Thanksgiving and praise given by Get High on Life

Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 18, 2000

MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / November 18, 2000

LAPLACE – Trust in God and Loving People.

That was the theme of the breakfast held by the Get High on Life foundationFriday morning at the LaPlace Holiday Inn. The breakfast was attended byseniors from the Riverside Academy and St. Charles Catholic High Schoolfootball teams, local public officials and members of the community.

Danny Louque led the gathering in the opening prayer and Kane Keller in thePledge of Allegiance. Dianna Duffy sang the National Anthem and America theBeautiful.

Gus Kinchen, a member of the 1958 National Champion LSU football team,was the guest speaker. Kinchen said being on that team gave him theopportunity to spread God’s word.

“I was an ordinary man doing ordinary things and was able to have anextraordinary opportunity because of that team. I thank God for theopportunity of being able to praise God for the good things in my life.”Kinchen talked about how every athlete knows there will be setbacks insports and that they have to overcome those setbacks and get on with life.

“It’s not the wins, not the losses that’s important,” Kinchen said. “It’s whatyou become because of them.”Kinchen also talked about the “agony of winning,” the pain and work anathlete has to go through to be successful. He mentioned the great athleteswho have gone through that pain, including gold medal speed skater DanJanzen, who weathered a fall in the Olympics and is now a successfulbusinessman. Kinchen also talked about his son, Todd, who played wide receiver at LSU andin the NFL and went through 16 surgeries on his knees. And of his other son,Brian, who overcame being one of the last players drafted to become astarting tight end for Cleveland. And how, after being beaten out for thestarting spot, that his role was to be an inspiration to his teammates and togive glory to God.

“God doesn’t care if you win or lose but that you gain the prize and that prizeis a relationship with Him,” Gus Kinchen said.

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