Crippled Veteran Needs Our Help!

[Ocklawaha]

Hey Y'all:

Just learned that one of our veteran Navy fighter pilots from VA-115 in Jacksonville, is in serious need of a helping hand.

This gentleman, lives in a central Florida RV park, retired both in the USN as LTCDR and Army guard as Sgt... He flew many combat sorties over Vietnam and Cambodia. He was shot down over enemy country in Cambodia and his wing man kept the little demons away until his Nationally televised rescue. He has terminal cancer and PTSD and is now the longest living Agent Orange... something...something... man alive. While living with his wife in their little RV park, he went to fix an dish on the office roof. He slipped and fell off, shattering his ankles. His PTSD prevents him from being under stress (so he has trouble with PC computers) and he will have to use a walker for at least a year, if not forever.

I know he had asked for a Apple Laptop computer so he could communicate with fewer steps. As it turned out his wife had fell and hurt her back a few days before, so Christmas was in the hospital... No gifts, no computer. He is in a nursing home now, until his surgery is done, then back to the RV.

I am wondering out loud here if anyone has a spare Apple Laptop laying around that we could rig for simple internet access. Their old PC is on a dial-up account, but he just can't deal with anything complex. What could Jacksonville do for him? His name is Brian.

Ocklawaha

[gatorback]

Ocklawaha:  I have an old original PowerBook.  It's great 1990's technology; however, it doesn't have eithernet and it's very slow by today's standards.  After all, it's like 20 years old.  I'm not sure if he'd be able to use it, but I'd give it to your friend.  It needs an AirPort card which I could never find.  I offer it up but we would need to find that card and test the system out.  If anybody had an Apple with the card built in it would be better.

[Ocklawaha]

Thanks Gatorback! Pearl offered a fairly up to date (2004) apple desktop? system. I don't know if it would work for them in the tiny RV. Otherwise, you've got the only apple laptop anyone has offered... I don't have a lap-anything.

Y'all put your thinking caps on, this guy was a JACKSONVILLE FIGHTER PILOT in Vietnam. We need to reach out to them. Anyone got an idea on how to get them into a house? They don't have one of those either!
JBM suggested taking this to the press, maybe that's worth a shot.

Otherwise, I'll be in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, for the next 4 days, and will try and check in when I can. Got to be home by gametime for the Steelers. I'd like/hope to shoot some shots of the FDOT DMU in service on Tri-Rail.

PLEASE think about Veteran Brian and his wife...stuck in a nursing home and RV park in Central Florida.

Happy New Year Y'all...

Ocklawaha