Tuesday, February 18, 2014

When bad things happen to good people

There is a man I know who is going through one of the most difficult of challenges that life can throw at you.

Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS, is one of the most cruel of all diseases known to man.
The motor neurone disease atrophies the muscles and over time the patient becomes incapable of movement and yet the mind stays clear and sharp.

According to the ALS Association, the majority of patients with Lou Gehrig's disease live for 3 years after diagnosis, one in 5 will live for 5 years and one in 10 will live 10 years or longer.

Financially, ALS is an expensive disease to live with as most patients end up needing a ventilator and full time care.

Professor Stephen Hawking who has lived with Lou Gehrig's for over 50 years is the most famous long term survivor of this debilitating disease.

Despite being confined to a wheel chair and only being able to lift a few of his fingers, and needing a voice synthesizer and special computer to communicate, the award winning physicist has written several books, expanded the way we view the universe and has a wife and three children.

When bad things happen to good people, there is no finer community to turn to for help than the riding community and I come to you hat in hand, not for me, but for a friend.

The man I speak of with this disease, Doug Jenson, is a good friend to many in the Edmonton Alberta region and the music industry. He is a man who has mentored and supported hundreds of budding musicians.  A man who has touched many lives.

In the 80's he and his sister Kennedy had a band called Jenson Interceptor with a top 40 hit called Tiny Thing.



Their band was very popular in the early 80's in Edmonton.
He later went on to form another band called Doug Jenson & The Feel Kings.

A long haired hippy with talent out the wazoo, Doug Jenson is a man I am proud to call friend.
Doug at the back
Doug is the long hair in the very back of this cover
Along with many others who admire & respect him, I want to do something for Doug, while he is alive, we want to celebrate his life and music.

We want to show this man the value he has and continues to bring to this world with his music.

We want to show our love and appreciation for him as a man, a friend, a mentor and a musician.

Doug is a proud man, and the best way any of us know to show him that we care is to have his music come to the forefront again, while he is alive.

At some point, if he allows us to, we'd like to hold a benefit jam session for him because he is eventually going to require full time care and that's expensive. Knowing Doug, he may squash that idea, but we are presenting it to him with the hope that he will allow us to show him how much we love and value him and his talent and that we are appreciative of him.

If we tried to do something as a surprise, he would never forgive us.

BUT, there is one thing we can do for him, that he will have no objection to...

We want to see sales of his albums on iTunes and other online stores soar again.
We want to see the plays of his videos rise, and his music climb the charts again.

We want a new generation exposed to his music.

Nothing would make Doug happier, than to hear his music being played on the radio again, to have his music be heard and loved by thousands of people again.

Request the music of Jenson Interceptor or Doug Jenson & The Feel Kings, in the Edmonton area you can contact:

K-97 - www.k97.fm
CKUA - www.ckua.com
The Bear - www.thebearrocks.com

On the World Wide Web:
Biker Radio - bikerradio.ning.com

Or go to iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/nickel-wood/id333888065 and purchase a song for 99 cents or share some of their old music from YouTube with your friends.

I myself have been given a lot of support from the riding community for my defense fund and have promised that I would pay that support forward into the community 10 fold.

This is one of those times, I want to pay forward the support and love I have been shown to a man who so richly deserves it. A man I am proud and honoured to call friend.

So, please, take 3 or 4 minutes out of your busy day and listen to one of the tunes this man was part of the creation of, if you have a looney to spare, buy a song off of one of his albums.

You will benefit from great memories and music and you will have made a man's day.

When bad things happen to good people the motorcycle community is one of the best communities I know of for helping.  I am counting on your support because Doug Jenson is one of the finest people I have ever known and he has given so much to so many.

So, turn up the volume and listen to one of my favourite tunes by Doug Jenson and the Feel Kings;



And SHARE like CRAZY - PLEASE!!!!!!

Have a fabulous day, enjoying some great music knowing you are making a great man's day.

Belt Drive Betty,
Editor & Rider

1 comment:

  1. I concur with the idea to have an evening dedicated to Doug for all the years of joy he has brought to the music community, those who grew up through the 70's and 80's and the overall arts community in and around Edmonton. I would love to help put something together with other bands from the eighties if they are around to put a special night together for Doug. If Doug says yes to something like this let us know as I will work like a dog to help you and others out to bring a night together for Doug.

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