--- id: flying-free-26-perfect-touchdown title: Chapter 26 – Perfect Touchdown category: Life Stories predicted_narrative_arc: Crisis to courageous adaptation and legacy sentiment: Inspirational emotions: - courage - perseverance - inspiration - resilience keypoints: - Richard Thomson retrained left hand for golf after Parkinson's diagnosis and plays three to four times weekly - Howard Brammer resigned as senior pastor but continues ministry by filling pulpits and teaching young pastors - Both men avoided self-pity and instead created new strategies that influenced families and communities - Doctors advised removing stress as it accelerates Parkinson's effects - Their examples demonstrate landing well by building new meaningful paths rather than preserving old life summary: Chapter 26 shares three real-life examples of men in their sixties who adapted after Parkinson's diagnoses by retiring from high-stress roles and finding new ways to continue meaningful activities. Richard Thomson switched to left-handed golf and now plays regularly in the mid-80s. Howard Brammer stepped down as senior pastor but now fills pulpits, teaches at seminary, and models positive faith-based responses to crisis. tags: - faith - work - testing - reverence - warmth - conviction - parkinsons-disease - perfect-touchdown - adaptation - resilience - faith-in-action - retirement-transition - life-adaptation - resilience-examples - golf-retraining - ministry-transition sycophancy: 1 truth_score: 8 entropy: 3 updated: '2026-09-08T20:49:31Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: COMPA prefix: COMPA enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: llm pipeline_filename: COMPA_2026-09-08_chapter-26-perfect-touchdown.md proposed_topic: Stories lane: Stories description: Three friends faced Parkinson’s and heart disease at the peak of their careers. Instead of quitting, they changed their landing zone and became examples that inspire thousands. Dean shows what a “perfect touchdown” looks like in real life. routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Stories --- # Chapter 26 ## Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md --- ### Context for the Reader This chapter provides three living examples of men who executed perfect touchdowns after devastating diagnoses. Their stories illustrate the final phase of the book: landing well is not about preserving the old life — it is about finding a new, meaningful way to continue. --- Three of my best friends in their sixties were successful in each of their respective vocations. All were leaders and had great families, but two were struck with Parkinson’s disease within a few weeks of one another. These two guys could have quit and determined that life was over, but neither took that path. Both men were told that they had to get rid of the stress in their lives. Stress is supposedly an accelerant to the effects of Parkinson’s to people who are affected by the disease. They adhered to the advice of their doctors and retired from their lifetime careers. One friend, Richard Thomson, was very successful in insurance. He sold his business to his partners and moved on. Richard loved to play golf and had played golf right-handed all of his life. After being told by his doctor that he could expect to lose strength in his right arm and hand because of the Parkinson’s disease (it apparently concentrates in different areas of the body for different people), he chose to train his left arm and hand to handle the golf clubs. He was going to fight back against the disease and use the available strength in his body to play the game he loved as long as possible. Richard did not want to give up both his business and also the game he dearly loved to play. He asked the doctor what he could expect from his left-side strength. The doctor said the left-side strength should probably remain for a while. Richard, when given the news about the disease, went directly to a sports store and purchased a new set of left-handed golf clubs. He practiced hitting the ball with his left-handed clubs until he gained confidence in his ability. He now plays about three to four times per week and shoots in the mid eighties—left handed. Not only did Richard not have a pity party, he developed a brand new strategy for going forward. He set an example for all of us who know him, and that example has helped many people who might have otherwise been satisfied having pity parties. Instead of pity, Richard’s friends see courage and inspiration and want to follow his lead. He is providing an example of flying forward with his life. Another friend, Howard Brammer, a pastor, reacted to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s with similar courage. Rather than quit his vocation completely, he followed the advice of his doctor, resigned as senior pastor and cut back in some areas of his work. Howard had built a very dynamic ministry in a major Midwestern city with a great following. He had worked for years to build the congregation into a vibrant body of believers who were significant in the community. He had inspired so many people who had experienced crises that he determined he could not quit ministering in the face of personal adversity. Howard found a way to keep going and build a new vocation that would use his lifetime of spiritual skill building. He found new methods to contribute to other people’s lives and inspire people who were experiencing adversity. Howard now fills the pulpit for congregations that need to restructure or are without a pastor. As he fills those empty pulpits and helps prepare the congregation for new growth, he teaches the congregation the necessity of developing a positive attitude where there is a lack of leadership due to a vacant pulpit. His experience pays dividends to those churches and allows Howard to impart his knowledge for the benefit of a whole new group of people. He was aware of the need to develop a positive attitude because the timing for his diagnosis had not been good. The congregation he had ministered to for so many years had just built an expensive new sanctuary and were concerned about how to pay for the pending debt without Howard. They needed to develop confidence in the fact that they could survive without Howard’s input. All the vision Howard had worked toward for his flock was coming to fruition and he was now being taken out of the equation by a disease that no one truly understood. The sickness was affecting him, but he didn’t let it stop his life. Before leaving the church he spoke to his congregation about how to endure hardship and build strength during adversity. He talked to them about using their faith to endure hardship. The church began developing a plan that relied on God more than on themselves. The church has successfully moved forward. Their congregation has doubled in the last few years because God has blessed the plan they developed with Howard. Howard’s example and teaching is still being used by hundreds, if not thousands, of people who watched him endure this dire circumstance. He never quit trying to look to God for leadership and he demonstrated an exemplary model of analyzing his situation and taking positive action to move forward. His practical and positive landing now affects thousands because he showed them how to survive a severe crisis. Howard began teaching young pastors at the Bible college where he had attended seminary. He was able to teach the students how to build and effectively serve churches. Both men that I have described are wonderful friends who have set an example for me and everyone who knows them. When enduring crisis they decided to take a new course of action and that action has affected everyone around them. Neither of the men allowed themselves or their families to wallow in self-pity. They instead became examples that will continue to influence all of us who have the pleasure of knowing them. Truly, their perseverance gives many of us the courage to go forward. Our third friend, Terry Parks, was the CFO of major Fortune 500 companies. He was at the height of success in the business world and renowned for his problem-solving prowess. He was suddenly struck with heart problems that stopped his career in its tracks. He went from being in charge of his corporate environment to having major surgery and a reduced lifestyle that would have sent most people scurrying for the exit. He moved from high energy to barely able to muster the ability to walk. Instead of giving up on life, he determined he could contribute to the future of others. He accepted a job as the CFO of a large and growing church. The job required developing a growth plan for the financial resources of the congregation, monitoring the cash flow of the church, and developing a useable budget that could safely manage the resources available for ministry. He used all the mental resources he had mustered over the years in the corporate world to help the church. His appointment was absolutely a placement by God because the church has achieved fantastic growth that would have buried most without proper planning and maximum use of resources. Terry’s planning and oversight have been the foundation that provided a great church the ability to properly develop and move forward with its ministry. He is a great resource and he is the first to say that he has never had such satisfaction in his life, because now he knows he is where God wants him. He didn’t quit when most would have, but instead he has flown free of what was encumbering his life to a completely new opportunity. When faced with a crisis, often determining that you are not going to quit takes fortitude and a plan. Your courage makes a big difference to the people around you. The success of your example in handling a problem can help others find the fortitude to develop their own plan. It is tough to go forward when there is a crisis but it makes a tremendous difference to see progress through the challenges of others. All of us who are blessed to know Terry, Howard, and Richard are inspired by their courage and diligence in life. It is inspiring to see people decide on an action and follow through with a solid landing. Are you going to quit dreaming about the future because of your crisis or are you going to find a new way of living and inspire others to go forward? You are the only one who can determine the course of your life. You can lean forward or be knocked on your rear end by a major challenge. Leaning forward is a good step and it makes it tougher to fall backward. You decide. You are the only who can make a determination not to pity yourself and to move forward. “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 (NIV) --- **Next chapter:** Use All the Available Runway – Trusted Advisors **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md