'Fat Man' still restless (May 2006)

Seven months after finishing his much-publicized walk across the country to lose weight, Steve Vaught is the first to admit things have not turned out the way he imagined.

A lucrative book deal he had hoped would launch his career as a writer is entangled in a legal mess, leaving him owing tens of thousands of dollars to his publisher. Offers for jobs and endorsements have dried up, a documentary shot about his walk has yet to emerge, and he is working the graveyard shift as a tow truck driver, a job he had hoped to have left behind and only took because he was one step from homelessness.

Renting a room in a converted old hotel in downtown San Diego, the former Valley Center resident also has lost touch with the thousands of people who had regularly visited his Web site, TheFatManWalking.com, because of computer problems. In his last update, Dec. 11, he wrote about adjusting to being divorced and visiting his two children, battling temptations and still being unsure about what to do next.

Despite his situation and admitted mistakes, "I have no regrets about the walk itself," he said in a recent phone interview. "None whatsoever."

Vaught's 13-month walk across the country ended with his arrival in New York City in May. Initially a means of losing weight after all else had failed, Vaught's trek captured the imagination of many people, who saw his journey as an inspiration and followed his trek through his Web site or worldwide news reports. He was a guest on the "Today" show and other national programs upon his arrival in New York and still is recognized by people.

A documentary crew periodically followed Vaught across the country, and the filmmaker is shopping for a distributor. Vaught flew to Dallas earlier this year to see the film, which he said he enjoyed.

A book on the walk was due last summer, but Vaught did not approve of how a ghostwriter chosen by publisher HarperCollins interpreted his story. Vaught said the dispute became personal, derailing any chance to negotiate a rewrite. His last offer from the publisher was permission to take his story elsewhere, but only after fully repaying his advance, which Vaught said he split with his wife. As for his own half, he said he spent it all on expenses during his yearlong walk.

Because of a most unusual circumstance, however, a chance to renegotiate with HarperCollins may be possible after all. Vaught said his personal dispute had been with Judith Regan, who was fired from HarperCollins this month after her handling of the O.J. Simpson book, "If I Did It."

Besides the book deal, Vaught said he was disillusioned by other offers made while he was on the road.

"A lot of people said a lot of things, and I bought into it," he said. "A lot of things that I came to expect to happen, as a result of the publicity and all, were slow to happen."

Dietitians and health experts who made offers during Vaught's trek stopped returning his phone calls after the walk, he said.

Vaught started his walk when he was 39 and weighed 410 pounds. He got moving because he feared he would not live to see his children grow up. He had lost 100 pounds by the end of the walk, although Vaught said he came to realize there were more efficient ways to lose weight. His weight is about 365 today.

"I'm not doing as well as I could as far as food and diet," he said. "A lot of that is having such an irregular lifestyle now, living in a refrigerator and not having much money. You're sort of in a survival mode rather than trying to refine your eating habits."

-- Staff writer Gary Warth

Teen still has all the right moves (August 2006)

The last time we spoke with Oceanside's Jade Gilley, the 13-year-old singer/dancer who is part of the Disney pop band the T-Squad, she was busy rehearsing for a tour to begin in August and enjoying having the most requested song on Radio Disney, a single called "Graduation."

Now, nearly six months later,the band is touring, starting in November in San Jose. They have also performed in Valencia, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando and Atlanta, but were snowed out of Chicago. Still left on the tour are stops in Hartford, Conn., and New York, ending with New Year's Eve in Boston.

"I've performed in more concerts than I've been to," said Gilley with a smile.

The four members of the band, originally named the Truth Squad but now simply T-Squad, are all but signed with Walt Disney Records. "Only thing left to do is sign the final revision of the contract," said Jade's father, John Gilley, a manager for AT&T in Oceanside.

The band has already recorded about eight tracks for their new album, set to be released in March 2007. They're still working on the rest, traveling to Los Angeles a few times a week to record and rehearse.

The first single, "Vertical," recorded for the soundtrack of the Disney Channel Original movie "Jump In" to be released in January, came out earlier this month and can be purchased on iTunes. The video is also continuously played on the Disney Channel.

"Corbin Blue plays this boy whose father wants him to be a boxer, but he's really good at double-dutching (jumprope)," explained Gilley of the movie.

"It was so hot in the studio when we shot the video," she added. "It was like 95 degrees, and I was in leggings and long sleeves."

The group's next single will be "Second Star," a remake of an original Disney song that will be on the soundtrack for Buena Vista's redigitalized version for the "Peter Pan" Platinum Edition, also to be released early next year. The band has already shot the video and recorded the single.

All the young members of the T-Squad are talented singers and dancers, but Gilley is the most proficient dancer. "I've been dancing the longest," she says modestly. "And I like all kinds of dance -- jazz, ballet, hip-hop, clogging, everything."

Gilley is also a normal, well-adjusted "tween" whose parents do not allow her to date yet. The eighth-grader at Roosevelt Middle School was just elected "Most Daring Dance Moves" for the yearbook.

She says she is not interested in getting a tattoo or piercings, just in working really hard at getting ahead in the entertainment business.

"As a little girl I wanted to be a pop star just like Britney Spears, but I never thought I would," she said.

-- Staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster

Stan! trading up, vows to do better (February 2006)

Vista resident Stan! (yes, that's his name) has a New Year's Resolution. He wants to spend more time on his Web site, www.onerobotdog.com, so that next year he will get closer to his ultimate goal -- to trade up from a inexpensive collection of gaming convention memorabilia to an Aibo, Sony's discontinued robotic dog.

"I have utter faith that this will succeed," said Stan! in a recent telephone interview. "But you have to work it if you want to succeed, and I have not put the extra work in to find creative ways to bring it full speed. I am not less committed to making this happen. I just have to get my priorities straight."

Throughout the year, he said, he allowed himself to "get distracted" with conventions, seminars, and his real job as the Creative Content Manager for Upper Deck Entertainment.

Stan's idea has been something less than an overnight success. Unlike Canadian Kyle MacDonald, who made international news when he traded up to a house from a single red paper clip, Stan is still struggling to make trades. To date, he has made only three.

Starting with a collection of Dungeon & Dragons memorabilia, Stan! traded up to a Magic: the Gathering card called "Birds of Paradise (foil Ravnica edition)" worth about $50. From there, he traded for a MechWarriors constructible miniatures factory set worth between $80 and $125.

Then, this summer, he traded to a Schwinn 235i stationery exercise bike, which is where he is now. "My goal was to get out of the obscure realm," he said. "I have some cachet in the geek world, and the first things were very niche. I wanted to trade for something more broadly popular because the marketer in me thinks this is how I will get a chance to have more people notice me."

And getting noticed is how Stan! believes he will eventually trade up to his goal. "It doesn't matter how cool the thing is if people don't know about," he said simply.

Stan! said he wants his Aibo more than ever. "I got to meet him and interact with him in June," he said. "I knew how cool they were. I had all of the specs and read all about artificial intelligence, but what I was not ready for was how charming these robots are."

Since Stan! started his Web site, the price of the Aibo has risen. But he is not the least bit deterred and remains philosophical about his quest.

"The thing I think is most interesting about the whole thing is that everyone has something that technically is valuable to someone, but not valuable to them."

-- Staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster

SM man standing up to Alzheimer's (July 2006):

Don Hayen says he is fine, and thanks for asking.

Last July, the North County Times reported on how Hayen was courageously sharing his personal ordeal with Alzheimer's on a Web site, which he hoped to update as long as his deteriorating condition would allow.

"I always have to ask myself when I forget a name or lose my keys, 'Is this a sign that I'm getting worse?'" Hayen said.

Because his condition was caught early and he is on medication, Hayen's condition has not changed noticeably in the last six months. But he isn't kidding himself. Alzheimer's is a fatal disease, and he may face a long descent into dementia before it finally claims him.

The retired dermatologist, 73, has no plans to go quietly. Besides taking medications, he is fighting the disease by exercising his mind with Sudoku and online computer games.

"If you sit around and suck your thumb, you're going to become a vegetable much quicker," he said.

On Hayen's Web site, http://www.TheTripOver.com, he writes about his condition, links to sites with medical information and corresponds with others who have Alzheimer's and their caregivers. "I've picked up quite a large following," Hayen said. "I have about 700 or 800 readers a week."

Since July, Hayen has moved from Oceanside to a smaller Lake San Marcos home with his wife, Jane, and went on a book tour in his home state of Kansas to promote his self-published book, "Moonshine Harvest," set in Kansas circa 1948. He is working on its sequel.

"I'm plugging along," he said. "I think it's a better book than the first one."

Hayen's daughter, Jenni Gafford of Oceanside, was his agent during his book tour, calling local media, bookstores and libraries to set up appearances.

"My dad jokes that I started talking at eight months and never shut up," Gafford said about her promotional skills. "It was fun because I really believed in what I was doing."

Just as Hayen shows no signs of the disease that is threatening him, his bubbly and beautiful daughter also looks the picture of health sitting next to him on a couch, where the two reminisced about their summer trip to the Midwest. But this past year, Gafford, 42, has come to terms with a disease that could take her life before her father's.

Gafford has lupus, an autoimmune disease that is attacking her organs. It had been in remission this year, but now is progressing. The disease has left her with an enlarged heart, and she is being tested for a possible heart transplant. Her medication has caused osteoporosis, which has left her bones so brittle that hugs have broken her ribs.

"Sometimes, my dad and I have a lot in common," she said. "We're just gotten a lot tighter. When your life is being challenged, you really take every moment as the most important moment there is. Every moment is special. I don't end any conversation without saying, 'I love you.'"

The news about her condition, especially her heart, was understandably hard for Gafford, the mother of two teenage boys. But with the help of friends and family, and especially the role model of her father, she said she has remained positive.

"My dad taught me the definition of class is not what you own or what you drive or what you wear, but how you treat yourself and other people," she said. "The other thing he taught me is, it's not the money and things you leave when you go, it's how you make them feel. With that kind of perspective, it's really easy to walk through life knowing what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

Likewise, Hayen said his resolute daughter's high spirits and optimism have been a source of strength.

"People don't prepare for the inevitable," Hayen said. "You know, we're all going to die. It's not that it's going to happen the next day and you have to give up. To me, it says you've got limited time left, and you have to take full advantage of it. It's turned me into a positive person. I'm much more direct than I used to be. When you think you have all the time in the world, you tend to waste it."

Gafford isn't letting her illness slow her down. Having been bedridden before -- the lupus was first diagnosed about 17 years ago -- she said she would rather go out with friends than stay at home, even when she doesn't feel well. Despite her brittle bones, she also is planning a ski trip.

A father and daughter sharing such dire medical problems could shake the faith of either, but Gafford and Hayen said they hope to use their conditions to help others who have similar health issues. Both can be reached through Hayen's Web site.

"I believe things happen to us so we will be there for other people," Gafford said. "We're here to help each other."

-- Staff writer Gary Warth

Chip Rumis still working to rebuild after Katrina (November 2005):

Though Hurricane Katrina is fading into memory, for Chip Rumis the calling to help rebuild churches destroyed in the disaster is as strong as ever.

The Ramona race car driver who started a nonprofit community of faith ministry called Adopt-a-Church has worked with a crew on eight churches since Hurricane Katrina, two from the ground up.

"We have a crew of 14 of us working around the clock," said Rumis of one of the mission's last projects, St. Mark's, an African Methodist Episcopal church in Waveland, Miss. "It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding. All that was there were the block walls standing. We put in all the plumbing, electrical, drywall, pews, carpeting … and a 14-foot steeple that we are putting on every church because I know the supplier. It's our signature thing now."

Rumis' next project is to rebuild Fuente de Amor, a Christian home for orphans in Galliana, Mexico, with Bobby Shurden, a pastor at Crestview Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss. "We stayed in his parking lot for three months (while rebuilding churches there) and we are close friends," said Rumis.

"What we want to do is help people in need and we thought this was something we could give back to him … I feel very good about this, because it is something he feels good about." Rumis added he is only helping coordinate the project, which he estimates will take four weeks.

"Our money is still going to stay in Mississippi," added Rumis, who estimates that his mission has raised more than $150,000 so far with about $45,000 still in the bank. "In April, we are going to start a new project in Mississippi. Every few months we go down and talk to the people."

Rumis said the mission plans to build a handful of homes for Mississippians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. "We are trying to help people who are not capable of helping themselves," he said. "I kind of interview them. That's how I did it with the churches. I interviewed 37 churches and the Lord just pulled us in the right direction."

-- Staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster

Poway boat-builders start charity for fishermen (May 2005)

Leland Parsons just can't stop building boats.

After spending 29 years building the Frank Edmund schooner outside his Poway home, Parsons is strapping on his toolbelt again and is busy at work on another boat.

This time, however, he won't be starting from scratch. Parsons is refurbishing a 1927 Monterey, a 38-foot boat originally used as a fishing vessel, and he hopes to use it to launch a drive to raise money for scholarships to families of fishermen.

"I hope to have it launched in the middle of May," Parsons said from aboard the Frank Edmund, docked at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. "It depends on how fast funds come in."

Parsons bought the old fishing boat for one penny after learning that it was doomed to either the wrecking yard or a playground. Once it is refurbished, it will be used as a harbor tour boat, with proceeds from rides going to the Pillar Point Educational Fund Inc., which Parsons established with his wife, Cecily.

"The nicest thing about it is it gives the fishermen a chance to talk one-on-one with an audience about the plight of the fishermen, and how difficult it is to make a buck in fishing these days with all the rules and regulations," Parsons said. "Not that the rules were not necessary to help restock the fishing bank, but they don't seem to be in favor of the fishermen."

In 2005, Parsons launched the Frank Edmund, a 65-foot gaff-rigged schooner he built over 29 years. The tale of the boat-builder who wouldn't quit captivated the county, and people lined the street and watched on television as the schooner was hauled from Poway to Mission Bay in May of that year.

The Parsonses had plans to sail the boat around the world with paying guests. So far they have made it only up the California coast, and Parsons said he dropped anchor at Pillar Point because it looked like his childhood hometown of Gloucester, Mass.

"It was our next stop on the way to San Francisco," he said about Half Moon Bay. "We came into the harbor, and it reminded me so much of home. It's a fishing harbor, and it must have 150 neat old fishing boats, from the Montereys up to the big steel hulls."

Parsons said he noticed the big harbor had no harbor cruiser, and soon learned about the plight of the Irene, a fishing boat that had been built between 1912 and 1924. After buying it, he formed the nonprofit organization and started refurbishing the Irene.

"My son (Reed) asked me how long it would take, and I said four months, and he started laughing at me," Parsons said. "He seemed to think that it was funny that I, who spent 29 years building a boat, would take less than that to do a remodel."

As for the Frank Edmund, the schooner continues to sail perfectly, he said.

"Life aboard the Frank Edmund is as much as we had ever dreamed it would be, and more," Parsons said. "It's a fun life."

The couple's next stop will be Seattle this summer. Next winter, or the one after, they plan to sail to the Caribbean. Someday, they will return to their original plan of taking paying customers with them.

"We've been having so damn much fun doing it like this, we haven't done anything about it," he said about his charter business.

To contribute tax-deductible donations to the scholarship fund, write to Pillar Point Education Fund, Inc., 1 Johnson Pier, Number 58, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.

-- Staff writer Gary Warth

SM man standing up to Alzheimer's (July 2006):

Don Hayen says he is fine, and thanks for asking. Last July, the North County Times reported on how Hayen was courageously sharing his personal ordeal with Alzheimer's on a Web site, which he hoped to update as long as his deteriorating condition would allow.

"I always have to ask myself when I forget a name or lose my keys, 'Is this a sign that I'm getting worse?'" Hayen said.

Because his condition was caught early and he is on medication, Hayen's condition has not changed noticeably in the last six months. But he isn't kidding himself. Alzheimer's is a fatal disease, and he may face a long descent into dementia before it finally claims him.

The retired dermatologist, 73, has no plans to go quietly. Besides taking medications, he is fighting the disease by exercising his mind with Sudoku and online computer games.

"If you sit around and suck your thumb, you're going to become a vegetable much quicker," he said.

On Hayen's Web site, http://www.TheTripOver.com, he writes about his condition, links to sites with medical information and corresponds with others who have Alzheimer's and their caregivers. "I've picked up quite a large following," Hayen said. "I have about 700 or 800 readers a week."

Since July, Hayen has moved from Oceanside to a smaller Lake San Marcos home with his wife, Jane, and went on a book tour in his home state of Kansas to promote his self-published book, "Moonshine Harvest," set in Kansas circa 1948. He is working on its sequel.

"I'm plugging along," he said. "I think it's a better book than the first one."

Hayen's daughter, Jenni Gafford of Oceanside, was his agent during his book tour, calling local media, bookstores and libraries to set up appearances.

"My dad jokes that I started talking at eight months and never shut up," Gafford said about her promotional skills. "It was fun because I really believed in what I was doing."

Just as Hayen shows no signs of the disease that is threatening him, his bubbly and beautiful daughter also looks the picture of health sitting next to him on a couch, where the two reminisced about their summer trip to the Midwest. But this past year, Gafford, 42, has come to terms with a disease that could take her life before her father's.

Gafford has lupus, an autoimmune disease that is attacking her organs. It had been in remission this year, but now is progressing. The disease has left her with an enlarged heart, and she is being tested for a possible heart transplant. Her medication has caused osteoporosis, which has left her bones so brittle that hugs have broken her ribs.

"Sometimes, my dad and I have a lot in common," she said. "We're just gotten a lot tighter. When your life is being challenged, you really take every moment as the most important moment there is. Every moment is special. I don't end any conversation without saying, 'I love you.'"

The news about her condition, especially her heart, was understandably hard for Gafford, the mother of two teenage boys. But with the help of friends and family, and especially the role model of her father, she said she has remained positive.

"My dad taught me the definition of class is not what you own or what you drive or what you wear, but how you treat yourself and other people," she said. "The other thing he taught me is, it's not the money and things you leave when you go, it's how you make them feel. With that kind of perspective, it's really easy to walk through life knowing what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

Likewise, Hayen said his resolute daughter's high spirits and optimism have been a source of strength.

"People don't prepare for the inevitable," Hayen said. "You know, we're all going to die. It's not that it's going to happen the next day and you have to give up. To me, it says you've got limited time left, and you have to take full advantage of it. It's turned me into a positive person. I'm much more direct than I used to be. When you think you have all the time in the world, you tend to waste it."

Gafford isn't letting her illness slow her down. Having been bedridden before -- the lupus was first diagnosed about 17 years ago -- she said she would rather go out with friends than stay at home, even when she doesn't feel well. Despite her brittle bones, she also is planning a ski trip.

A father and daughter sharing such dire medical problems could shake the faith of either, but Gafford and Hayen said they hope to use their conditions to help others who have similar health issues. Both can be reached through Hayen's Web site.

"I believe things happen to us so we will be there for other people," Gafford said. "We're here to help each other."

-- Staff writer Gary Warth

Chip Rumis still working to rebuild after Katrina (November 2005):

Though Hurricane Katrina is fading into memory, for Chip Rumis the calling to help rebuild churches destroyed in the disaster is as strong as ever.

The Ramona race car driver who started a nonprofit community of faith ministry called Adopt-a-Church has worked with a crew on eight churches since Hurricane Katrina, two from the ground up.

"We have a crew of 14 of us working around the clock," said Rumis of one of the mission's last projects, St. Mark's, an African Methodist Episcopal church in Waveland, Miss. "It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding. All that was there were the block walls standing. We put in all the plumbing, electrical, drywall, pews, carpeting … and a 14-foot steeple that we are putting on every church because I know the supplier. It's our signature thing now."

Rumis' next project is to rebuild Fuente de Amor, a Christian home for orphans in Galliana, Mexico, with Bobby Shurden, a pastor at Crestview Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss. "We stayed in his parking lot for three months (while rebuilding churches there) and we are close friends," said Rumis.

"What we want to do is help people in need and we thought this was something we could give back to him … I feel very good about this, because it is something he feels good about." Rumis added he is only helping coordinate the project, which he estimates will take four weeks.

"Our money is still going to stay in Mississippi," added Rumis, who estimates that his mission has raised more than $150,000 so far with about $45,000 still in the bank. "In April, we are going to start a new project in Mississippi. Every few months we go down and talk to the people."

Rumis said the mission plans to build a handful of homes for Mississippians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. "We are trying to help people who are not capable of helping themselves," he said. "I kind of interview them. That's how I did it with the churches. I interviewed 37 churches and the Lord just pulled us in the right direction."

-- Staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster

Poway boat-builders start charity for fishermen (May 2005)

Leland Parsons just can't stop building boats.

After spending 29 years building the Frank Edmund schooner outside his Poway home, Parsons is strapping on his toolbelt again and is busy at work on another boat.

This time, however, he won't be starting from scratch. Parsons is refurbishing a 1927 Monterey, a 38-foot boat originally used as a fishing vessel, and he hopes to use it to launch a drive to raise money for scholarships to families of fishermen.

"I hope to have it launched in the middle of May," Parsons said from aboard the Frank Edmund, docked at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. "It depends on how fast funds come in."

Parsons bought the old fishing boat for one penny after learning that it was doomed to either the wrecking yard or a playground. Once it is refurbished, it will be used as a harbor tour boat, with proceeds from rides going to the Pillar Point Educational Fund Inc., which Parsons established with his wife, Cecily.

"The nicest thing about it is it gives the fishermen a chance to talk one-on-one with an audience about the plight of the fishermen, and how difficult it is to make a buck in fishing these days with all the rules and regulations," Parsons said. "Not that the rules were not necessary to help restock the fishing bank, but they don't seem to be in favor of the fishermen."

In 2005, Parsons launched the Frank Edmund, a 65-foot gaff-rigged schooner he built over 29 years. The tale of the boat-builder who wouldn't quit captivated the county, and people lined the street and watched on television as the schooner was hauled from Poway to Mission Bay in May of that year.

The Parsonses had plans to sail the boat around the world with paying guests. So far they have made it only up the California coast, and Parsons said he dropped anchor at Pillar Point because it looked like his childhood hometown of Gloucester, Mass.

"It was our next stop on the way to San Francisco," he said about Half Moon Bay. "We came into the harbor, and it reminded me so much of home. It's a fishing harbor, and it must have 150 neat old fishing boats, from the Montereys up to the big steel hulls."

Parsons said he noticed the big harbor had no harbor cruiser, and soon learned about the plight of the Irene, a fishing boat that had been built between 1912 and 1924. After buying it, he formed the nonprofit organization and started refurbishing the Irene.

"My son (Reed) asked me how long it would take, and I said four months, and he started laughing at me," Parsons said. "He seemed to think that it was funny that I, who spent 29 years building a boat, would take less than that to do a remodel."

As for the Frank Edmund, the schooner continues to sail perfectly, he said.

"Life aboard the Frank Edmund is as much as we had ever dreamed it would be, and more," Parsons said. "It's a fun life."

The couple's next stop will be Seattle this summer. Next winter, or the one after, they plan to sail to the Caribbean. Someday, they will return to their original plan of taking paying customers with them.

"We've been having so damn much fun doing it like this, we haven't done anything about it," he said about his charter business.

To contribute tax-deductible donations to the scholarship fund, write to Pillar Point Education Fund, Inc., 1 Johnson Pier, Number 58, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.

-- Staff writer Gary Warth