Letter: Love while you can
UPDATED: Photos of Crisp on the ride through Bluffton are added.
Bluffton High School graduate Sam Crisp shared the following on his August 31, 2024 accomplishment.
Bike across America, complete ✓
- 68 days
- 14 states
- 4,200 miles
- 175,000 feet of elevation gain/loss
- 6 National Parks
- 5 Great Lakes
As I jumped into the ice cold Pacific Ocean, I thought of many people - My brother, my dad, my grandparents, my girlfriend, my family and friends, my hometown community, my Warmshowers hosts, and all the random strangers that helped me make it across the country.
Then, something my mom told me started sinking in. She taught me that everything in this life is borrowed, and one day we’ll have to give it all back.
If this year has taught me anything, it would be - Love who you love while you can. Pursue what is meaningful to you while you can. Be kind to others (and yourself) while you can. And, despite the immense pain and suffering of life, do the most possible good while you can.
I am so grateful for what God has allowed me to borrow. I can’t thank you all enough for your support over the last 2.5 months, and the last year.
The journey is not over. Until next time.
Stories Posted This Week
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Saturday, September 26, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, September 26
- September 26 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- State Patrol investigates serious injury crash involving ambulance
- Weekend Doctor: What is a DO?
- Distance runner Chappell-Dick to be inducted in EMU Hall of Honor
- October Business Collective with Bluffton Food Pantry
Friday, September 25, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, September 25
- Clay, community, and the classroom
- Pirate volleyball loss vs. Crestview
- Pirate girls soccer win vs. Allen East
- Janine Elizabeth (Minnich) Millager, 87, was a lab technician
- Send October 2026 calendar events to the Icon
- New time for Planning and Bluffton Beyond Tomorrow meetings, Sept 29
- Pirate boys golf 10th at sectionals
- Fall Festival activities are all over Bluffton, Sept. 26
Thursday, September 24, 2026
- Marilyn Florence (Brunn) Osting, 94, was a nurse
- Paul Richard Wingate Jr., 79, worked for the Lima Ford Engine Plant
- Ada Icon headlines, Sept. 24
- Roundabouts celebrated for crash reduction
- Scarecrow competition for Bluffton businesses
- Hello, Goodbye: Diphenhydramine for allergies
- 5th Annual MHCO Gala will Roll Out the Red Carpet
- Funeral notice for Mary Louise Reddick
- ODNR urges caution during fall wildfire season
- Nursing student to share clinical research at First Tuesday in the Library
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- Chamber members take a lesson from Jacomet's Martial Arts
- Proud of your pie? Sept. 26 apple pie baking contest
- Save November 6-7 for Holiday Open House
- Friends of the Library book sale, Sept. 24-26
- Pirate girls golf places 6th at sectionals
- Pirate volleyball outlasts Grove
- Bluffton tennis wins on consecutive nights
- Pirate boys soccer edged by Liberty Center