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PEOPLE MAKING A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS!

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Chuck "Doc"Stewart
creates wonderful patriotic graphics and is making this world a better place!

If you want to find someone who is making the world a better place, let me refer you to the creator of some of the most powerful and impressive graphics on the Internet. His name is Chuck " Doc" Stewart! He is, with his skill, an advocate for all Veterans, who served this country and stood in Harm's Way defending her, both military and civilian personnel alike!

He has honed a wonderful talent to create artistically impressive graphics to tell a vitally important message with powerful impact that needs be heard by both every Member of Congress and every average citizens alike! There are few people who have produced patriotic art to equal Doc Stewart. I am so glad he has made the contributions to our society that he has!

Doc's Military Graphics - http://geckocountry.com/milgraphics.htm
Doc's Military Links - http://geckocountry.com/military.htm

When you visit his sites, thank him for doing what few can do! For you see, it takes more than artistic talent to do what Doc is doing. You have to be inspired. You have to be motivated to be an evangelist with a heartfelt message! You have to have a "fire in your belly"!! You have to have "walked the walk" Doc qualifies on all counts!

I would point that I do not share Doc' view of Senator John Mc Cain (although I am not a John McCain supporter) and the probability of Prisoners of War being forgotten or left behind based on Lt. Col. Perkins' experience and comments to me. Reference is made to Lt. Col. Perkins and his experience as a Prisoner of War in the following section. That in no way minimizes my admiration, appreciation and respect for Doc. Few things in my life time have been as divisive as our country's military presence in Viet Nam. Sadly, the physical conflict in Viet Nam has ended, but in a very real sense another kind of conflict continues and the emotional trauma lingers to this very day.

Visiting With
Lt. Col. Glendon Perkins, U.S.A.F. (Ret'd),
Former Prisoner of War
was a great Thanksgiving experience for us!!!!!!.

On November 24, 1999, upon my wife, Terry, asking if persons could be found by searching the internet by name only, I replied "In some instances", and asked why. Terry informed me she had been watching a program on the History Channel about Viet Nam. Terry said she had worn a POW bracelet bearing the name of one Maj. Glendon Perkins and the date 7-20-66, until Major Perkins had been released on February 12, 1973, and told me briefly what she remembered about Major Perkins release.Events transpired very rapidly thereafter. I use Netscape 4.61 as my primary web browser. I punched in MAJOR GLENDON PERKINS in the Location box. Internet Explorer designates this box as the Address box. The information returned to me was found at (but is no longer active): http://google.netscape.com/netscape?query=major+glendon+perkins

I then selected the first entry on that page which led me to: http://www.asde.com/~pownet/bios/m/m102.htm (also no longer active) I then called a local information operator and asked if she had a listing for one Glendon William Perkins in Orlando, Florida (shown as Major Perkins' home city of record). Given the telephone number, I simply called and asked if I had contacted the residence of a Major Glendon William Perkins. The answer was YES! (Note: the listed URLs are no longer active, but others are concerning the then Major Perklns.)

In a matter of approximately four minutes, thanks to the internet, we had established voice contact with a man who had been held captive from 1966 until 1973 because he was defending the United States of America. Terry wore a POW bracelet for years inscribed with the name of a man she did not know until his release in 1973 and, upon his release, put the bracelet up for safekeeping. Now we were talking to him!!! Now we could say thank you personally!!! (Now that bracelet is displayed in a place of honor in our home.) Finally, both Terry and I were rather emotional during our conversation with Col. Perkins. We both felt it was a tremendous honor to get to speak Col. Perkins! We learned that he, subsequent to returning to active duty, had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Unites States Air Force and later retired from active duty. What a special Thanksgiving it turned out to be!!!!!

For us, Col. Perkins is an icon for all the nameless warriors who have answered the call to take up arms and defend this country in which we live. An icon for those who have paid such a price to insure our nation remained and remains the land of the free and the home of the brave! We owe so much to these defenders who have given so much.

We believe it is futile to wonder whom gave the most, those who were killed in action or those who were detained for extended periods as prisoners of war. But of this we are convinced: both gave more than we as citizens can possibly imagine!!! We also believe we owe these heroes more than we can ever repay. Truly, they made the world a better place.

Two men struggled in Houston, Texas, yesterday and one, a police officer, Troy Blando, died... Their conflict exemplifies the classic struggle between good and evil. One man was attempting to protect his ciy. The other was suspected of preying on the property of others. The officer was shot as he attempted to apprehend a person suspected of being involved in an automobile theft.

There seems to be great reason to believe the other killed to avoid answering for his offense(s) against others and the State of Texas. It seems apparent, the person the officer was attempting to apprehend shot him after the officer had placed one handcuff on the suspect.

Many people in Houston will not know this officer was an outstanding human being; that he, for years, gave more than expected to his department and his city. Many people in Houston will not know that he quietly went about completing difficult and dangerous tasks year after year; that he repeatedly declined easier and safer assignments.

They will not know he truly wanted to make a difference. He certainly did that and in doing so, he gave his all, including his life. Simply put, his friends, his department and his city lost a champion yesterday. The highest tribute possibly would be for all new officers and veterans alike to try to emulate Officer Troy Blando.

Officer Blando was the kind of officer everyone in every city wants all their police officers to be. In addition to being extremely intelligent and caring, he was the personification of devotion to duty, courage, honesty and integrity! I know these things to be true. I have watched Officer Blando through the years. I was one of his supervisors.

Through those years I, like many others, developed great admiration and respect for him, not only as an outstanding police officer but also as an outstanding human being! Troy Blando will be greatly missed...many do not yet know how much.

Written and sent via email to the Houston Chronicle on May 20, 1999 (not printed)

(Click on logo to be transported there, but read the following before you do)

This is a wonderful group of caring and talented human beings who eagerly take advantage of every opportunity to help others. They quickly offer assistance in numerous ways. Take time and visit their personal pages. I guarantee you will feel better in addition to being better informed. You will find many to be resources for you. They will assist you in your quest to become a better "cybernaut"! Do NOT miss visiting the impressive 50+ Circle of Friends Web Ring!!!

Some members of the 50+ Circle of Friends are a part of the Jonathan Clements Story. As you read about this part of the Jonathan Clements's story, remember it is about the generosity and love of not only Jonathan and his family, but also it is about love reaching around the world and touching countless people. It was and is a beautiful experience created by many, many people.

Jonathan is a young boy who has a form of Muscular Dystrophy. He is a most remarkable human being. My participation in part of the story of Jonathan Clements began when, while assigned as Chief of Detectives, one of the sergeants working with me asked if I would help obtain a sergeant's badge for Jonathan because he loved police officers so much and wore plastic police badges every where he went.

I presented the request to the then chief of police who was very receptive. Jonathan was presented with a REAL Deputy Chief's Badge and "promoted" to the honorary rank of Deputy Chief in a formal ceremony at our police academy.

The chief of police and five assistant chiefs in dress uniforms attended. Approximately 50 to 60 of Jonathan's friends attended also. But there is more.

I had mentioned Jonathan to the chat group of which I was a member and told of the upcoming "promotion" and asked that those interested send Jonathan email messages of congratulations. During his 'promotion ceremony" I presented Jonathan with 75 email messages from all over the world congratulating him for his accomplishment..... But that still is not all......

One of the other chat members who lives in another state, Grandmum, suggested we make Jonathan our first cyber grandchild and everyone thought it was a great idea. Chat members of the 50+ Friends Club continue to send tee shirts, presents, cards, etc. to their cyber grandchild. I took a laptop to Jonathan's house and he visited with his cyber grand parents for several hours. And there is more.....

Grandmum raised $1000.00 in Jonathan's name (she voluntarily agreed to go to "jail" and be released only when the required "bail" money was raised)for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the city where she lives. She raised the most money during that effort and appeared on the 1997 Jerry Lewis Telethon for MDA and had an opportunity to tell of Jonathan and the heart and compassion of the chat club and some of the good things people on the internet were doing. Still, there is more.....

A man named Helge Buch Rasmussen in Denmark emailed me and asked to check out a URL and tell him if I thought it was okay. That URL turned out to be Jonathan's Home Page. Helge had been moved to create Jonathan's home page in Denmark for a young boy living in the United States, whom he would never meet, because of the message going out on the internet.

Finally...... A wonderful woman named Joyce is responsible for obtaining a sponsor to provide Jonathan with a high end computer system so he may visit with his cyber grand parents and surf the net like other people. He will be online soon.The effort to "promote" Jonathan to an honorary Deputy Chief was a local effort. Because of the technology of the Internet that local effort was transformed into one of global proportions; people all over the world became involved and reached out and touched Jonathan's life. Jonathan, in turn, touched each one those reaching out to him.

Knowing Jonathan has been one of the highlights of my life. It has been heartwarming to see how Jonathan and each one of those people reaching out to him are the better for it. Update....... Joyce did in fact get the computer for Jonathan, plus voice software, plus microphones, plus headsets, plus....so much more. Now Jonathan talks to his computer and tells the mouse to "move left....down two rows.....etc" and has a verbal vocabulary to cause the computer to respond.....Not quite 2001, but sure is close............ Now Jonathan can visit with his cyber grandparents and other kids.........all over the world!!!

His mom, Linda, says that the computer is one of the best things that has happened.. Jonathan is constantly exploring and it has been a wonderful opportunity for his mom and his sister, Jacqueline (Jackie) also!!! Again, not one person, but a group of people, with a vision, made a significant difference!!!!!!!!

The computer that Joyce provided has now been replaced, but it was a wonderful gesture and a great example of people caring about other people!

Pine Ridge is an Indian Reservation in South Dakota, with very primitive living conditions. In meeting with a group of online quilters, it was mentioned that there is no electricity on the Reservation and winters are extremely harsh. One of the ladies in Agawam, Massachusetts, decided to start a "Pine Ridge Warmth Project" (quilts for the children of the Reservation) in her city, and in the meantime got on the internet with her request for fabric, batting, and any kind of help that we might send her way. Fabric and money started pouring in from all over the country. She gathered fabric and organized ladies to come and construct the quilt tops, then set up sewing areas in her church and invited women from all over town to come and help sew these little comforters. The outcome of this enormous effort was 68 completed quilts. Quite an accomplishment for a lady who is herself battling a major illness. I know, I know... you're asking why didn't we just buy some blankets and let it go at that... after all, wouldn't they be just as warm? Well, if you know ANYTHING about quilters and their quilts - you might not ask. There is "love sewn into every stitch"... as they say - and there is just something about a quilt that makes it very SPECIAL. Can you tell that the Princess QUILTS? More "Stitches of Love"!!!

Terry is too modest to share this, but I am convinced this work needs to be shared. I happened to be on the Board of Advisors for Children's Assessment Center. It is an agency employing a multidisciplinary approach to meeting the needs of young people who are victims of sexual abuse of an incestuous nature. Our City and County are fortunate that such an agency exists. If the risk of continued abuse is so great, some of these children are removed from their homes by other proper social agencies. Sometimes the children are not able to take anything with them when they leave.

Ultimately these children are referred to the Children's Assessment Center for treatment and care in addition to follow up investigations conducted jointly by the appropriate law enforcement agency. Members of the local Police Department and the county Sheriff Department work on the multidisciplinary teams with health care professionals in responding to the needs of these young children.

When hearing how some children have to be removed from their homes without any material possession to call their own, Terry decided to join all the others who are trying to help make the lives of these children better. She decided to create happy children's quilts for these victims.

Starting in October, 1997, Terry determined to create 23 quilts for these children. In addition to making over half of the quilts by herself, Terry recruited other women to help. On several occasions our home looked like a quilt factory as the women gathered in old time quilting bees. On the Monday before Christmas, I accompanied Terry and helped her deliver the 23 promised children's quilts to the managers of the Children's Assessment Center.

The Executive Director said the quilts provided more than warmth. Just as importantly, the quilts provide assurance to the children that they, too, have earthly possessions to call their own. The quilts bring bright colors and happy scenes to the lives of these children whose past has included some very troubled times inflicted by demented family members. The quilts help assure these children that the future is going to be better.

Health Care Professionals say the quilts can be important support items in the healing process. The lives of these children are better because Terry passed by, saw a need and responded. I am very proud to be her husband!

Update: As of February 1, 1998, Terry and the ladies helping her have now completed another 24 quilts for the children. Delivery is scheduled in near future........ Interestingly, more and more women are expressing a desire to help with the project, even those women who do not sew!

Another Update: As of March 15, 1998, the number of quilts has now grown to 64! That means Terry and her army of volunteers have completed 40 children's quilts in 43 days! These people are wonderful!!!

As of April 5, 1998, the count is 85. Terry says only 95 more to go --- (to reach her self imposed goal). As a side note: First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to visit the Children's Assessment Center on Monday, March 16, 1998, as a highlight associated with the dedication of the center's new multi-million building. It will be a impressive facility designed to maximize the treatment and support of sexually abused by family members. Once again, Houston is, indeed, fortunate!

(The First Lady did visit the Children's Assessment Center at the appointed date and time. The Dedication ceremony was outstanding and The First Lady delivered a most dynamic speech! ) Another Update As of October 15, 1998, the number of quilts has increased to 299!! The ladies continue to make the stitches of love for the children.

Terry has solely quilted a Santa Thru The Year quilt, showing Santa in different poses each month of the year and has donated the quilt to the Children's Assessment Center to be raffled on November 13, 1998. FYI, that quilt was raffled and produced $1000.00 for the center.

The following is not included because police officers are involved. Certainly they were prime movers, but many others joined them. It is included because many hearts were touched. People from all walks of life got involved. It is a wonderful story of people making differences in the lives of others. Most importantly, the family receiving assistance perhaps gave the most of all.

Personnel of the local Police Department's Airport Division today (Monday, Dec. 22, 1997) helped bring gifts to a county family who embody the core of Christmas - love - year round. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, an elf and cops and civilians bearing gifts descended upon the family: mom, dad and their 20 children, including 17 adopted kids with physical, psychological or learning disabilities. (Some were born with drug addictions.)

They were thrilled with the clothes and toys donated by the police officers and civilians and personnel working for several airlines . Then, a truckload of furniture donated by a local furniture store arrived. Then, the parents were given a $3,000 check from the chapel committee at the airport. Then . . . well, let's just say the true spirit of Christmas flowed.

Although fellow church members and other friends have helped with donations over the years, the family's large home was sparsely furnished until today. The police employees' effort began with the Oct. 14 death of a colleague. Her friends were asked not to send flowers but instead to assist the family she quietly had helped for years.

The Airport Division already had a tradition of adopting a family for Christmas. Now, they have adopted this family permanently! Police personnel helped openly and under cover, nominating the family for the local furniture store's Christmas Giveaway. In the nomination, it was said the parents "have never asked for anything for themselves. . . . They direct all financial donations that they receive toward the children's needs . . ."

The family gets no government funding. The medical needs and special schooling of the children take a large part of the father's earnings. To supplement that income - the family's only wages - they began a Christmas tree farm and established a petting zoo there. Their minister said "Material things are not nearly as important to the (parents) as people and spiritual values. They decided early in their marriage to place their priorities on helping children rather than . . . a comfortable life . . ."

Everyone involved learned a lot today about Christmas - and family - from a family. (The family asked that neither their surname nor where they live be revealed.)

( From the News & Observer, May 25, 1997 ) BY LAURIE WILLIS, Staff Writer RALEIGH --

Juanita Lucas' relatives plan to treat her to dinner today for her 70th birthday. But the Raleigh woman has already done something to honor the occasion: She fed nearly 100 homeless people Saturday afternoon in Moore Square.

The spread included baked chicken, barbecued pig's feet, turkey, hot dogs with onions, coleslaw, green beans and potatoes, baked beans, cabbage, rice, corn on the cob, rolls, iced tea and an assortment of desserts. With the exception of a few items, Lucas cooked all of the food -- even the banana pudding, which she was up making at 2 a.m. Saturday. "

My mom instilled in me to help someone that needed help more than I did," Lucas said Saturday as relatives and friends placed food on tables. "Each year I take my friends out to lunch or throw a party for my birthday, but this year I decided to feed people who couldn't feed themselves."

Dressed in a white cotton dress, Lucas seemed content Saturday as dozens of homeless people sat in chairs, waiting to eat. Many of them called her gesture a blessing. "It's nice of her to do this," said Charles Long, 47, before people began eating. "God's gonna bless her."

Feeding the homeless isn't new to Lucas, who has done it for years through Macedonia United Church of Christ in Raleigh, where she belongs. "I used to come about two to three times a month, sometimes after church or on Saturdays," Lucas said. People who know Lucas -- affectionately called "Aunt Neat" by relatives -- say they weren't surprised at how she celebrated her birthday. "

Even as a little child, I remember her always giving to others," said her niece, Delores Lucas, 46, who helped Saturday. "When we'd go to the fair, she used to take neighborhood children whose parents couldn't take them."

At the cemetery it was discovered a significant mistake had been made. The grave site that had been prepared for the burial was in the wrong location. The family was visibly shaken when the mistake was discovered.

After the graveside services, the grandsons of the deceased, realizing what had happened, waved the cemetery workers aside and hand dug the grave for their grandfather. As all of us know, who have lived in Houston for any length of time, the heat and humidity can be overwhelming. The temperature was in the upper 90's with the heat index putting if over 100 degrees.

These young men worked for over 4 hours to complete the task. As I spoke with their father about this he told me of the love his sons had for their grandfather. His heart was full at the love that had been demonstrated by his sons. It occurred to me that, yes, this was a tremendous demonstration of love, but even beyond that it demonstrated how God can take a situation that is devastating and make it into a blessing. I am sure these young men will never forget the fact, they dug the grave for their grandfather and the story will be passed on from generation to generation in that family.

I am also sure the mistake that had been made was not a coincidence but rather God's Providence. God does truly work all things together for good!

Help us add more accounts of people making the world better for others. Tell us of the heartwarming deeds of others that you want others to know about.