Let's Get Walking Willie A New Adult Tricycle
Donation protected
For most of his 76 years, Willie James McNeil, affectionately known as "Walking Willie" in the Lyons community, has been taking care of the yards of many people. He rakes, picks up limbs and places everything neatly beside the road for the city to pick up. He requires little in return.
He loves to come to our church, the Lyons First United Methodist, and is so faithful in his attendance on Sunday morning that I dispatched the police to do a wellness check when he didn't show up one morning. He was fine and had a project going that kept him from going.
It's remarkable how he gets about town. He could be seen all over pushing his bicycle or in the post office greeting everyone. He rarely rides the bicycle because it usually is heavily laden with his yard cleaning tools and lunch for that day, making it awkward to ride it.
He knows everyone and is super inquisitive about what's happening in the lives of those he knows. He will ask questions incessantly and is often astonished at some of your answers to his steady stream of questions. With the most quizzical look, he will ask, "Why?" It is as if he is constantly trying to figure out the complexity of the world surrounding him.
When you give him instructions on what you want to be done in the yard or fuss at him for substituting plastic grocery bags for the socks you recently gave him, he sometimes gives you a wry smile and says, "Yes, daddy."
Willie is loved by many in town who enjoy his help keeping their yards neat and free of leaves or straw. His fans (count me as one) freely and lovingly give him what he asks for, like "a few dollars," a sandwich, ice cream (his favorite), or just a glass of water.
So, you can imagine the shock to the community when we learned that on December 6, 2022, Willie was struck by a car while riding his bicycle on US # 280 in front of Lowe's near Vidalia! He was taken to a hospital, but his injuries were thankfully minor, with only a few stitches to his head required to patch him up. But his bicycle was badly damaged.
I have opened this "GoFundMe" account to get enough money to buy Willie a new bicycle. Only this time, I want to get him an adult tricycle with a large basket on the back to carry his yard tools and things. The tricycle will be much more stable for him, given his age. It has only one gear, as his guardian told me he can't manage multiple gears. Willie never gets in a big hurry when traveling, so only one gear shouldn't be a hindrance.
Please contribute something to this fund to make Walking Willie mobile again. Any funds over what is needed to purchase the tricycle will be used for things Willie might need, like a helmet, bicycle security lock, new gardening tools, etc.
Organizer
Larry Griggers
Organizer
Lyons, GA