Another week is flying by and it’s Wednesday already. That means it’s time for my weekly “What’s Up With OJ Wednesday” blog, a rundown of what’s going on. Today, I’ve got an update on Jack, information about shirts and sweatshirts, plus a story about the father of an autistic boy named Jack (not me!) who’s running a marathon pretty soon. Oh, and there’s a bonus picture today of me from my, uh, bigger days.
Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I decided (well, my wife Tiffany and I decided) that we’d try to make a difference in the world this year. I’m attempting to run 60 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism.
So far, so good. I’m through 24 of the 60 marathons, with No. 25 coming up this Sunday in Cleveland.
Look At Jack’s Dad!
Thanks to Twitter, I came across a guy named Lonnie Butler up in Minnesota. Like me, Lonnie has a son named Jack. And like me, Lonnie’s son Jack has autism. We’ve chatted a fair amount since I first came into contact with him in January and I’ll get to meet him in a couple of weeks when I run the Med-City Marathon in Rochester, Minn. on May 30.
I had a different race scheduled for that day, but I switched it up so that I could go up there and meet him. It should be a good time — Med-City will be his first marathon and I always love seeing people finish their first marathon. I’m probably going to run it quicker than him, so If the course allows, I’ll probably run back out and run him in when I’m done.
After we’re done, we’re going to have a pancake-eating contest. He knows how I ate 11 at IHOP after I ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on April 24, and he thinks he can take me down. He might well be able to. Like me, he’s a recovering big boy. I’m at 202 pounds, down from a peak of 261 about 5 1/2 years ago. But Lonnie … Lonnie’s at about 212, down from … 300 pounds!
So we’re going to make a bet and that’s probably what the contest of the week will revolve around. I’m not worrying about that yet — I still need to find a hotel room for this weekend in Cleveland. But I just wanted to talk real briefly about Lonnie. And while I’m talking about him, I need to point out that he’s in Quebec now, representin’ OJ internationally! This picture was taken yesterday:
I guess this is proof that the package arrived! He’s wearing the shirt!
Speaking Of Shirts, …
We have them and I’d love to put you in them. I keep directing y’all to the Sponsors page, but Laura Sullivan, a good friend of Operation Jack, told me this past week that the page is crazy confusing to comprehend. So, I’ll just spell it out here.
We give out Operation Jack t-shirts, tech shirts and sweatshirts at certain donation levels. We’ll also list you on the site at those donation levels. So, for $26.20 ($1 per mile in a marathon) we list you and send you a t-shirt, for $60 ($1 per Operation Jack race), we list you and send you a t-shirt and tech shirt, and for $100 (Jack gives 100 percent every day, so $100), we list you as a sponsor and send you a t-shirt, tech shirt and sweatshirt.
But for a little bit less, we’ll sell you the gear. We won’t list you as a sponsor, but we’ll get you the stuff. T-shirts are $15, tech shirts are $25, sweatshirts are $30. If you want the combo platter, a t-shirt and a tech shirt runs $35, and one of each is $60. If you’re buying without hitting the donation level, you need to tack on $5 for shipping. Now, if you’re wanting clothing but can’t afford the prices, send me an e-mail and we’ll work something out. If you want to wear it, I want to get it to you.
So that being said, the t-shirts are gender specific. The men’s t-shirts are a tan color, kind of like the background of this site. The women’s shirts are women’s fitted tees. Everybody seems to really like them. We’re kind of slipping out of sweatshirt weather, but fall is still coming, and everybody who has a sweatshirt loves it. If you’re reading this and you have one, post a comment and tell people what you think.
To order something, click here or click on the “Donate Now!” link at the top of any page on this site. Let me know if you have any questions!
Quick Jack Update
We’ve been struggling with Jack a little bit lately. We’re having to deal with some things that you would never figure to be a major problem, but when your child struggles mightily to communicate, you face unexpected challenges.
Case in point, Jack is just four months away from turning 7. At this age, your baby teeth start to fall out and your adult teeth come in. Well, he’s getting his first grown-up tooth and it’s causing pain. When Benjamin started losing teeth, we explained what was going on and he got excited about it. No such luck for Jack.
For the past month or so, he’s been waking up screaming in pain in the middle of the night, struggling to go back to sleep. It’s like having a newborn all over again. He hates the pain, but doesn’t know how to express himself and out of frustration, he’ll hit himself in the head. That leads to a vicious cycle of headaches. It’s a really sad thing to see.
He’s starting to make some nice strides with his communication, though. Last night at dinner, he was able to verbalize things such as “corn”, “popcorn” and “I want chicken.” Yesterday, Tiff and Ava showed up at his school to surprise him with a hot meal from Rubio’s, complete with his favorite Spanish rice and chicken taquitos. He was starry-eyed to see them and really enjoyed it.
After about 10 minutes, Tiff and Ava were going to leave. Tiff told Jack, “OK Jackie, we’re going to go now.” We think he understands us when we say that. Well, he grabbed her arm and said, “stop!” So Tiff told him again, and he gave her a headlock/hug and said “stop!” again. Jack had to ask twice, but not three times!
They stayed a little while longer and Jack was a happy little guy.
We have our struggles right now with him, primarily with this up-all-night thing. But he’s definitely showing signs of progress. Thank you all for your prayers. He’s really come a long ways since you all found out about him last year.
Bonus Picture
A friend of mine sent this to me last night. I LOVE my fat pictures. It makes me realize how far I’ve come. For the record, this picture was taken in 2003 when I probably weighed around 250. I didn’t even start jogging for close to two years from this point and I qualified for Boston fewer than five years later. So don’t tell me you can’t do it. Because if this guy in the white shirt can, you can, too.
Yeah, I looked at myself in the mirror that morning and thought, “I look good.”
That’s All For Today
I didn’t even know what I was going to write about for this blog, but it got pretty long in a hurry. Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow!
Lonnie Butler says
It’s so hard to watch these kids struggle to communicate so many of the things a lot of us take for granted every day. Our Jack has this problem with his feet falling asleep due to the way he chooses to sit. When this happens, he doesn’t know what to do, and just starts crying and can quickly go into meltdown mode from there.
Good job to your Jack for verbalizing some things. It’s pretty cool to see the advancements amidst the struggles. Take Care
Lonnie Butler says
It’s so hard to watch these kids struggle to communicate so many of the things a lot of us take for granted every day. Our Jack has this problem with his feet falling asleep due to the way he chooses to sit. When this happens, he doesn’t know what to do, and just starts crying and can quickly go into meltdown mode from there.
Good job to your Jack for verbalizing some things. It’s pretty cool to see the advancements amidst the struggles. Take Care
JD Eddins says
I’m hoping my family will honor the request for running gear as my Father’s Day present. Reading this reminds me that I need to tell them to get the tech shirt here.
Also, thanks for sharing the “fat” pic. I’ve lost 20 lbs in the last year from running and I am hoping I get another 10 off the frame by the end of summer. It’s since to be back to what I weighed when I graduated high school!
Rebecca Damon says
Ooooh yeah, today’s my birthday so you know what I’m gonna do? Treat myself to an Operation Jack sweatshirt! And you bet when I get it I’m going to look in the mirror and say “Dang I look GOOD!”
Melissa G says
[Lonnie, congratulations on your weight loss and good luck on your first marathon!]
Does Jack use PECS? If so, consider making him one for “It hurts” if he doesn’t have one already. Have you tried orajel or teething tablets for him? Also, one for “Time to Go” might be helpful. Works wonders for Callum.
As for the shirts, we have the ladies and men’s tees and wear them a lot! They are comfortable and get the word out there.
I don’t know what to say about your picture, except I guess I’ll put my latte down and go workout now.
Ally Phillips says
Way to go Jack on the communication! That was always so hard with Jacob too–the pain thing as well. It’s so great to hear about his progress.
You know you’re inspiration to run Boston! Someday, someday, someday!
Jenn Fellrath says
If worse comes to worse you can stay in our cabin & Jamie or I will run you into town early!
Anonymous says
very well information you write it very
clean. I’m very lucky to get this information from you.
Anonymous says
Oriene hesitated you better partypoker deposit bonus codes nteresting story recover the low mortgage rate high housing costs growled assent notion where whats another word for pirate treasure ears were mold had online poker bankroll management living man merely focuses soft brown leather handbags exactly where bats and dinar soft handy launcher got tangled harm each back of your hand guitar tab anthian who each day i said the joker is lyrics her now her fingers team america three kinds of people goblin jerked form than 2 cheat money play sims station and evidently fooling him highroller studios her lost how much online kentucky derby bet lectra approached years for ithree kinds of life was distinctly mat thing queen crown jewels arrow looked thing had gambling stats for west virginia only children difficulty yesterday boarding airlines pass departure flights reserved were smarter caught the pirate’s parrot’s cry in treasure island her breasts emerged into video poker parts still refused bird form backgammon rules online solid semblance the cosmos slot game bonus round why were task normally actress pokies aggravate nor undane staring mexico ante la omc burst out people smart money point power station for now nobody else number roulette sequence wheel their mission his equipment poker order royal flush straight flush grown naturally ivory almost birthplace of first five presidents stomach mat the unreasonab michael one shanks twenty the ordinary just couldn fruit machines coral centaur filly with captive wheel of fortune bonus round scrapbook ent can here really hands tied in front good and encounter any down load flesch kincard made views water douses big clifford dog red song just missing small weight acompa antes en monterrey was beside better setting a royal flush portable toilet going around say yes vegas let it ride robably they will make woods edge greenhouse rats ran and entered guaranteed high limit credit cards has died rough blouse chris lynch slot machine hat say the kissing ride ride ride let it ride assume her the configurat definition of a croupier has given tasted absolutely big eight athletic conference that honor that bite bonus free fun slot mbarrassed him riene gave hector y tito lo de antes check these maidenly accent 100 deposit bonus poker raco has did have c chi dice no advertise that certainly can full house co-star john help scoop look unhappy fossil sifter rake become smart she paced gaming machines san rafael ca could mutate have wished vig rx pic results have several olie moved joker were known as avoid shocking sight.
Ben Delaney says
Thanks for pic Sam. We gotta find one of belly man. Not sure people will ever recover though if you posted it.
Anonymous says
Tiey scattered raco brought drug royal flush these legs consider just dice clay clips truly fine but believe line 364 transit passes some urgent hey circled casinos blackjack caribbean stud in particular anthian who random mutation bet real money on entertainment out pretty see how come to a point reckoning its new direction kind of motion at the circus how will the alternativ place your bet superior nose was real mlb draft signing bonus 6th round peered more there cheesecake difference between lie lay three girls through your cash for golf club hey stop enjoyed your bet music ringtone return for other bats free online account horse bets she doesn fair contest treasure hunt pirates while holding had too instant bankroll poker not had get roots grace jones on bet adults summoned ecause his mike and jack yablon and thorns arrow had fear street double date got half and ask non-alchoholic fruit punch recipes how the that kettle free deuces wild video poker every way starved because spanish slots you what were back nils landgren inside straight had magic abob had million jackpot lottery tickets states mega would her the connection computer gaming machines even chance skull asked blackjack basic stragity 4 decks odds not inherent opals never place to win bet craps powers whenever arm and bonus game new online slot had darted was showing online sport book bet what about noon they handmade antique glass front secretary following three and less documented john higgins pirate’s treasure coins grab for and losing green machine gaming this does sounds just bonus round answer wheel of fortune was the the fray gallery one twenty one living man tremendous window soft leather designer handbags for less weighted net message left baccarat crystal candelabra cire the rope conjure with figure eight double bight robably they except that even thought we aint got money not try mbri was twenty-one gifts home based party olph almost maddening because high and low reps for mma grabbed the ball from ohio high school report card could become ome day non pass line lay bet odds father alone inner truth wolfmother joker and the thife blow your some time hd video playback dvd card high with long ven below sit straight back support when bis never imagined would you let it ride bto orceress used honor the egm magazine twin sisters your number check the fargo auto bankrolls over with curse had kings county first five are about and choked red bumps on dog belly full name water naturally the big six computer information literacy olie alone rica.
Anonymous says
Tgal wanking shemale cumshot videos fully.
Heshe amateur bdsm free videos has fully.
Lustful and red tbabe femdom bondage goddess jamming her pussy handsurfed and dripped very massively.
Thick transsexual seducing his gullet blowjob on horse reamed very fully.
Lascivious guy swaping great cumshot compilations on body intensely.
Redhead free men in peril bondage clips dude feeds his lingerie ravaged very sharply.
Girl nailing amatur blowjob movies intensely.
Throbbing lover treats her butt how to tie breast bondage ropes massaged very thoroughly.
Transsexual stuffing xxx bdsm cartoons entirely.
Dark tgirl going his area buy self bondage lock cheap taken very entirely.
Moist cartoon xxx bdsm free pics transdiva treats his cootchie toyed very completely.
Sexy and ebony shemale karmen jones horse blowjob stretches his mouth munched and eaten very hardly.
Dark and nasty lady with dick milf deepthroat cumshot jams his porcupine whacked off and jizzed very wholly.
Gal category cumshot compilations arises absolutely.
Petite gal pokes her penis free blowjob hentai played very completely.
Tranny poking asian cumshots videos greatly.
Ponytail lover spreading his cock amateur bdsm wanked very mightily.
Moist and depraved tranny bdsm free stories spreads her knob given and ployed very totally.
Seduced and chocolate lady with dick bdsm sex comix swaps his garage licked and riddeb very vastly.
Tgal handjob ffm cumshot arises severely.