave the rental place about 9pm and head to my parents house, oh and did I mention I NEVER TOLD MY PARENTS I WAS COMING HOME! SURPRISE! LOL I ring the door bell and my father looks out he looks twice (not sure if he could not believe it was me or because it was dark out….lol I am kind of hard make see at that time of night J, I have been working on my tan). As my father is looking through the door I see he realizes it me and in the background I hear my mom asking him who’s at the door. My father says “I am not sure, I can’t see” he then lets me in; I walk up the stairs to my mother’s surprise and give her a hug! It was pretty cool actually my mom and pops were smiling from here to there! I gave my pops a manly embrace, talked a bit and went downstairs to sleep.

Elmhurst Trip Day 1

DAY 1 Thursday September 18, 2008

The next morning I woke up a 4am to arrive in Elmhurst (45 minutes away distance wise two hours away depending on Chicago traffic) by 5:45am. This is where the blitz of excitement starts! Doc Jev takes me by a morning Rotary Meeting where I meet a good bunch of business men and women. I get introduced and speak a bit about myself and bobsledding the who, what when, where and why. It went really good, everyone seemed to be really intrigued. After rotary we head over to Hawthorne Elementary where I was scheduled to speak in the school’s gym to 50 plus 4th graders. I had a power point presentation with a ton of pictures that explains the sport of bobsledding.

It was Great the way it was all set up, I was hiding in the principal’s office while the teachers brought in their fourth grade classes. The teachers had all the kids chanting USA! USA! As I come running in! There was a cameraman from Comcast Cable Company recording the whole thing. Comcast was there to record footage for a TV show I was scheduled to do with Senator Dan Cronin the following Monday. As the kids are shouting I come running in chanting USA! With them which made them shout louder! I HAD THE KIDS STAND UP AS THEY CONTINUED TO SHOUT USA! THEY WERE JUMPING UP STOMPING THEIR! FEET THEY WERE REALLY EXCITED WHICH MADE ME MORE EXCITED!! IT WAS SPECTACTULAR!! I then settle the kids down and thank them and the teachers for having me come out. I then tell the kids that before we start I will have to stretch and do a light workout before we get started. I have all the kids stand up and shake their arms and legs out. And they went Crazy Again shaking their whole body, they were jumping and laughing and having a good ole time, I could not stop laughing myself it was really amusing.

After we stretched I told the kids that I needed some help with my pushups because I am use to doing pushups with weight and asked for some volunteers that would like to help me. All the kids are raising their hands jumping up and down screaming ME! ME! ME! I picked three kids out of the crowd, I get down in the push up position and their teacher sit all three on my back while I do my pushups. While doing the pushups I am facing the rest of the kids and they are doing them with me as we count to ten and finish. The kids on my back are waving their hands up and down like they are on a rollercoaster ride. Oh by this time I have taken off my regular shirt and have a sleeveless under armor shirt on under it! (Yeah the kid broke out the GUN SHOW and Tickets Were NOT On Sale!!!! But it was a SOLD OUT SHOW! LOL) I then started picking kids out of the crowd asking them what stretches they knew and what we should do next! Whatever stretch they suggested they helped me to lead the workout, surprisingly these kids knew a lot of good stretches. I used the stretches as a lead segment into my talk informing kids that the stretches they demonstrated were actually stretches we did before practice in bobsledding. I spoke them about, maintaining their health via working out and eating healthy, doing their best in everything, having a strong work ethic, working with others, being respectful, and the importance of a strong education. Next, I began speaking about bobsledding, the places I have been blessed to travel and how it feels to represent my country all over the world!

I then passed around some of my bobsled gear for the kids to look at (my helmet, speed suit, gloves, burn vest and shoes). Their faces lit up light Christmas trees in response to everything that was going on. Next I began to pick random children out of the crowd to be a part of my bobsled team. I lined them all up in the correct position and we reenacted the bobsled start and pretended we were loading into a bobsled! We all had a good time, and they hung on to every word I said. I did this demonstration with three different groups of children. I talked for over an hour and they were still intrigued. Towards the end of my presentation I opened it up for questions, and I tell you what…fourth graders have a lot of questions to ask. I answered as many questions as I could but my time was up and the kids needed to go back to class. At the end the teachers circled the kids up around me and we gave a loud GO USA!!! Shout! As all the classes left the gym they went out in a single file line and I gave everyone a hi-Five. The little guys were funny they were trying their best to show how strong a hi-Five they could give by running up and slapping my hand as heard as they could. I had a blast and so did all the kids and even the teachers. Later all the kids made me individual thank you cards from construction paper. The cards were personalized with drawings of me, bobsleds, bobsled tracks and gold medals thanking me for coming, wished me luck and told of their favorite parts of the presentation.

From there Doc Jev dropped me off at the Metra train station so I could head to downtown Chicago to give a speech on team work to Hub International Insurance Services http://www.hubinternational.com/. From talking to fourth graders to working men and women 5 to twenty years my senior, talk about switching gears. The interesting thing about this is that it was really impromptu to speech. It came about after I spoke at the morning rotary when I was asked by David Martin to come speak to his group. I finished up talking to HUB hopped back on the train to Elmhurst and met back up with Doc Jev. We then went to another afternoon rotary where I was not scheduled to speak, but was allowed to say a few words about who I am and what I do. Afterwards I answered question and autographed pictures of myself for rotary members and their families for those who wanted them.

We then went over to Courts Plus Health Club (www. epd.org/courts/index.asp) where I worked out. During my workout the camera man from Comcast recorded segments of my workout for later use, it was an awesome feeling because as I was running around doing my warm up and my lifts the camera followed me. There were fliers of me hung up around Courts Plus promoting a talk and workout session I would be leading on Saturday. People working out on the elliptical machines were looking at me as to say HEY IT’S THE BOBSLED GUY FROM THE FLIERS!!! It just gave me chills because it feels good when people know who you are and excited that you came to see them, it just adds to your energy level. Definitely Fun!!! (Yes everyone I tend to use definitive and short statements throughout my e-mails)

From working out at courts plus we then headed over to Edison School where I spoke to 30 or more third and fourth grade students. I used the same presentation format as when I gave my presentation at Hawthorne Elementary. At this presentation they had a news reporter there; here is the link to the article http://www.pioneerlocal.com/elmhurst/news/1178070,em-WEBbeckom-092208-s1.article that was written up on my appearance. Later all the kids all signed a giant thank you card mad from construction paper. They all signed it and made drawings of bobsleds and bobsled tracks.

Doc Jev and I then headed over to talk with the Immaculate Conception High school Varsity Football Team before their game against Marian Central Catholic School. I spoke to the team about my own experiences of working hard and overcoming the odds when people expect you to fail. And how to dig deep down and to keep fighting for what is important to you no matter what the odds are against you. I went a little deep into my football mindset and as I continued to talk about playing The Game, and Playing hard!!! I tell by the look in the players and the coaches eyes that I had gotten through to them. I dapped the fellas and coaches up wishing them good luck in their game. They won their game 14-7 and this small 2A team held a bigger 5A team to -14 yds rushing for the whole game!!! They played out of their minds from what I was told by the coaches!! The coaches invited me to come speak to the team anytime I was in town.

From there we went over to Timothy Christian High School where I spoke to the men’s soccer team. I talked to them about having faith and playing sports, proper nutrition, sportsmanship, playing with intensity and how those principals crosses over to everyday life. The players responded well to what I was saying as I related stories from my personal life to things that occur as you enter manhood. I was amazed by the way parents who were just standing around heard me speaking and came closer to hear what I was saying. By the nodding of parents heads I could see that they agreed with my message.
We left timothy Christian about 5:30 pm and Doc Jev continued taking me around town to different business, and homes introducing me to a bunch of people he knows. And just for the record Doc Jev knows a lot of people….a plethora lot of people!! It was amazing how many people were looking forward to me coming and just wanted to meet me and hear my story. I was taking pictures and signing autographs all day!! It was amazing and exhausting but I was appreciative of just having the opportunity to be able to reach out to children and adults about what I have learned so far. After all was said and done we were finished at 8:30 pm.

Elmhurst Trip Day 2

Day 2 Friday September 19, 2008

Once again I left the house at 4:30 am for Doc Jev’s office in Elmhurst. This morning I sat in Doc Jev’s office for a while autographing my picture for the 3rd and 4th kids I had spoken to, to different business I was privileged to meet, and some of Doc Jev’s close friends and family. I think the entire time I was there I signed at least 400 pictures to people….that is the same thing I thought WOW 400 plus people would like a picture of me, I thought I was in the twilight zone or something!!!! LoL or people were looking for some extra packing paper. The pictures that Doc Jev had printed up were really nice, one was a photo comp composed of eight smaller pictures, one was the main picture from my web-site, and the last picture was a black and white head shot of me printed up by Courts Plus.

After I was done signing some of the pictures we left and headed over to the Community Bank of Elmhurst http://www.communityelmhurst.com/ to speak with one of Doc Jev’s mentors Bill Gooch Chairman of the Bank. While at the bank I met some other great people who work there including Richard Reichert (CEO) , Nancy Brook (Senior VP), Nicole Radosky (Marketing) and others. We joked around a bit and took a few pictures and evidently Nancy had heard that I had been doing sit-ups with children on my back so she insisted that I try doing a few with her on my back, I was completely caught by suprise!!! LoL OK….so maybe Bill bet me that I could not do it…. and maybe Nicole and Doc Jev coaxed Nancy…. and maybe Nancy was a good sport and participated in it even though she was turning really red… but that is a lot of maybes! Hahaha.

Finished with the office shanagains Bill invited Doc Jev and I into his office to talk. It was a private conversation so I will not go into detail about it. But I will say this Bill Gooch left me with a good impression of who he is as a person, as man, and as a Christian. I firmly believe you can see a person’s soul if you look deep into their eyes and the truth will appear. I do it to everyone I meet because lets face it you can find yourself surrounded by a lot of false and crooked people in this world if you are not careful. Bill told me a few different stories but one one statement he made really resounded in my mind. Bill told me to always keep your faith and family before work and anything else! Because if you think about it you can lose a hundred jobs in your life but you will only truly be ruined if you lose your faith which makes you who you are and your family who you love and supports you no matter what. I do not know about you but for me that is good advice!!!!! After the office visit we went and met Bill’s daughter and granddaughters just to say hello, it was fun and they were really chill people.

Next on our Elmhurst tour was a talk to the York High School Women’s Tennis Team!!! This might be the one speech I was really nervous about. Remember none of the speeches I have been giving the last two days have been written down or rehearsed it was just me talking from what I know and my experiences. Needless to say I have never been a teenage girl lol Nor a tennis player!!! But how ironic is life I do have four older sisters, and a bunch of female friends who talk to me about everything under the sun about being a woman! Then for the past two years I have been friends with both the Men’s and Women’s Tennis Teams at Wake Forest University!!!!! So guess what I was prepared to give this speech before I even realized it!!! That’s God doing not mine! From the response I got from the team I can tell it went well. I talked about the usual sport topics such as working hard, finishing a match strong, digging out that last set (my boy Corey Par at Wake knows all about that) off season workouts and eating right. I then touched on the subject of peer pressure in high school, college, and the professional world from friends and their male counterparts. I spoke on society’s distorted perception of what a beautiful woman should look like as it is portrayed in some of these teen and other popular magazines. I stressed being comfortable with who you are especially since most women who play sports tend to be built a little more muscular and heavier than those who do not participate in sports. I also talked about some of the female athletes’ that I know personally and the obstacles they face in earning respect for what they do and their willingness to keep fighting no matter how tuff a battle they face. The team and the coach thanked me for coming to speak with them and me and Doc Jev were off to another adventure!!! UP! UP! UP! AND AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL (THAT’S FUNNY RIGHT THERE, I DON’T CARE WHERE YOU ARE FROM THAT’S FUNNY!)

After leaving the ladies of York we went to go speak with our friends over at International Contractors, Inc. This talk was solely on me and the sport of Bobsledding, since the people I was addressing were composed of designers and engineers I was able to get into more of the technical aspects of the sport. Detailing some of the testing that we do in wind tunnels for better aerodynamics, the different dimensions our runners are cut into and the rock and pitch of the runners. How the chemical reaction between the steel and Ice affect if runners are fast or slow. At the end of my speech I was given a gift bag with some company shirts and a couple of really nice gift cards for some of the best restaurants in the Chicago, New York, and Wisconsin!!!! Needless to say I enjoyed the gift bag! J

Our day was winding down but we had one more school to stop by. We went over to Brooke Forest Elementary where Doc Jev’s wife Laura teaches 2nd class. For these kids I held off the huge presentation because I did not know how responsive they would be to it but I did bring in my gear and talked to them about the sport and developing good work habits. I felt like Gulliver from Gulliver’s Travels, these kids were little beyond little they were tiny! It was fun and a little more random questions and statements then what I had been use to. This one little guy told me about a guy that worked for his father for more than 15 years….lol…not sure what that had to do with bobsledding but he made his point! What the point was I am still not sure but he made it!
From Brooke Forest we went out to a few more of Doc Jev’s friend’s houses and businesses. I was still amazed at the positive reception that I received from everyone. I know Doc Jev had a lot to do with that but it was still nice to find common ground with all those I talked with. I find myself searching for words to describe how I felt while all this was going on but even the most extravagant or eloquent word could not communicate the joy I was feeling at this opportunity I have been given.

Elmhurst Trip Day 3

Day 3 Saturday September 20, 2008

Today was my Courts Plus appearance day!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually got to sleep in since I did not have to be in Elmhurst until 9am. Brian McDermott and his associates at Courts Plus went out of their way in making me feel welcomed! Weeks before I arrived in Elmhurst they ran several articles in news papers announcing that I was coming, they posted fliers up around the club and they printed of pictures for me to sign. They set up a great schedule I signed autographs and met people from 9:15-10am, a motivational speech from 10:30-11:15am, group workout from 11:15-12noon and a fully Bobsled presentation from noon-1pm.

The event went off as planned the crowd was smaller than I had imagined, but it was probably better that way because I was able to spend a little more one on one time with the kids and parents that were there. I showed them how to stretch and warm up before they lift, and also the proper way to execute several weight lifting exercises.

Once I was done at Courts Plus Doc Jev picked me up and we went buy the Princeton House which is part of the Ray Graham Association For People With Special Needs. The guys we met were pretty excited that we came by. They were a cool bunch of guys, they talked about what they were doing and how their day was going. One of the guys named Ray was upset because he had just come to the house and his parents forgot to bring him his toys so he had nothing to play with. It was a humbling experience meeting these guys, forcing me to realize how much we tend to take things for granted in life. I am not even sure I can explain the feeling but it one of those things that just make you think! I signed some pictures for them and we wished them a good night.
We made a few more runs around town where Doc continued to introduce me to people he knew. We stopped by one of his friends houses who were celebrating their son’s 21st birthday. They invited us in for dinner like we were long lost cousins, it was amazing the food was GREAT, I could have eaten there all evening but I had to go workout. Which is what I did, after we ate Doc Jev went home and I went to go workout. By the way it is not a good ideal to lift weights after gorging yourself on food five minutes before you hit the gym! LoL Yeah I was definitely feeling the repercussion of my actions! But the way the food tasted I would do it again.Hahaha

Elmhurst Trip Day 4

Day 4 Sunday September 21, 2008

This was my day off and I spent it visiting family and friends around Chicago and the suburbs, it was good times catching up with everyone. Unfortunately though I was not able to see everyone I had intended to see but hopefully I will be able to do so on my next trip home.

Elmhurst Trip Final Day

Final Day Monday September 22, 2008

It had been a great few days out in Elmhurst but unfortunately it was my last day in town and even though I was exhausted from all the running around it was extremely fun for me. Doc Jev and I had a few more things to finish up and that would be it.

If you recall I mentioned that a camera man from Comcast had been videoing my talk with the 4th graders and of me working out. The reason he was recording was because they were going to use it as part of an interview that was scheduled today between Senator Dan Cronin and myself on his TV show. Unfortunately, the senator was called to Capitol Hill to help with work on some problems with the Ethics Bill and the taping had to be cancelled. It would have been nice to tape the show but sometimes things come up that are more important and they need immediate attention, which is completely understandable. However Barb from Senator Cronin’s office kept me thoroughly informed on the possible cancelation/postponement of the show, which was great on her part! The good thing is that there is still an opportunity for us to do the show at a later date. Hopefully that later date will be during or two week break from sliding for Christmas and New Years! So if you would say a prayer that it works out for me to do the show, because I am still really excited to do it.

On this day Batman and Superman (not robin because neither one of us is a sidekick lol) were broken up. Doc Jev had to tend to some of his clients and I was invited out a Lions Club meeting for lunch by Richard Reichert President and C.E.O of the Community Bank of Elmhurst. The Lions Club members welcomed me with open arms and were wondering why Richard had brought his security guard with him! Lol The atmosphere was really relaxed, with everyone making friendly jokes about one another. It was refreshing to see that these business men and women still had a good sense of humor and not to caught up in what they do as professionals. Once again I was surrounded by a group of great people who were doing their part to give back and help their community. At the end of the meeting I talked with some of the members and autographed a few pictures for them and their family members.

Once the Lions Club meeting was over Batman and Superman were off to another adventure!! This time I had the pleasure of meeting some of Elmhurst’s every day superheroes. We stopped by a couple of the Fire Stations in town where I had the pleasure of meeting some of the guys. We also went by City Hall to drop off some autographed pictures for the Mayor, Police Chief and other City Officials and workers. I think we finished up about 5:30pm this day giving me enough time to head home and repack my things for my flight in the morning.

I can’t stress enough how blessed I was to come in contact with Doc Jev and the opportunities that God set up for me through him. It was these opportunities that allowed me to head home see family, and be a good witness and role model for children and even some adults. There were no scripts no planned speeches but it all just seemed to work out and I was blessed with the right words to say during my talks at that time! It is remarkable how events have occurred in my life or that I was born into helped shape me into a person with the ability to find some form of common ground with the majority of people that I meet. Those times when I have been in the middle of the storm wondering why this happening to me is or even just the randomness of some events in my life are starting to come together and make sense. I know there is still a grove of knowledge and experiences out there that I may not be able to fathom but I look forward to them and can only imagine how they will continue to shape me and allow me to shape others.

I thank God for allowing me to make this trip and for all the good people in Elmhurst I was honored to meet, because this was not of my doing but the Big Man putting things in place for me!!

God Bless
Jesse