Allan Trimble has ALS

JENKS FOOTBALL COACH DIAGNOSED WITH ALS
[This post is reprinted from my sports column in the Tulsa Beacon newspaper, July 14, 2016]

Jenks High School head football coach Allan Trimble made public last week that he has been diagnosed with ALS – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. With his announcement has come an outpouring of support, not only from those within the Jenks Trojans football family, but throughout the entire region.

We may know now why a month ago Trimble announced his retirement from coaching, only to rescind his resignation three days later. He said at the time that he was battling some health challenges and though it might be best to spend more time with his family, but through the encouragement of his immediate family, he returned to coaching because that’s where his passion is and ultimately would make dealing with his health issues easier.

If indeed he did want to retire, who could blame him? Trimble, 52, has achieved more than any other high school football coach has ever done in this state. His team has won 13 state championships in his 20 seasons at Jenks, compiling a record of 224-35, and he has already been inducted in the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Trimble has said in media reports that he has experienced some form of symptoms of ALS for about two years. ALS is a disease that attacks nerve cells that control voluntary movement. The life expectancy of someone diagnosed with ALS is generally three to five years, although there have been many exceptions, including a couple I know of personally, I’ll mention later.

Coach Trimble and I became friends many years ago, when I was hired to do the play-by-play for the Jenks football games on local television, and co-host his weekly coach’s show. I was impressed with him as a football coach long before I met him; just based on the amazing record he was compiling at Jenks, but became even more impressed once I got to meet him.

When I began working with Trimble, I immediately came to love and respect the man that was more than a high school football coach.

The first time we had lunch together, he asked if he could pray over the meal and asked if he could pray about anything going on in my life. He exemplified to me someone who not only set a good example with his words, but spoke it with his actions.

I watched the way he handled his football team in practices and in games. I noted that he didn’t use the same salty language other coaches used. He proved that as much as he loved football, he loved his family even more. Trimble has always been the consummate Christian coach that not only wore his religion on his shirt sleeve, but lived it each and every day.

That’s what makes it so difficult to believe that someone still in the prime of his life and career, someone who is a mighty leader of young men, who has a huge, positive impact on the lives of his players and many around him; will now have to face the battle of and for his life.

But, we live in an imperfect world, and disease has no care as to who you are, what you do or what you believe.

My cousin Susan Rogers battled ALS for seven years. Susan was a very bright and intelligent young woman, who loved education. She became a teacher, but never stopped learning; earning both a Master’s Degree and eventually a Doctorate.

She was loved and respected by many, but ultimately as the disease progressed she was cared for by her mother, three brothers and home nursing aids. Susan was never married.

When I was a member of the television team that hosted the local cut-ins during the MDA Telethons, I became acquainted with a local man named Vic Poole. When I first met Vic he seemed pretty healthy and able bodied, but over the five years I was a part of the telethon, Vic would come back each year to be on the program, and each time I saw him ALS had taken yet another bit of his ability away. Amazingly, Vic lived nine years with ALS.

Trimble, his family, and his church family are praying for a miracle. I’ll be praying right along with them. But, through it all, I know he will battle this with the same steadfastness in his faith that has carried him this far in his life, and he will continue to be a great example to everyone with whom he comes in contact. That’s the Allan Trimble I know.

Double Standard in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD'S DOUBLE STANDARD ON POLITICAL VIEWS IS SICKENING

In a community where they continue to preach inclusion, free-speech, respecting other people's views, and tolerance, Hollywood sure has a difficult time dealing with people who are conservative or support the current President.

Let me get this out there, right from the start; whether you voted for President Trump or not doesn't matter, he's the President. I don't like everything he does or says as a person (or President, for that matter), and I like some things that he has done since taking office. Do I agree with everything the President does? No. Have I agreed with all Presidents in the past? No. Whether I've liked the President or not, I got on with my life, and voted again in four years.

Hollywood types don't seem to get that. He's "not their President" so they choose to continue to disparage him and call him names. If you're a conservative working in Hollywood, it has always been difficult to break through the right-wing stereotypes and get work. However, it's infinitely more difficult now, with this President in office.

Is it because the folks in Hollywood disagree with his politics or his agenda? No, not entirely. It's mostly because they just hate him. I mean, have no tolerance for him.

Recently, Debra Messing and her "Will & Grace" costar Eric McCormack, tweeted that they would like a list of names printed of the Hollywood folks who attend an upcoming Trump rally in Tinseltown. (You can read the tweets here; https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2019/09/04/john-ohurley-n2552513)

The point of the list, as McCormack points out in his tweet, is "to be clear about who we don't wanna work with." Bad grammar aside, this sounds like a blacklist, and is that what Hollywood really needs, another blacklist scandal?

What happened to freedom of thought and speech? What happened to stay out of our wombs and our lives? Isn't this the same group of Hollywood elitist who gave us those messages; ad nauseum? Then why are they wanting to "shame" anyone who decides to attend a rally for the President?

I've attended several political rallies over the years. I've even been the Master of Ceremonies for a few. I wasn't always in support of the candidate, and in one case I didn't even live in his district and couldn't have voted for him. However, I was always interested in hearing what they had to say, to see if maybe I would have any desire to support their ideals and vote for them.

Well apparently, that's not allowed in Hollywood. If you show up at a Trump rally, you're doomed, never to work in this town again. That my friends is an extremely sad commentary, and very hypocritical of those who preach tolerance. Honestly, I hope the names of those who attend the rally are published, because they will be the actors I support and buy tickets to see their movies, just to spite those who want to control my life and tell me I shouldn't.

ANOTHER VIEW: Follow this link (https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2019/09/04/john-ohurley-n2552513) to see what actor John O'Hurley had to say about all this. I never knew he was conservative, but have always liked him as an actor and game show host, ad it never really mattered to me in the past whether an actor was conservative or liberal. If I liked them, I liked them, but any more, because of their actions and disdain for anyone on the "right," I've found myself not wanting to go see movies that star those who spew such hate. They've caused this divide themselves. If they'd just keep their political views to themselves, we wouldn't know and we wouldn't care. Isn't that the way it used to be. Nobody knew Jimmy Stewart's party affiliation, or Katherine Hepburn's, or Buddy Hackett's. Isn't that the way it should be?