ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, December 8, 1996               TAG: 9612090070
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-1  EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: Good Neighbors Fund
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER

DISABLED MAN LONGS FOR HIS WORKING DAYS

Douglas Mitchell, 49, grew up in Check, a tiny farming community in Floyd County. His father was a truck driver and often away from home, so his mother ran the farm - a few head of beef cattle, mostly - and he and his five brothers and sisters were expected to help out.

Mitchell enjoyed the country life. "I miss the old wood stove," he said. There were "always potatoes and beans a-cookin''' on it.

But by the time Mitchell was out of school, most of the small farmers had gone out of business, unable to compete with larger operations. So Mitchell became a truck driver like his father.

"I loved it," he said. "I got to see different people every day." He especially enjoyed the trips he took to Canada.

But in 1978, his back and legs were broken in a car accident. No longer able to work, Mitchell went on disability.

He is a man of few words, not much given to talking about himself.

"It's hard to keep going," he said about the pain he endures every day. He also suffers from depression. Although he has been disabled for 18 years, he still misses his hard-working life. He spends most of his days just "hanging out" with friends.

His $657 disability check covers rent and food, "and that's about it," he said. He has to depend on family, friends or charities, such as the Presbyterian Community Center, for all the extras.

He has come to the center for help with utility bills, and for food and medicine. This year, when his glasses broke, the center's caseworkers found the money to replace them. Some of it came from Roanoke Area Ministries' Emergency Financial Assistance program, which is supported by The Roanoke Times' Good Neighbors Fund.

"They treat me good here," he said.

In his spare time, Mitchell likes to do woodworking and to watch car racing. His favorite drivers are Dale Jarrett and Morgan Shepherd. If he has the money, he'll go watch a race "anywhere," he said.

Mitchell is looking forward to the holidays, he said. His two grown children will be with him; his mother, who also has moved to Roanoke and "gets around better than I do," is planning to cook a big Christmas dinner.

Checks made payable to the Good Neighbors Fund should be mailed to The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 1951, Roanoke 24008.

Names - but not donation amounts - of contributing businesses, individuals and organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed in the newspaper. Those requesting that their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, the donor's name will be listed.

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