On this Thanksgiving I look back on all the friendships I am thankful for and look forward to the friendships to come.
My friend Gary Millington is someone I have held in my heart throughout my life. He used to come north to Cleveland, Ohio from Bradenton, Florida to spend a good deal of the summer with his aunt who lived down the street from my boyhood home.
It has been 43 years since I have seen Gary, until yesterday that is. That is the beauty of lifelong friendship, when you can just pick up where you left off decades ago.
Gary and his wife Dorothy invited me into their home to share some memories and thoughts of life over a wonderful meal, lovingly prepared by Dorothy. It certainly won’t be another 43 years before I see him again.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. May you have a life filled with wonderful, cherished friendships.

The Victory Florida Kindness Tour rolled into Tallahassee yesterday to visit the Museum of Florida History, specifically the WWII display. What an incredible tour of their very informative museum.
Secretary of State, Ken Detzner welcomed us into his office to talk about the impact our ride is having. He is an avid cyclist and he got a really big kick out of my Kindness Bicycle.

Friend, James Hill Jr. is a disabled veteran with PTSD. I met him nearly 6 years ago in Fort Pierce, Florida on the Kindness Bus Tour. James joined me in Tampa to travel the remainder of the perimeter of Florida to help me as we connect with veterans, all the while helping himself. It is good for James to be around other military, former and active, helping him with his PTSD. His spirits have lifted since we joined forces on this 27 day journey

Yesterday I visited the State Veterans Nursing Home veterans in Springfield, Florida. This 120 bed facility is filled with heroes from across the country who were so happy to see the flag of United States affixed to my bicycle with its patriotic signs.
There were smiles, songs, stories, tears, handshaking and hugs.
Thank you to all veterans for their service to our country.

This Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Florida was a must stop on my travels. This group of fraternity brothers during spring break 2015 spat upon veterans, urinated on the US flag and said horrible things to spouses of the wounded combat veterans. Their fraternity has since been closed on campus. I made sure I was very visible all around fraternity row. Most everyone who saw my bicycle clapped, gave thumbs up or sent well wishes my way. I also emailed the president of UF, student affairs president at UF, the national head of Zeta Beta Tau and the president of Emory University whose students were also involved. We need to teach children from a very early age to honor and respect all veterans.

People helping people is what life is all about. An individual giving to another individual is a lesson to all involved.
Right from the start, because of its name, I was intrigued with an organization called Veterans Helping Veterans located in Marion County, Ocala, Florida.
Hank Whittier, a marine, founded this organization and is now it’s executive director. They offer all sorts of support for veterans and their families throughout Marion County and beyond. They lend a helping hand to those in need.
During my visit countless phone calls and visitors came through the front door. The need is obviously very great, as is the case across the United States.
In their existing space they are bursting at the seams but the search to find new space will finally come to fruition in the coming months. Several veteran agencies will now be under one roof. Hank Whittier has invited me back to see the new facility next year. He invited me to visit them during one of their events and have me talk to the crowd. What a wonderful honor. Thank you to all veterans for their service to our country. God bless America.

Thank you to Robin Thompson, executive assistant at the VFW Florida state offices in Ocala for the invitation to visit their facility.
She was so thrilled with our visit that she is going to include us in their newsletter and on their website in the coming weeks.