Jack Strickland is a retired AP writer who is active in the war against cancer. He, himself, is a survivor.
As a reporter he covered many of the major stories in Florida.
He lives in Gainesville where he is an advocate for cancer patients of all ages. Jack finds special joy in getting
sports stars and teams involved in the care young cancer victims. He claims that the athletes benefit from the involvement
as much as the patients. He says he managed to miss many tackles as a football player long ago, and learned that defeat can be
temporary and serve as the foundation for success.
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• God must have some special purpose for you, the doctors marveled - Modern medicine couldn't explain this victory over terminal Merkle Cell Carcinoma...
• Doors have not clanked shut on privatization; Glades may be next - Governor, power brokers may take a "one by one" approach. Meanwhile, an assortment of officials have gone to jail. ...
• Gator gymnastics team cheers cancer patients at Hope Lodge, will ‘pink-out’ for cancer tonight - Lending courage to all, the coach and team are champs in sports and champs in life, with fund-raiser tonight. ...
• Cinderella will wait for her brave young prince to return from war in Afghanistan - Dreams put on hold as young couple lives a Cinderella fairy tale ...
• How I got an education during night in emergency room - Special bonds made; families in distress often suffer outside and alone ...
• The children with cancer are so innocent and so helpless - A view from inside the hospital shows that life on the edge creates new heroes ...
• I learned a lifelong Bible lesson of charity on a city bus - People often surprise you when you least expect or deserve it. ...
• How UF’s Don Gaffney broke quarterback color barrier, Auburn jinx – as Auburn comes to play again - First black quarterback in SEC met his big test on the field in 1973 when he started Auburn game, but his "best performance" may have been a speech. ...
• Ray Shaw’s life was a living textbook on how to help others in need - Ray Shaw seemed surprised when they named him an "earth angel" but his life served to teach others how to help people in need. ...
• Cancer victim’s courage inspires special sunset ceremony on Florida beach - In warm memory, daughter, son-in-law renew wedding vows on the beach where ashes of parents were scattered. ...
• They left hospital for the last time, in a red sports car - A sweet romantic interlude, a Corvette, and the battle against cancer are described by columnist Jack Strickland who watches a couple leave Shands Hospital. ...
• Explosive Gator stars Grossman, Gaffney reunite; they could march Redskins back to Super Bowl - Fun-and-gun offense Gator greats Jabar Gaffney and Rex Grossman are together again. The Washington Redskins have signed the dynamic duo. A decade ago the quarterback and wide receiver captured the imagination of the entire nation....
• “Bouncing Betty” and a story of wounded Vietnam vet’s life-changing friendship - Legs mangled, veteran Bill showed compassion and found help for debilitating pain from a landmine in Viet Nam. ...
• End of world is around corner, authorities predict - While the demise of Earth is predicted, many people seem to be skeptical. ...
• Gore tells victim’s parents he has become different person; his death takes 19 minutes at Raiford - Remorseful killer David Alan Gore, strapped to gurney, was dead in 19 minutes after lethal injection. ...
• Bragging about what you’ve done can get you to the death chamber quite a bit faster - Prisoner set for execution April 12 could have learned a lot from Charles Profitt....
• FAMU professors patent new medication for schizophrenia - African-Americans suffer three times rate of schizophrenia says recent research ...
• Murder comes without any warning as rage can build in state’s prisons - Any prisoner can become dangerous and there are ways to make deadly weapons and time to do it. ...
• Many innocent may languish in prison on corrupt testimony, legislative payment shows - Dillon case, Pitts and Lee demonstrate that justice is sometimes difficult to come by in Florida...
• Clues to a murder: forensic botanist finds the little things in death - David Hall helps law enforcement trap the bad guys with botanical clues...
• Honduras jail fire recalls horrific Florida prison blaze where 38 perished amid lingering questions - A scene of racial fights, the Florida road prison in Jay exploded into fire in 1967, leaving truth yet to be fully told. ...
• Waterhouse executed proclaiming innocence - Convicted murderer Robert Waterhouse, 65, died by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Starke, with unsettling words....
• Florida Senate kisses an emotional goodbye to prison privatization - Public prisons get a valentine as senate proposal fails in a 19-21 vote; meanwhile, execution slated today...
• Group alleges more financial links to privatization; vote could be today - A watchdog group alleges that privatization backers have financial links the effort ...
• Florida A&M Rattlers have played in 25 of the 46 Super Bowls - Dallas star Bob Hayes won a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal. ...
• Freedom rider rabbi remembers his arrest in Tallahassee airport 50 years ago - Ministers eventually served sentence, worked as road crew before release from jail ...
• Second Harvest signature soups will help fight child hunger on Wednesday at Capitol - One in six people locally struggle for enough to eat ...
• Cancer patient slips away from hospital to give stranded bus riders a last Christmas gift - In his battle with cancer, he relied on city buses . . . and now he had a plan to help people who didn't know the buses were down for the day. ...
Cinderella will wait for her brave young prince to return from war in Afghanistan
February 04, 2012Gainesville
“Are you ready to fight and die for your country?” screamed the drill sergeant. “YES!”, came the enthusiastic yell from the squad of dedicated young soldiers about to deploy for the battlefields of Afghanistan. They are well trained. They may have been scared to death – but they were not about to admit it to anyone.
Private Allen “Aj” Humphrey needed to ask one final question, himself, before his National Guard unit boarded the plane for the flight into harm’s way half way around the world.
“Will you marry me?”
In his last telephone call from American soil before he boarded the plane, he popped the big question. He called his relatively new girlfriend, Miss Alison Dorher, at her parents home in Inverness, Florida.
Twenty-year-old Aj Humphrey joined the National Guard straight out of high school. The Cleveland, Ohio native was still green behind the ears when he reported for basic training in North Carolina at 18 years old.
Alison Dohrer has been affectionately known as The Lil’ Ali-Cat by her family and close friends since she was in grade school. She is the little sister of one of Humphrey’s fellow soldiers in the National Guard. She and Pvt. Humphrey met when she and her family attended her brother’s graduation from basic training.
It was love at first sight. The “Lil Ali-Cat,” a junior in high school, stole the private’s heart. But, she was dating someone in Florida and he had to return to Ohio after he completed his initial obligation to the National Guard.
They stayed in touch as friends.
Fate brought them back together. Her romance in Florida had soured and she broke-up with her “going steady” boyfriend and classmate . Private Humphrey got his orders notifying him that his National Guard unit had been called up for active duty for deployment to Afghanistan. She had turned 18 and was merely weeks away from her high school graduation.
He invited her to fly up to Ohio for a weekend with him and his family, the week before he was slated to report for active duty with the Guard. During that weekend, the embers of infatuation burst into the flames of real love. Alison returned home with a friendship ring – a “promise ring” – they were going steady.
Pvt. Humphrey reported for active duty. His unit assembled in Mississippi for briefing and final training before being flown to the war zone. The two young lovers lived on the phone with Skype video communication during any and every available opportunity. Their love grew.
Deployment orders came down. She flew to Mississippi to be with him his final full weekend on American soil before he went to war. They were in a world of their own when they were together. It was clear that they are meant for each other.
After she returned home, In their final phone conversation before he shipped out, they professed their undying love for each other. Out of the blue, he blurted out, “I have to ask you a question: Will you marry me?”
I don’t think anyone had to ask the young lady what her answer was. The glow of love she has been radiating for weeks answered that question long ago.
But, some say they are too young. They have not lived, yet. They are not old enough to get married.
Pvt. Humphrey disagrees. If he is old enough to answer his country’s call to stand up for freedom, and put his life on the line on the battlefield to preserve the way of life we all love, he is old enough to ask the girl he loves to marry him and make him the happiest soldier on this planet.
The young lovers do not know when they will see each other again. He will probably be overseas for at least a year. Modern communication will enable them to stay in close contact.
She will make some major sacrifices. If she goes to her senior prom, she will go alone.
The love of her life will not attend her graduation.
She will enter college in the fall as a social loner. She doesn’t seem to care. She is living the Cinderella fairy tale. She has found her prince. Her glass slipper is forever. She doesn’t have to worry about her dream-come-true turning into a pumpkin at midnight.
Isn’t young love wonderful?