For the love of Jared

This following 2005 article in Kansas City Sports & Fitness is one of the most inspirational stories I’ve ever written in nearly 25 years in the writing profession. It was about a wonderful man named Tom Coones, who competed in the Kansas City Mid-America chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training. Tom was the first person in the Mid-America chapter to win the TNT Triple Crown award. At the time of our interview, Coones, who first ran the New York City Marathon in 1991, had participated in 10 events (eight marathons and two triathlons) and was set to complete the 100-mile bike ride in June in Nevada.

He competed for his son Jared, who was diagnosed at age 2 with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). He was devastated after hearing the diagnosis, but decided to channel his tears and heartbreak into a positive channel and compete with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training. At the time of this story, Tom had raised about $100,000 since 1991.

Sadly and painfully, Jared died on Oct. 5, 1998. But his dad persisted in his fight and continued to compete in the program. He told me he runs “in memory of my son,” but I wrote  he “also competes for the 700,000 Americans living with blood cancer, including the local “Honored Patients” he’s matched up with. It is Jared, though, who provides his greatest inspiration.”

I have so much respect and true admiration for Tom Coones, who pushed the limits of his body and the human spirit to compete for his son and all those living with blood cancer. He competed each time wearing Jared’s picture button by his heart.

Here’s how I ended the story:

“What’s really neat is people will come up to me and say, ‘You’re Jared’s dad,’” Coones said.  “That’s the best thing anybody can say to me.”

Tom, you are my hero and a hero to so many people, including Jared, whose spirit and soul will live with you forever. I encourage many more people to get involved with the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training. It is an amazing program that is working to save countless lives. 

I was deeply humbled and flattered when Tom called me up after the story came out and left a heartfelt phone message:

"I wanted to let you know that I thought you did a great job with the article. My wife even commented how nice a job of telling our story you did. Thank you for helping us spread the word out about TNT. Hopefully we will get some participants from the article. Thanks again for taking the time to put the article together. I hope our paths cross again. Warmest regards, Tom.”

I appreciated Tom’s kindness so much. Here is that 2005 story in Kansas City Sports & Fitness on Tom Coones.

...

“Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.”

--Morrie Schwartz in Mitch Albom’s runaway bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie.

Sept. 28, 1990. 

 

For Tom Coones, this date is indelibly etched in his mind. That’s when his 2-year-old son Jared was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Coones was immediately overwhelmed with tears and heartache.

“I think the emotions were just shock and disbelief,” Coones recalled recently from his home in Olathe. “It was devastation. My first thought was that he was going to die soon. It was hard to come to grips with that.”

However, his devastation and sadness quickly turned to hope once he found out that over 80 percent of children with ALL survive. Coones and his wife, Jayne, hoped and prayed that Jared would be one of these kids. 

About six months later, Coones read a company newsletter about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training (Kansas City Mid-America chapter) looking for people to train and run the New York City Marathon in November 1991. TNT is the world's largest endurance sports training program, and the leading fundraising campaign of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Participants receive personalized coaching and training to run or walk a marathon, cycle a century bike ride or do a triathlon. In return, the competitors raise funds to invest in research to find cures for blood cancers and help improve the lives of patients and their families.

Coones, 45, felt getting involved was the perfect way to help Jared and hopefully find a cure for leukemia. So he ran the New York City Marathon in 1991, and hasn’t stopped running and competing since. Nearly 14 years later, Coones has participated in 10 events (eight marathons and two triathlons), and when he completes the 100-mile bike ride June 5th in Lake Tahoe, Nev., Coones will become the first person in the Mid-America chapter to win the TNT Triple Crown award.

“That’s kind of special,” said Coones, who has raised about $100,000 since 1991.

And he does it all with love for Jared, who battled valiantly for eight years before his death on Oct. 5, 1998. While he runs “in memory of my son,” Coones also competes for the 700,000 Americans living with blood cancer, including the local “Honored Patients” he’s matched up with. It is Jared, though, who provides his greatest inspiration.  

Whenever he hits the “wall” in training or competing in a marathon or triathlon, he thinks of his late son. He remembers the day Jared was diagnosed, his fearless courage, his magnetic smile, his laugh, his love for pumpkins and total zest for life. Coones touches the button by his heart with a picture of Jared and recalls his pride and joy who never complained once about his chemotherapy treatment, even when undergoing a bone marrow transplant in 1994. He’ll close his eyes, call Jared’s name out loud, and say a prayer and ask him “for some strength and courage to keep moving.”

 

 So Coones takes that next step. He pushes on. He celebrates Jared’s life and memory.

 

“I couldn’t even begin to compare any kind of physical discomfort of training or even doing one of these events to what Jared went through, and all patients, what they go through,” Coones said. “If it somehow helps maybe pushing us towards getting a cure, I can do that. That’s my contribution.”

Coones, help desk manager for Yellow Roadway Technologies, urges others to join the TNT family and become part of the mission and change their lives forever. Kristen Johnson, development director for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Mid-America chapter, feels blessed to have such a caring person as Coones contributing to the cause.

“He’s a real unique individual,” Johnson said. “He’s an amazing human being.”

Coones, who has made a lifetime of friends training and competing these past 14 years with TNT, admits he questioned himself about doing another TNT event after Jared passed away. When Jared was alive, Coones said running a marathon affirmed that his son “was doing good and continuing to stay strong.”  He didn’t know if he had the strength or will to compete in the marathon in San Diego without Jared, just a year after his death.

But he did.  

 

“My wife and I had talked about it, and we knew that Jared would want me to keep going and to know that our work isn’t done yet until we can stop this disease,” Coones said softly.

He now paused for a few moments; his voice began to crack. “Going back in 1999 with him in heaven was hard,” Coones said.

Life hasn’t exactly been easy for Coones these past three years, either. Jayne, who walked a marathon in Oregon for TNT in 1997, has had a “pretty challenging ride herself” since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Jayne has had two recurrences of the cancer since then, and currently goes in for treatment once a week. Coones said his wife showed the same strength and courage in fighting cancer that Jared had.

 

 “In some ways, he really prepared us for this battle and journey that Jayne’s in right now, just everything that he went through,” Coones said.

Coones, who never dreamed of running a marathon before joining TNT, uses his training as a way of dealing with these tough times. He has greatly improved his life in how he copes with his emotions.

“When Jared was going through his fight, having that physical outlet probably helped me more than I realized,” said Coones, who has two kids: Meghan, 15, and John Jared, 4. “It kept me strong when I needed to be there for my family. I think I’ve found that to be true now as I’ve continued.”

With all that Coones and his family have endured, he views each day as a great gift. Coones has learned to savor the moment, to enjoy each breath, and live each day with hope and wonder.

 “Overall, I think, without a doubt, it’s really increased my perspective and strengthened my faith, and just helped me appreciate what’s important in life — your family, your friends, and relationships you develop,” Coones said. “That’s really what it’s about.”

After completing the 100-mile bike ride in Lake Tahoe, Coones is aiming to tackle the New York City Marathon again next year. After all, he promised Jared many years ago that they’d both run in New York when he turned 18, which is the required minimum age to run the New York City Marathon.

“That was my goal, my dream,” Coones said.

 So Coones plans to be in New York and run for Jared, who would have been 18 next year. He could have it no other way. And he’s not going to hold back and stop there. Not now, not after all these years. He has to keep running, biking, and swimming. Coones wants to continue Jared’s legacy and spirit, and keep stretching the unlimited possibilities of the mind.

“I can’t imagine not doing it,” he said. “Until we get to that point where we can say we’ve stopped the disease or there’s a cure, maybe that will be the time when I can stop participating. It still helps me. Even after six years since his passing, he’s still a big part of my life. I know he’d want me to be out there.”

And each time he competes, Coones will wear Jared’s picture button by his heart, so he’s never too far away.

“What’s really neat is people will come up to me and  say, ‘You’re Jared’s dad,’” Coones said.  “That’s the best thing anybody can say to me.”

Testimonials from a Writing Life

                                                      Interviewing Royals All-Star pitcher Jose Rosado (1999)

I never entered the writing profession for testimonials and endorsements. I chose to become a writer because that's who I am, what I identify most strongly about myself. I've always enjoyed putting words on paper and making stories come to life. I've written for as long as I can remember and can still recall the first poem I wrote in school in maybe second grade at Broken Arrow Elementary School on a piece of construction paper. As a child growing up in Lawrence, I used to write poetry to reflect my thoughts and what I was going through in life. I've always written my parents homemade greeting cards for birthdays and holidays, sharing my love with them through the written word. And now I cherish those cards more than ever since they have passed as I read the old cards and how much they meant to my life and my late parents' lives. 

I think I first realized the power my words had on other people when I wrote my dad a long, heartfelt letter as a teenager urging him to quit his longtime pipe smoking habit. After reading my letter, my dad was so moved by my words that he quit cold turkey and never smoked again. I first realized he had stopped when I was standing outside our house on the porch when my dear mom said dad read the letter and hadn't smoked all day. And he never smoked again. Dad always credited me for being the reason he stopped.  

I strongly believe words can move mountains, and that is such a defining example. Realizing later, I basically saved my dad's life. While I used to enjoy writing letters to the editor in college at KU to the Lawrence Journal-World about Kansas basketball, I'll never forget my first byline on a story I wrote for my Reporting I class in 1990 in the University Daily Kansan, a long feature on non-traditional students. I was the first student (and I believe the only one) in that class to have an article published in the UDK that semester. It was such a thrill to see my name in print for a story I worked on so tirelessly. While I've always loved to write, I think from that moment I found my calling and was hooked on becoming a professional writer.

I'm also inspired to write by this wonderful quote by the Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan: "Words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels." It is one of my all-time favorite quotes and says so much about the beauty of words and writing.

Now, after 30-plus years in the writing profession, I've written countless stories and interviewed people ranging from Hall of Famers like George Brett (Hall of Fame cover story), Phil Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, John Stockton, Larry Brown, Lynette Woodard and Charles Barkley to the common man/woman, including about 250 volunteers in the community in the Lawrence Journal-World and 60 and better. These inspiring people, who I viewed as my heroes, included rape, incest and cancer survivors, former homeless people, recovering alcoholics, businessmen, attorneys, doctors, dentists, nurses, and idealist college students who dreamed of changing the world. It was quite gratifying telling these stories and having people welcome me into their homes with open arms and hearts. I was so moved and humbled when I heard one of the volunteers cried when she read my story for the first time, believing I captured her sentiments so well.

In addition, I've interviewed thousands of other people, including entreprenneurs, fitness competitors, inspiring KU graduates, Miss Kansas Annika Wooton, high school athletes, Voice of the Jayhawks Brian Hanni and so many more. I've tried hard over the years to give extensive coverage to women's athletes. I've been a forerunner covering women's sports. I've always felt they work just as hard as the men, but don't receive enough media coverage. I'm definitely glad times are changing and the women's revolution is here. We must always remember the pioneers like Lynette Woodard and Nancy Lieberman who paved the way for Caitlin Clark and so many other great female athletes of today from a wide variety of sports.

Annika and I both got emotional when I asked her in person at a library in Wichita how the arts saved her life. As she paused for about 10 seconds, wiping tears from her eyes and composed herself (I composed myself, too, from my emotions), she spoke quite openly and candidly about being bullied in high school, having suicide thoughts and finding sanctuary in the art room and theater with like-minded people. That open-ended question and Annika's answer completely made that sidebar. We spoke for 80 minutes, and afterwards, she asked me if I had any more questions. She smiled and said I had her whole bio with me. I always do extensive research on my interview subjects, and this was especially the case with Annika, such a lovely, inspiring and genuine young woman. Thank you Annika for sharing your story with me, and helping people relate to what you went through in high school and overcome their tremendous adversity.

Looking back, I knew I had a gift for asking life-searching questions and getting people to open up to me and share the most intimate details of their lives when I interviewed this non-traditional female student in my Reporting I class at KU, taught by my legendary and now sadly beloved late professor Ted Frederickson ("Ted-Fred"). During the middle of my interview with this woman, she broke down and cried, telling me she had never told any of this information to a person in her life. I was grateful that she felt comfortable in confiding in me and letting me tell her story, just like countless people I've interviewed over the decades have done with me. 

My most inspirational story was likely about a KU graduate and Marysville, Kansas resident, Eric Swim, who traveled to Israel to donate his kidney to a 10-year-old boy named Moshiko. He saved Moshiko's life, and was hailed as a "big hero" in Israel, made front-page news, and met the Prime Minister and Holocaust survivors. This was about a 90-minute phone interview, as Eric kindly shared his fascinating story with me. While he wasn't Jewish like me, he and his wife closely observed Jewish customs. I was very humbled and flattered that Eric loved the story so much that he asked me to write a book about his story. While the timing wasn't right in my life at that time for this project, I'm forever grateful that Eric believed in me so much to write a book about his incredible and inspiring story.

In addition, I've written Where are They Now? stories on former KU athletes. This was a dream come true for me when I did this for acclaimed Jayhawk Insider from 1999 through 2003.  I'll never forget how thrilled I was when my editor Lauretta McMillen told me to go ahead and write these profiles. After I hung up the phone that morning, I went outside my home and took some deeply peaceful breaths and exhaled the start of a great new adventure.

I interviewed KU legends like Otto Schnellbacher and B.H. Born to walk-on basketball player T.J. Whatley. Some other former Jayhawks I interviewed for the Where Are They Now? profiles include George Mrkonic, Bruce Kallmeyer, Kurt Knoff, Terry Beeson, Angie Snider-Gonzales, Emmett Edwards (my first KU football hero), Dallas Dobbs, Delvin Williams, Frank Pattee (member of KU's 1947 Orange Bowl winning team and father of Erin Brockovich, who graduated from Lawrence High School in 1978, right between my brother in 1977 and sister in 1979), national champions Al Kelley and Bill Lienhard, friendly childhood classmate Chris Piper (Stephenson was his last name back then), Mark Randall, Alonzo Jamison, Terry Brown, and childhood heroes like my all-time favorite Jayhawk Tony Guy, Roger Morningstar, Dale Greenleee, Bruce Adams, Bucky Scribner, John Crawford and Booty Neal. 

I've written my articles over the years with the main motivation to do the best work possible and portray my subjects' true feelings. However, I'm only human so I can honestly say I've been overwhelmed and moved by the many endorsements and testimonials I've received. From the many thank-you calls from people like Randall and Rob Allen, Phog Allen's grandson, to the thank-you letters I've received and endorsements on LinkedIn, I owe these grand people many thanks and gratitude for their kindness, thoughtful words, and unwavering hearffelt compassion.

Here are some of the testimonials I've received during my writing career.

"That might have been the best article ever written about me."-- Mark Randall, former KU basketball star and NBA player, on my Where are they Now? story on him on Feb. 11, 2000.

"You have a gift." --Mark Randall, February 2000

"Thank you for your superior article you wrote about me for the Roger Hill Volunteer Center published in the Lawrence Journal-World recently. I believe your journalistic abilities were shown in the newspaper item to be with keen sensibility and emotional awareness in my voluntary services to persons attending the Douglas County Senior Center. Yours truly, Ailene Bocquin,"

"David Garfield did a very professional job conducting my interview and writing the story about me.  He is an accurate reporter and a most competent writer. You are quite fortunate to have his services! I would like to have four more copies of this particular issue if they are still available. My check in the amount of $15.00 is enclosed to cover the cost of these extra copies and their mailing. Your early response to this request will by greatly appreciated. Thank you! Very truly yours."  --Frank Pattee, former KU football standout, member of KU's first bowl team (Orange Bowl winner) and late father of Erin Brockovich, in a letter to my publisher of Jayhawk Insider, on Oct. 8, 1999

"Nice job David!! Frank." (personalized note to me in Pattee's letter to my publisher.

"You're the best writer we have." KC Sports publisher Jim MacDonald, who put me on the Royals beat my first year with the magazine (I started by covering KU hoops) and gave me the coveted assignment to write the Hall of Fame commemorative cover story issue and interview George Brett, picking myself over over writers who've been covering the Royals for a decade or two longer. 

"David, 1st (First), thanks for all your hard work! Don't ever think I don't know what a great job you are doing." --Amy Griggs, volunteer coordinator at Roger Hill Volunteer Center about my inspirational profiles on volunteers in the Lawrence community.

"Thank you for writing such a nice article and thanks for sending the two copies of the Jayhawk Insider. My phone interview with you and reading the article brought back a flood of great memories about KU and all of the fine people I have met. You’ve captured my feelings about my family well. I wish you good luck in your future endeavors."--Dale Greenlee, former KU basketball standout, on March 25, 2000

"Thank you very much for the two copies of Jayhawk Insider which I received last week. My compliments to you in the way the information was structured and presented. I thought it was handled in a very skillful way."

--Dallas Dobbs, two-time All-Big Seven selection under Phog Allen, on Jan. 21, 2002

"I was just giving you a call to thank you for really what I thought an outstanding article that you did on the Phog Allen story and my lower level memorabilia collection. I just wanted to call and let you know I appreciated all your good work. You really did an outstanding job. People actually thought it was far too articulate to be coming out of my mouth. I said, 'You're right. It's a young man named David Garfield, who did such a good job on that.'" --Rob Allen, Phog Allen's grandson, on Jan. 17, 2004

"David —Thank you very much for your contributions to our paper this year. Our paper is solid because of your efforts, which are greatly appreciated by me and our readers. Great job on Rob Allen (cover story)! I look forward to working with you in 2005. Happy Holidays to you  and your family." -Steven B. (Barouh), publisher of Kansas City Sports & Fitness in a letter to me.

"David —Great stories! Thanks for entertaining our readers."  Steven Barouh

"I wanted to let you know that I thought you did a great job with the article. My wife even commented how nice a job of telling our story you did. Thank you for helping us spread the word out about TNT. Hopefully we will get some participants from the article. Thanks again for taking the time to put the article together. I hope our paths cross again. Warmest regards, Tom.”

--Tom Coones, participant in the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society Team in Training, on June 15, 2005  

"Thanks to David Garfield for the great feature article on my life and fitness career."

  Myra Michaels on the front page of her website in 2004 on my cover story in June 2004. Myra, a world-class fitness competitor, was named Ms. Internet World 2003,.

'David requested an interview with me and wrote an article about my life and career as a fitness competitor for the Kansas City Sports and Fitness magazine. Our interview was very comprehensive and David did a great job of choosing the most interesting highlights and weaving them together into a great article. I was on the cover of Kansas City Sports and Fitness magazine that month and I credit David's great article to helping me get there." --Myra Schulze on Jan. 17, 2008

"It has been my privilege to work with David Garfield on multiple occasions in the past. The detailed research he conducts related to the subjects of his articles, his strong command of the English language, and ability to craft uncommon but interesting questions for interviews set him apart in the writing profession." --Gregory Kovsky, longtime president and CEO of IBA business brokerage firm, on June 29, 2009

"David and I write for the same monthly publication. I always make sure to read what he writes, even though I don't like the team he covers because he's knowledgeable about his subject and does a good job communicating it in an entertaining way." --David Smale on Sept. 15, 2011

"I have been interviewed by David on a couple of occasions and found him to be a professional in every sense of the word. As a writer, he has the ability to make the interview feel like a normal conversation and then portray it perfectly into a story that grabs people's interest. In my experience working with David, he always uses the quotes in the perfect context and always made me feel good about how I was portrayed. I would absolutely work with David again if the opportunity ever presented itself."--Brian Martin, former KU basketball standout and NBA player, on Aug. 27, 2014

"I had the privilege to be interviewed by David for a story he wrote on me as a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader for the Kansas City Sports & Fitness magazine. David did a great job interviewing me and made the conversation flow easily. He was very professional, asked great questions that were portrayed well in the article, and had a nice, easy-going personality which makes people feel very comfortable. I enjoyed reading the article and felt that it was an excellent representation of myself and the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleading organization. I highly recommend David for his professionalism, creative writing talents, and his strong work ethic." 

--Michelle Reiter on Jan. 28, 2016

"You are an inspiration, David. Thank you for sharing your talents." --Michelle Reiter on July 31, 2018

"Congratulations on a very fine profile of the legendary career of Tom Hedrick. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have Tom as an instructor and/or mentor can only echo your conclusion that he deservedly made it big." --John Nance, former staff writer of the National Broadcasting Company who later created the role of Judge Harrison Prescott for the Perry Mason TV series, on May 25, 2019

"You did a terrific job! I’m so glad they chose you to write the article and I’m really thrilled with how it came out. You’re a tremendous writer.  Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season." Brian Hanni, Voice of the Jayhawks, on Dec. 23, 2019

"How awesome! Thank you so much for your time and hard work putting together the article. It was so great to meet you - please let me know if I can ever do anything for you in the future!" --Paige Albert, owner of Something White Bridal Boutique (voted Kansas City's best bridal shop in 2020) on Feb. 28, 2020

"Wow. Took a lot of guts to write/publish this view into your soul. Much respect and admiration to you and for doing what you did. Again, wow!!! Great personal insight and self-reflections." --Phillip Hart, criminal justice advocate, on June 12, 2020 on my essay in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle about my lifetime of anti-Semitism and my journey toward embracing Judaism.

"This is extraordinary - you can weave the words." --Patrick Wilbur, technical business analyst and activist, on June 12, 2020 about my essay in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.

"Thank you so much for the copies of the magazine and for the incredibly thoughtful note. The article was amazing, thank you so much. We are very much looking forward to sharing it with all our friends and family. I really appreciate the way you captured our story and made it into a beautiful article! Thanks again!" --Tatum Clopton, pitching phenom from Free State High School in Lawrence KS, two-time Gatorade Kansas Softball Player of the Year in 2018-19 and 2019-2020, and No. 7 ranked player in the 2021 class by FloSoftball on March 15, 2021

"Beautiful. You are an artist painting with words." --Gregory Kovsky regarding my speech about my dad's Celebration of Life on April 23, 2021

"Very excited to be working on a project as professionals. I can't think of anyone I would rather have as the author of my American Dream Achieved profile series of entrepreneurs who IBA has successfully represented in the sale of their businesses." Gregory Kovsky on June 27, 2021

"Ideas circulating in the office for your next four articles after Jason Abboud. People are loving your stuff. I have the best staff writer in the world. You will get a per article raise for your next six. Compensation on performance is a business model I embrace. You are exceeding my high expectations and I was high on you at the start." Gregory Kovsky on Sept. 1, 2021.

"Oh David. What a wonderful piece. It just conveys so much-the love for AFH (Allen Fieldhouse) that so many readers can identify with, and a little (then bigger!) boy bonding with his dad over a shared love of basketball. I know that Goody (my dad) wouldn't have been such an aficionado of the game if you had not been so enthusiastic, so you both gave each other something. I just think that, whether the reader knows Goody and David or not, there is something for every reader in this piece. It was just great." Alice Lieberman, former professor of Social Welfare at KU and 1998 HOPE winner (Honor for the Outstanding Progressive Educator) Award, the only teaching excellence award given exclusively by students, on Dec. 11, 2021.

"David, Thank you for the 2 copies of KU Today & Tomorrow, and thank you for the wonderful article that captured the comaradarie of our team. The closeness we have and the joy to excel is a rare and beautiful combination. You were too kind with the the many quotes from me. My daughter loved the article. Hope all is well - Dale."  Dale Greenlee, former standout guard at KU, in a thank-you letter to me about my 50-year anniversary of the magical and miracle Kansas basketball 1973-74 team. August 2024

"Just read your fantastic, special to the Journal World. It’s very informative —and it really brings her to life. Great writing! Congratulations! Love, Harriet."  Harriet Lerner, renowned clinical psychologist whose New York Times bestselling book of The Dance of Anger, which has been translated in over 35 foreign languages, on my feature of KU women's basketball signee Mollie Ernstes in the Lawrence Journal-World. April 26, 2026.