THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190257
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
THERE WAS A TIME when Don Herring was depressed, angry and bitter.
The 38-year-old Suffolk native has been out of work for five years because of psoriatic arthritis, which affects all joints.
``There's a lot of pain, a lot of medication,'' he said.
But there's also a lot of love for his wife, Patricia, and their only child, Erin, a sophomore at Nansemond River High School and a rock music enthusiast.
At 15, Erin often relies on dear old dad to get her to concerts. A New Year's Eve concert at Hampton Coliseum, for instance, had them leaving Suffolk at 7 p.m. and returning at 2:45 the next morning.
After visiting a doughnut shop, Herring returned to the Coliseum parking lot and listened to the concert on the radio. Of about 11,000 kids there, he said, ``My daughter was the 11,000th out of there.''
Herring was able to transport Erin that day because it was one of those days he could get around.
``Some days, I can't get out of bed. It took me two days to do that after the concert.''
So, would he do it again? ``Yes, a thousand times over.''
Herring's chauffering days may end Feb. 11, when Erin is eligible for a driver's license.
He'll probably miss those trips. ``It would be easy to complain, or blame our youth for the bad,'' he said. ``Truth is, I see so much good, so much hope and potential in (them).''
Herring said he is happy, pain notwithstanding.
``If I don't always have a smile on my face, there's one in my heart,'' he said.
``I consider myself a person of deep faith. I believe all things happen for a reason - all of them good,'' he said. ``I'm blessed with a wonderful family, church family and family of friends.''
Last year, Magnolia United Methodist, which Herring attends, built a deck and ramp at his home. On Thursdays, he helps with bulletins for Sunday worship.
On Monday, he gets together with ``nine beautiful and wonderful ladies'' to paint ceramics and talk.
``My wife accuses me of being Lazarus,'' he joked, referring to ``how I can rise from the dead on Monday nights. It's my one constant in life.''
Herring, a John F. Kennedy High School graduate, was head of the welding repair and service department of Norfolk Welders Supply Corp. in Norfolk when the illness struck.
In many ways, he said, it ``opened my eyes to the needs of others. It's helped me to be more tolerant and less judgmental.''
He takes his condition almost stoically: ``I can get out of bed or I can't. What can you do?''
But he quickly recounts how a minister friend told him about an elderly woman who, whenever asked how she was, responded, `` `I'm thankful.' I try to mirror that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Don Herring enjoys chauffeuring his soon-to-be-driving daughter,
Erin.
by CNB