Connect
Member Spotlights feature interviews with fellow Connect members. Learn more about members you’ve connected with and some you haven’t met yet. Nominate a member you think should share the spotlight.
JOHN: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect? What motivates you to take part in the community?
@thankful: Generally, I had been looking online about health issues and found Mayo Clinic Connect. Initially, I sat back and read many posts and found several participants who really helped me think through my health issues.
JOHN: What about Connect makes you feel comfortable to share and to be open with the community?
@thankful: I enjoy the back-and-forth on many issues and the openness of the dialogue. We all agree we are not doctors or even health officials, but we have been in the trenches and can share from personal experience what works for us, and that adds to the discussion.
JOHN: What groups do you participate in?
JOHN: Who has been a special connection for you on Connect?
@thankful: I've really appreciated all the moderators and mentors. @johnbishop and @predictable are my favorites.
@predictable’s posts, his thoughtfulness and great questions he asked in them made me think that he could help me put together a few questions that would be helpful to ask the cardiologist when I was at Mayo Clinic. His response and the questions he gave me could act as a template for so many others. His compassion for others and wonderful discernment have helped me and I’m sure many others!
JOHN: What surprised you the most about Connect?
@thankful: Candor and gracefulness.
JOHN: What energizes you, or how do you find balance in your life?
@thankful: Well, my career as a remodeling contractor energized me for just over 40 years, but I just retired and am getting used to the new normal. My faith and family really help me find balance in my life.
JOHN: Tell us about your favorite pastime or activity.
@thankful: I'm now getting time in retirement to rediscover some of my favorite activities and pastimes. I love to fly-fish using fly rods, as well as fish for steelhead and coho salmon in the local rivers of the Northwest. Home gardening is one of my favorite pastimes. I exercise pretty regularly and love to take long walks. We get to see our four grandchildren (and one more on the way) more frequently now.
JOHN: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?
@thankful: Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
JOHN: What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
@thankful: Their ability to listen.
JOHN: What food can you simply not resist?
@thankful: Pretzels.
JOHN: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see cast as you?
@thankful: Sean Connery.
JOHN: What do you love about where you live or vacation?
@thankful: Living in Oregon and midway in the Willamette Valley, we have a more temperate climate. We can be in the mountains or on the Pacific Ocean within an hour: the best of both worlds.
JOHN: Puppies or kittens?
@thankful: Definitely puppies, but currently we have no dog.
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Hi Jim @thankful -- I really like the photo. It reminds me of some backpacking trips when I was still able to rough it a little. We would go to the Sierras and do some fishing on the Kern river. It's really nice reading your spotlight and getting to know you a little better. Thanks for sharing with us!
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6 ReactionsHi, @thankful. I enjoyed reading your spotlight interview. I am also retired, and I enjoy the outdoors, but have never fished. I do enjoy the river views and crossings while hiking. I am happy to have this opportunity to meet you. If I get up to the NW for hiking, I will be on the lookout for you casting your line along one of the beautiful streams! Enjoy your retirement, and save some time to visit us on Connect and maybe share some fish stories!
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6 Reactions@thankful Very nice post. I have not been to Oregon, but I have heard it's a beautiful state. I have been to your neighbors north and south -- Washington and California.
Enjoy retirement. That's great that you do have other interests. I know many people who never cultivated other interests and were lost in retirement.
JK
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7 ReactionsHello @thankful
It is so nice to get to know you better! I've always appreciated your posts and your many positive messages to other Members. I'm so glad that you part of Connect. Thanks for sharing with us and telling us a little of your story. I agree with you that @predictable does a great job at breaking down a health situation and asking good questions and getting the ball rolling. He and John are my go-to people when I'm facing a perplexing post from a Member.
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5 ReactionsGolly, Jim @thankful. I'm glad I had the presence of mind to be a little helpful last Spring, and I'm glad to hear that your life is now revolving around Oregon's steelheads. Growing up in Northeast Iowa, my favorite fishing was for brook and rainbow and brown trout -- smaller in every case (but two) than the one in your picture here -- and smallmouth bass (the subject of my dissertation in Ecology in 1958). Now in Virginia, I have my choice of trout in mountain waters within 50 miles West and big rockfish within 50 miles East. If you find a reason to relax on this end of the continent, I'll be glad to show you some good holes! Thanks for your kind remarks! Martin
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7 Reactions@johnbishop- John, thank you for all your help & support in putting together this member spotlight. Your online presence and friendship to all of us is priceless! Sending you and all the members of Connect (especially our mentors & Mayo staff) a Christmas season filled with more joy and for a heathier New Year!
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8 ReactionsThanks for the kind words and warm wishes Jim @thankful !! Amen to the happier and healthier New Year for all!
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3 Reactions@predictable- Martin, thank you and would love to wet a line with you some time. I was raised on Staten Island, NY and my farther often took us boys up to the Beaverkill or the Willowemoc upstate. I came to find out many years later that those two streams were fished by many of the early flyfishers and has a great history. To me & my brother, it was another fishing trip with our dad. We piled in to our 73 VW bus with the seats out so we could sleep. Fond memories!
BTW, We have 24" browns here in several of the rivers & lakes that literally attack your bait! Nothing likes hooking into one of those brownies!
Again, thank you for taking the time to put those questions together. They proved Invaluable! Jim @thankful
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7 Reactions@thankful Thank you for sharing. I learned fly fishing whilst working as a wrangler in WY. You do have the best of both worlds!!
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7 Reactions@thankful
Your Spotlight just came to my attention this morning. Thank you for sharing a bit of who you are with us. I love Washington after I spent a couple of months on a consulting project in Clarkston 3 years ago. It's not Oregon, but having lived in Northern California (Mt. Shasta) with Oregon sandwiched between Washington, I appreciate the beauty and the fishing opportunities you have. Your posts have been positive and very helpful for those who are looking for connection and reassurance. We are thankful to have you on Mayo Connect.
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7 Reactions