Former Postal Rider on "Intervention" tonight

[MassBiker]

Just passing it along:

http://www.velonews.com/article/77479

:beer:

[M.Sommers]

Just passing it along:

http://www.velonews.com/article/77479

:beer:

Can someone TiVO this for Girlie? :)


cliffnotes = kidding. :beer:

[girlie]

Can someone TiVO this for Girlie? :)


cliffnotes = kidding. :beer:

Hung with his team and him at a few races....only drinking beer (M.Sommers).......strange fellow...interesting.....different......it's sad.... had heard this was what had happened........we make choices.
I'd watch it.

[cadence90]

That sounds like an absolutely tragic story, even from the early days.

I wonder why they decided to make this film, and what their expectations/desires (if any) for helping the guy out are.

Seems a bit (except for the high-level racing teams) like the M. Chester story, although last I heard he was pulling his life together and getting back into his work and some "normalcy".

So much abandonment; loss, and pain in front of our eyes every day, while the a lot of the rest of the population seems to just get more and inured (from these "individual" stories to Iraq, Katrina, etc.) as each year passes.

When I first moved to NYC, one of the first pieces of advice someone gave me was, "Don't make eye contact on the subway." ***??? :confused:
I've invited "local" homeless people that I saw regularly and had spoken with in the yard, etc. into my house for a quick shower, or snack, if they wanted; no harm done with a little empathy, openness and kindness, imho.

[M.Sommers]

Tonight, 9pm EST on A&E.

[goonster]

I wonder why they decided to make this film, and what their expectations/desires (if any) for helping the guy out are.


They get the families together to stage an intervention and send the subjects to rehab. Of course the whole thing is heavily edited to fit into forty minutes of TV time, so I have no illusions about real insight, but the outcomes seem very positive more often than not.

[rounder]

I think that is what happened to Hank Williams the country singer. He hurt his back somehow and then became addicted to pain killers, and died before he was 30. For what he did, he was the best there ever was.

[CNY rider]

I've never seen this show before.

I'm pretty sure I will never watch it again.

Watching this guy smoke crack makes me queasy to my stomach.

What a waste.

[M.Sommers]

Crack. He's addicted, panhandles $20K a year and spends it on crack. His, "Crack is so much a part of my life, but I'm not addicted" is the ultimate denial. This is very, very sad.

[M.Sommers]

Wow. He went to rehab. Amazing. What a great story!!!

:banana: :banana: :banana:

[cadence90]

I can't watch this show because I don't have cable.

I just hope he does get help and doesn't end up like Simpson, Pantani, J. M. Jimenez, etc....

[fiamme red]

I can't watch this show because I don't have cable.

I just hope he does get help and doesn't end up like Simpson, Pantani, J. M. Jimenez, etc....Tom Simpson? Was he a drug addict? :confused:

[Bruce K]

The final note said he has been sober since February.

I believe he is still in the North Palm Beach area of FL if I understood correctly.

Maybe Bill Bove can get him some of that cool mangenta kit and add a ringer to the Saturday morning sprint team.

All we can do is wish him luck.

BK

[cadence90]

Tom Simpson? Was he a drug addict? :confused:
I have no idea if he was a real addict, but he was a known hard drinker, even during races, and after his death ("Put me back on the damned bike!") on Mt. Ventoux the autopsy showed alcohol and amphetamines.

[fiamme red]

I have no idea if he was a real addict, but he was a known hard drinker, even during races, and after his death ("Put me back on the damned bike!") on Mt. Ventoux the autopsy showed alcohol and amphetamines.I've never heard that he was a hard drinker. And his autopsy didn't show alcohol.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/msg/693eb9423411449a?hl=en

[cadence90]

I've never heard that he was a hard drinker. And his autopsy didn't show alcohol.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/msg/693eb9423411449a?hl=en
Apparently he did drank brandy during his races, and I heard there was alcohol in his system on Ventoux.

I guess he didn't have Anquetil's stomach, poor guy.

[Lifelover]

I really wish him well.

I went from being teared up to laughing out load watching him ride around the parking lot on the silly Giant Urban bike do-giggy.

He comes across as a super nice guy. I hope he can get his demons worked out for good.

[Your_Friend!]

Cadence_90!


That Is Very_Kind Of You!

To Help People Is_Noble!

You Have A Big_Heart!


Love,
Y_F!












When I first moved to NYC, one of the first pieces of advice someone gave me was, "Don't make eye contact on the subway." ***??? :confused:
I've invited "local" homeless people that I saw regularly and had spoken with in the yard, etc. into my house for a quick shower, or snack, if they wanted; no harm done with a little empathy, openness and kindness, imho.

[stuckey]

When I first moved to NYC, one of the first pieces of advice someone gave me was, "Don't make eye contact on the subway." ***??? :confused:
I've invited "local" homeless people that I saw regularly and had spoken with in the yard, etc. into my house for a quick shower, or snack, if they wanted; no harm done with a little empathy, openness and kindness, imho.

I have meet a lot of good homeless people, I am happy to hear you are one of the few who are not scared and actually help.

[cadence90]

Cadence_90!


That Is Very_Kind Of You!

To Help People Is_Noble!

You Have A Big_Heart!


Love,
Y_F!
Thank you both in kind.
That's one of the nicest things anyone has said to me here.

I try to believe in that philosophy and kindness. I think it's only human, and humane, and I find it also does naturally mitigate one's own personal pain.

I don't really know people here (some I really wish I did), but whether on the web or in real life, I find good deeds are "correct", communicative, healthily, interactive, and often are reciprocated. One of the people I did allow into my house for 2 hours or so I actually learned a lot from, and I was as thankful as she was at the end of our talk (a single and abused mother, but strong as hell, and a deep, kind, smart person). She was living in an old Corolla with her baby in front of my house; to allow her to shower and eat there seemedv only proper, at her discretion of course.

I'm trying to be more and more considerate and compassionate, and less of the sarcastic a-hole I can also sometimes be (usually luckily only on the interGore) which I have found more and more is just utterly useless and often just really personally tiring and draining.

Goodness, kindness, reciprocity, can be found all over, if we just try to stay open, aware, and sensitive to what resides more in the soul and less on the surface....

Anyway, thank you Y_F, and stuckey, whoever you are.

[Sandy]

Genuinely sad and tragic. Never got to see the show. Unfortunately his state occurs undoubtedly daily in cities and towns throughout our country. Robbing the spirit and vitality of the young person, and literally destroying his or her's goals, spirit, self, and life, and having a profound effect on those close to him. Addiction to prescribed medications is a tremendous problem that plagues our society.

Can only wish him the very best in staying clean. Very difficult to do.


Sandy

[Sandy]

You possess empathy, sensitivity, and kindness for people. More than that, you act upon what you feel. Perhaps some of us will emulate you.




Sandy

[rwsaunders]

I caught the last 1/2 of the show and it looks like he might be on the road to getting things back in order. That's always a tough show to watch.

[dsimon]

I liked how he called Lance a Do-Boy at the Olympic camp :bike:

[neverraced]

Apparently he did drank brandy during his races, and I heard there was alcohol in his system on Ventoux.

I guess he didn't have Anquetil's stomach, poor guy.


Guess not! Anquetil died of stomach cancer.

[onekgguy]

I liked how he called Lance a Do-Boy at the Olympic camp :bike:

For those who didn't see the show, he was thrown off the Olympic team after he jokingly called Lance 'Do-Boy' while poking him in the stomach.

This was one of the better Intervention shows I've seen. Too often the show is a let-down as the person slips back into their addiction but this wasn't one of them. He seemed genuinely happy with his new life and focused on recovery.

I respect the compassion Cadence90 offers those who are in need. The other side of that is the enabling we do by giving panhandlers money for their addiction rather than taking them into a restaurant for a meal. He was panhandling to the tune of roughly $20 per hour...easily a $30 an hour job if he were paying taxes.

My wife and I were in San Franciso a few years back and rather than giving the panhandlers money or ignoring them we would carry some snacks with us and give them those. Giving them money is no different than putting their drug of choice in their hands. I'm not sure that buying them a meal is any less enabling but I'd like to think it offers them a bit of sustenance until real help arrives.

Kevin g

[Bill Bove]

The final note said he has been sober since February.

I believe he is still in the North Palm Beach area of FL if I understood correctly.

Maybe Bill Bove can get him some of that cool mangenta kit and add a ringer to the Saturday morning sprint team.

All we can do is wish him luck.

BK
I had to turn the show off half way thru, I've seen too many people end up like him and didn't want to waste any more of my time watching a guy who didn't want to help himself. If he is down here the best advice I could give him is LEAVE! Florida may well be paradise but there is a dark side to paradise and if you haven't got your **** together Florida will eat you alive. I wish him well on his road to recovery, he really needs to be near his Dad and sister who can support him, not here where crack and disallusionment are around every corner.

[thomspins]

Does anyone know if they are going to re-air this sometime?

Thx

[onekgguy]

Does anyone know if they are going to re-air this sometime?

Thx

It's possible they will re-air it yet this week...not sure. They for sure re-air it during the course of the season.

Kevin g

[Steelhead]

I had to turn the show off half way thru, I've seen too many people end up like him and didn't want to waste any more of my time watching a guy who didn't want to help himself. If he is down here the best advice I could give him is LEAVE! Florida may well be paradise but there is a dark side to paradise and if you haven't got your **** together Florida will eat you alive. I wish him well on his road to recovery, he really needs to be near his Dad and sister who can support him, not here where crack and disallusionment are around every corner.

Can't really say he didn't "want to help himself" thats like saying you can survive cancer just cause you "want to". It takes desire, yes but also hard work in a program, accountability, support, love, etc... to equal freedom. While actively using, particularly with a hard drug like crack - the desire part is out the window. The desire only shows up when the chemicals are gone. And not usually for very long. That is why interventions sometimes work - you gotta get them at a moment of clarity and semi-sober to realize what they are doing doesn't work. I wish him the best - he needs to be on a bicycle. :)

[davidlee]

I missed the first fifteen minutes and I'm guessing thats when all the cycling flashbacks were. I'm with Bill that it was hard to get through.
SO DISTURBING watching him smoking all that crack and then being such an A$$hole to his parents( especially his mom). That scene on the table outside the restaurant was particularly sad.
I'm surprised they stuck by his side but looks like its paying off in the end.

Hopefully he can focus his energy to cycling( or something positive) again and stay clean .At the end it said that he has just gotten a new racing bike.

I couldn't help but think about his lungs and heart whilst puffing on that pipe and how he went from being one of the elite racers to a homeless crackhead.
If it re-airs it's worth checking out.
d

[Lifelover]

I.. then being such an A$$hole to his parents( especially his mom). That scene on the table outside the restaurant was particularly sad.
I'm surprised they stuck by his side but looks like its paying off in the end.....
d


It's interesting that I had a different take on it. I know completely drug/addiction free people that are much bigger dicks to their parents.

Considering that the guy had an addiction to crack, he was pretty straight forward and civil to his parents. His whole effort to live mostly on the street is an attempt to keep his family separated from the reality of his problem.

ATMO

[goonster]

I know completely drug/addiction free people that are much bigger dicks to their parents.

+1

This family obviously has a complicated, contentious relationship, which the show can only hint at, but I'm sure his drug use is only part of the problem.

After watching this show quite a bit, what strikes me most is how similar these interpersonal dynamics often are, regardless of the drugs involved, or even when there are no drugs involved at all, e.g. eating disorders.

[Lifelover]

+1

This family obviously has a complicated, contentious relationship, which the show can only hint at, but I'm sure his drug use is only part of the problem.

After watching this show quite a bit, what strikes me most is how similar these interpersonal dynamics often are, regardless of the drugs involved, or even when there are no drugs involved at all, e.g. eating disorders.


I wouldn't be so bold as to place blame, but there certainly seemed to be some strange energy between him and his dad. I would guess he has spent most of his life looking to gain his father's approval/attention. Except in anger, his father did not seem to be able to look him in the eyes.

[Ken C]

After doing a google search on him, it appears he was a jerk before the drug use and that is why, more so than injuries, every team would drop him.

The drugs definately made it much worse, but it appears that he has always been very insecure and surly.

I watch the show quite a bit, and I always enjoy when there is enough time to do a follow up to see how much improvement they make. The ending of this episdoe was very touching. I really felt for his dad, he seems like a great guy. Unlike other episodes his parents did a very good job of not being enablers.

[93legendti]

We watch it every so often...I find it hard to watch. My uncle drove his adopted son to drink, then enabled him so it usually hits too close to home. Geez, my uncle couldn't have tried harder to screw up my poor cousin...

These things usually have quite a few angles...I remember running into a guy (Jerry) who I used to speedskate with. he, hsi wife and 2 kids, ~10 yrs old all skated on our team. I asked him how the kids were. He said he woke up one day to find his 15 year old daughter living with her 21 year old boyfriend and selling coke. he said he had "no clues" beforehand.

So, now she was in some $4000/month rehab program living with another family and Jerry's family had some stranger from the program living with them. When we skated together, Jerry always seemed oblivious to what his wife and kids were doing...

[cadence90]

You possess empathy, sensitivity, and kindness for people. More than that, you act upon what you feel. Perhaps some of us will emulate you.




Sandy

Thank you also, Sandy.

Many of you already do, and do much better than I. If we all do our best, imagine the possibilities....

[cadence90]

Guess not! Anquetil died of stomach cancer.
Yeah, but JA didn't die young or during a bike race....

I think in his case it was all the champagne, all the hot chicas, and maybe the accumulated effects of his insane (since 14 or so) training regimen. JA was a classy rider and true champion, imho.