Alabama Rambler

Alabama Rambler was Arkansas' reviewer during 2005 and part of 2006. rkl stumbled upon this information in the groundspeak forums posted February 9, 2012.


Been feeling bad since a cervical discectomy on 1/6, finally came to ER. Cardiologist says I had a heart attack. Arteriogram shows too many Big Macs and cheesecakes. Says I could depart this earth at any moment and sticks me in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit at St. Vincents Hospital in Birmingham. Will have surgery Monday to bypass five arteries around my heart. Docs an optimist but also honest... he says don't make any long-term plans.

So, I hope to be here a long time yet, but if I drop out of the forum know that I appreciated all my off-topican geopals and Thanks for all the fish!

Never met Mr. Rambler (virtually, that is), but it's sad to hear that his heart disease has finally caught up with him. I see this everyday in my work and am constantly reminded of our built-in genetic programming to self-destruct. On a personal level, my Dad had a heart attack at age 54, my maternal uncle at age 48, my maternal grandmother at age 72, and just this past deer season, my brother, younger than me by 11 months, had a heart attack. Although I don't have Apollo's physique, I've never experienced exertional chest pain, so I tell myself I'm OK. I chalk up the shortness of breath to just plain being out of shape. I've been meaning to sit down with a cardiologist for an opinion, but just like that super duper clever cache I've been planning, there's always tomorrow. Funny, I'm not so afraid of death as much as I'm afraid of disability. Some time ago everyone in the ER one day came up with their "bucket lists." Almost every point on my list of a dozen things to do before I die involved some moderately strenuous outdoor activity, things I may not be able to do in the fashion I have imagined, should I suffer debilitation. Ron, everytime I see the joy on your face and the numbers you and Maribeth put up, despite your not being able to chase terrain five caches, I am inspired not only to carpe the diem today, but also to remember that there is life beyond disability. Thank you for inspiring the rest of us with your positive attitude. Of course, it helps to have your partner in your corner, I'm sure :).

Thanks for your kind words, captaincooder. Now do us a favor and go visit the cardiologist and get checked out. Friends are too special to take a chance on losing one. Ron

Just made my appointment.

My prayers go out to Alabama Rambler and his family. What any who have not met him do not know is that he is a double amputee (both legs), yet he geocaches quite well with - and without - his wheelchair. When he was our reviewer, he hosted an event at Petit Jean and apparently he was out on the trails - sans wheelchair - hunting caches with the best of them!

Wow 8O. I am such a colossal wimp.

It is amazing what people can do when they want to. I do wish I had met Mr. Alabama Rambler when he was the reviewer. My prayers go out to him and his family. And for the upteenth time I will say I wish I had discovered geocaching from the beginning.

I actually hooked up with him in his home area (Birmingham, AL) while I was down there for the NASCAR race. He took me & my muggle brother from Birmingham to an event in Tuscaloosa, then took a quick geotour of that area. He also took me to get my 1st Earth Cache http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...7-e29fc0e472fd. Something most cachers don't know is that he also is a HAM operator (don't know his Call sign), & he also responds to major emergencies to provide Radio support. He is also very active with various organizations in his area.

Anyone heard about the procedure. Was posponed until Tuesday, but haven't seen anything on Groundspeak about outcome?? Oops, there is a post that Ed did well. More to come.

Has anybody heard anything else about? I tried getting on groundspeaks forums ( a place I had not been since they crucified Ed over the DRR) but couldn't look up anything.

Alabama Rambler posted the following on February 20. Good news.

Home and feeling fine. Thanks to everyone for thinking of me and praying for me, it did make a difference. Now if someone would wade through and deal with the hundreds of emails that built up while I had no access!

Thanksk rklmbl for reposting that here so we could see. Glad that Alabama Rambler is doing good. Prayers are answered.

OMG Ed is a GREAT GUY i was very impressed with the way he gets around. After the Pettit Jean event Ozark Mountain Ghost and I were the last to leave and we noticed Ed's tail Lights were not working so we followed him to conway and even with it raining we crawled under his truck and figured it out for his drive back to Alabama. We also had dinner with him at Ryans. He blessed me with 2 Geocoins and to this date i still have them. I'm glad hes doing good.