Twenty years ago, as founder of Colorado's largest film production company, I had to walk away from my business because of the devastating effects of diabetes. My ability to run a successful company went from building an exciting “on purpose” business to struggling with the foggy memory loss of yesterday‘s activities.  This resulted in my finally having to turn the company over to others and walk away!

That year, I bought a 37 foot Motor Coach and prepared to wander around the country ‘til I died.

Then, seven years ago, a beautiful young lady, Keresey Pearl, noticed my discouraged mental state as a senior citizen and said, “I’m not gonna let you die!” So began my journey of a lifetime toward “Fixin’ to Live.”

In October 2016, thanks to my housemate’s encouragement, we rode our cycles 300 miles from Asheville, NC to Charleston, SC in five days. It was the beginning of using cycling as a means to combat my depression and tackle obesity as well as lower my A1c blood glucose levels. It was on that ride, my housemate Craig Kibbe shared his dream of riding across the country. I thought it was a lovely idea… just not for me! His terrific idea went directly to my back burner...like alotta things!

As I began talking to baby boomers, I realized we could be quite a group of dispirited old people! Recently, I spoke to a group who were not only older, but also handicapped with strokes, dementia and other forms of decline. I shared my story of triumphs, defeat and revitalization, and shared with them my dream of riding across the US on a bright orange recumbent tricycle! At the conclusion of my talk, this group sat up straight in their chairs, some with tears running down their faces, as they began asking question after question.

More importantly however, they also joined the conversation sharing their own stories, expressing a renewed commitment to reconnect with life! That’s when I realized, too many of us are fixin’ to die and what we need is a way to embrace the reasons we have to start “Fixin’ to Live” and provide a place to engage with a community that will help encourage us along in our own journey.