Gotta Go Forward

People have called Jim Forrest Gump because of all the crazy things he’s done, like hooking in on the sidelines of two Super Bowls and walking the golf course fairways with John Daly when he won his first PGA Championship—when he had no legitimate reason to be at any of the events. “You have to write a book with all your stories,” friends urged Jim. “They make people laugh.” So, here they are, from collecting his neighbors’ trash in his wagon when he was a boy to his Beetle Bailey act in the U.S. Army to his fluky chats with actor Tom Selleck and Arnie and Winnie Palmer. The crazy stories are the funny bone of the book, but the stories of the people and places that shaped Jim’s life are the heart. His mother believed in him and taught him always to go forward and never look back. His wife, Bernice, who all Jim’s friends say will go straight to heaven for putting up with him, is the backbone of their family and Jim’s greatest role model. The patience and assistance of teachers and coaches at Calvert Hall High School and the University of Baltimore propelled a kid who could have easily flunked out of school into their Halls of Fame. Jim’s children, Cathy, Kim, Joe, and Tom, and ten grandchildren motivated him to succeed in his career so he could provide for them. His colleagues and friends at the Lincoln Financial Group made work fun and helped Jim succeed by reinforcing his strengths and compensating for his weaknesses. Irving Abramowitz, Jim’s boss and mentor at Lincoln, taught Jim that you can’t outgive God and guided him into his second mission in life—supporting children and families touched by dyslexia. The administrators, teachers, and families at the Jemicy School forever changed Jim’s family. Grace Fellowship Church, the Christian Business Men’s Connection, and godly counselors led Jim into a personal relationship with God and taught him to regard others as more important than himself. These are just some of the many people and communities Jim hopes to thank and honor in Gotta Go Forward with stories of their impact on his life.