On Oct. 21 my family had gone to King of Kings Church for a concert which my two young daughters were in. We arrived about 2 p.m. for practice. The show was to start around 3 p.m., so my daughter Heather and I went outside to watch the parade we did not want to miss.
Heather has been in a wheelchair almost her whole life.
As we stood at the end of the driveway of the church enjoying the parade, Tom Wilkens drove by in a beautiful yellow convertible. When he noticed Heather on the side of the road, he leapt off the car, ran over to her and shook her hand and let her touch his Olympic medal. Then he thanked her for being there.
Well, Tom, you put a smile on the face of a special girl that I think will be there for a very long time. She couldn’t wait to go back into church and tell everyone about the event that took place outside.
Tom, for this there is no medal, but to Heather you won the gold in her heart. You are truly an inspiration. God bless you.
Walter L. Sherman Jr.
Port Monmouth

