DIFFERENT STROKES MARATHON SWIM WILL BE FOR CHARITY.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer CANYON COUNTRY - Gary Greenwood is a familiar face to patrons of Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of September 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 284 stores.[1] market in Valencia, where he's usually seen chatting with customers or manning the checkout stands. He's also a familiar face to the lifeguards at the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Aquatics Center, where he spends several hours a day swimming laps to prepare for another venture - raising $1 million for researchers at St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Greenwood has been granted a six-month leave of absence from his job, trading his Hawaiian shirt Hawaiian shirt n. A colorfully patterned short-sleeved sport shirt. [From the fact that the style originated in Hawaii.] for a pair of swim trunks to spend hours in the water - either in the city pool or in the ocean - as he trains for the fund-raiser. On Sept. 7, Greenwood plans to plunge into the Pacific and attempt to cross the Catalina Channel. He's hoping for good weather and calm seas for the 22-mile swim and figures the voyage will take about 14 hours. ``The ocean could be smooth as glass one minute, then the tide and winds can change,'' he explained. ``I'm swimming at night, when the water is warmer, the winds calmer and there is less ship traffic.'' He will be escorted by a 65-foot support boat, manned by two captains, his children and his physician, along with kayakers who will follow him stroke for stroke. Kathleen Talbot, event marketing representative for St. Jude's Hospital, said groups often conduct fund-raisers on behalf of the facility but she'd never heard of one person swimming to raise money. ``He's kind of like a marathoner, getting donations,'' she said. ``He contacted us and we were so excited that he'd do something like this. We're really excited.'' At 62, Greenwood is a former cement company driver and massage therapist. He said he does not have a sick child at the hospital or a direct tie to any of the patients at St. Jude but has admired its work for several years. ``My main reason for doing this is to help the kids. I'm sick of insurance companies deciding who lives or dies with things like bone-marrow transplants or treatments,'' he said. ``The medical doctors aren't making the decisions. St. Jude's will treat them no matter what.'' St. Jude Hospital was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas as a research facility for childhood diseases. Patients pay whatever insurance allows and those who are uninsured are not asked for payment. When the Tennessee hospital opened in 1962, the survival rate for acute lyphoblastic leukemia leukemia (l  kē`mēə), cancerous disorder of the blood-forming tissues (bone marrow, lymphatics, liver, spleen) characterized by excessive production of immature or mature , the most common form of childhood cancer,
was 4 percent. Today the survival rate is 80 percent, largely because of
the results of research conducted at the facility. Doctors and
researchers are now working on cures for cancer, pediatric AIDS pediatric AIDS AIDS acquired HIV perinatally or by 'vertical'–maternal-infant transmission; children with PAIDS may become symptomatic–lymphoid interstitial pneumonia, encephalopathy, recurrent bacterial infection, Candida , sickle
cell anemia sickle cell anemian. A chronic, usually fatal inherited form of anemia marked by crescent-shaped red blood cells, occurring almost exclusively in Blacks, and characterized by fever, leg ulcers, jaundice, and episodic pain in the joints. and brittle (jargon) brittle - Said of software that is functional but easily broken by changes in operating environment or configuration, or by any minor tweak to the software itself. Also, any system that responds inappropriately and disastrously to abnormal but expected external stimuli; e. bone disease. ``If I can raise enough to find a cure for children who have a catastrophic disease, then I'm happy,'' Greenwood said. He admits he has an ongoing fantasy of swimming to Catalina, an obsession that started at age 7. For Greenwood, doing it to raise money for a good cause only sweetens the pot. ``I'm the average working guy, doing this all on my own,'' he said. ``I'm getting support from my employer and a lot of my friends, but because I'm doing this on my own, it's an uphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. .'' Greenwood said he hopes someone will come forward to help organize the fund-raising part of his journey, so he can concentrate on physical training. Since he has left his job, it's been difficult to make expenses like pool fees and living costs, which are minimal. ``I've been swimming on the masters swim team for 20 years here in town and competitive swimming in the ocean for 12 years,'' he said. A recovering addict Any individual who habitually uses any narcotic drug so as to endanger the public morals, health, safety, or welfare, or who is so drawn to the use of such narcotic drugs as to have lost the power of self-control with reference to his or her drug use. , Greenwood quit smoking, drinking, overeating overeating eating too much food too quickly; leads to acute gastric dilatation in dogs and horses, acute carbohydrate engorgement in ruminants, dietetic (dietary) diarrhea in young calves and foals, abomasal tympany in bottle fed lambs and calves. and abusing prescription drugs prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, - cold turkey - 18 years ago, when he'd realized he was jeopardizing his future with his son and daughter. Married for 39 years to Maureen, he considers his new healthy outlook a gift. ``This isn't about me,'' he emphasized. ``This is raising money for the kids. I chose to do this because it's unusual to have the average guy raise $1 million to give away.'' HOW TO HELP To make contributions to Greenwood's fund-raiser or to sponsor his training, visit his Web site at www.hometown home·town n. The town or city of one's birth, rearing, or main residence. Noun 1. hometown - the town (or city) where you grew up or where you have your principal residence; "he never went back to his hometown again" .aol.com/ygswim. Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) At Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, Gary Greenwood, 62, trains for his solo swim to Catalina this fall to benefit a hospital. (2 -- color) Gary Greenwood will swim Sept. 7 to help raise $1 million for researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1996, Peter Doherty, Ph.D., of St. in Memphis, Tenn. David Crane/Staff Photographer Box: HOW TO HELP (see text) |
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