 His legacy |
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Michael Beetham Memorial Kart Race
Thank you to the SKAA (Australian Speedway Kart Assoc.) for thinking of us and our son, Michael.
The Australian Speedway Kart Association have decided they will give a specil trophy in Michael's honour for the winner of the "Outlaw" Class at their Australian Championship Meeting every year, this year 2009 being the inagural meeting for the "Michael Beetham" Memorial trophy.
Trevor was in attendance (commentating) for the two day/night meeting at Gatton Speedway, QLD 25th - 26th April 2009. It was very special as the 26th April is also Michael's Birthday! It would have been Mike's 20th Birthday.
This was a lovely way to honour our special boy and we thank everyone who helped bring this event together. Although Michael raced Speedway Karts and thoroughly loved his time on the track, he wasn't always the fastest or best driver. Michael just loved racing anything with wheels!
He fell into Speedway Karts as that was what his Dad had been racing for many years. Michael always had a great time racing as well as going along, going away for his very first Australian Championship meeting was Laang 2003, then Moruya 2004, they had to go twice as the rain interfered, Michael finished fourth in Juniors. Then Nth Bris in 2005 where he was into moto x at the time and helped out in the pits. Then he raced at Laang in 2006 were he got a bit of a reputation for using other karts to slow him down, his reasoning at the time was "Dad, i`m not very experienced in this and i can go through the corner at that speed and when i`m behind, they hit the brakes early and i run into them", how can you argue with logic like that, Uncle Gary helped with that one
Even though he didn't win many trophies, he cherised those he did win including placing in the Club C/ship and several club meetings and I'm sure he would be tickled pink that there will now be a Memorial Kart race every year, just to honour him.
Gavin Wesble is the inaugeral winner of the Michael Beetham Memorial and Gav dedicated the win to his father whom passed away recently.
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Facts about drug Addiction
Addiction is a brain disease. The addicted person has no more control over their disease than someone suffering from diabetes or cancer does. Their struggle is just as painful and difficult for them.
Most addicted people start down their destructive path when they are children. Children don’t consider the consequences of their actions and they think they’re invincible. Ultimately, they discover that it is the drugs that are invincible.*
Why would anyone risk death for the high of these powerful drugs? For some, it is an unwitting mistake. Incredibly, others intentionally make this choice as part of a desperate search for an increasingly better high. The reason for this behaviour is addiction, or one of its fundamental features: the ability to alter peoples' brains such that they can no longer exercise proper judgment or experience normal pleasures. Along with displacing natural "reinforcers" such as food, family, and friends, drugs of abuse also eventually lose their ability to reward, placing the addict on a compulsive quest for more drug and for greater drug potency as their reward circuitry becomes increasingly blunted and desensitized. **
We believe the measure of one's life is more than the way in which they died.
"How can the gentle boy not know
You love him beyond death
You’d help him any way you could,
Unto your dying breath?"
Drug abuse doesn't just affect the user; it affects the lives of everyone that loves them. I hope folks that use drugs to temporarily escape problems realize that continued drug use will also take away the good things in their lives, such as; their plans for the future, their joy, hopes and dreams.
To learn more about drug abuse you may want to visit http://www.drugfree.org/intervention/ or http://www.drugfree.org/Portal.
"Some people sweet, attractive, strong and healthy happen to die young. They are masters in disguise teaching us about impermanence". -Dalai Lama
*http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheryl_Letzgus_McGinnis http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Other-Side-of-Mothers-Day&id=532384
**http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/welcome/messagefentanyl606.html
Thank You to Julie McGregor for allowing me to use some information from her son Joel's special memorial site.
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Motorbikes Michael
Michael loved motorbikes from a very early age. I remember when travelling in the car and he was a bit grizzly he would instantly become happy when we neared any motorcycle on the road. Many a time we found ourselves following numerous motorcycles just to calm him down.
This love of motorcyles eventuated into Michael receiving his first Motor Cross bike Christmas 2000. It was love at first sight! He actually cried and said it was because he was so happy!
After a few years he progressed to a bigger Motox bike and this was one he could race! Although he didn't race alot he thoroughly enjoyed his time on the race track at Wheelstanders. He and his Dad went up to Black Duck a few times to practice as well as numerous other places to hone his riding skills. He wanted to be just like his heroes the "Crusty Demons"
His third and last Motox bike was a 125cc Honda.
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Hockey: Logan Hockey Under 9's 1997
First Official Photo of Logan Boys Hockey Under 9's 1997
Mike hasn't yet been named Goalkeeper in this Photo Keith Hyde is pictured as Keeper. He and a few others tried out however, near the end of this season Mike or (Beetle as his coach Dave Mills named him) became Keeper from then until he finished with Hockey at 16yrs of age.
Note: Mike became known as Beetle as there were a few Michael's in his Hockey team and the coach nicknamed all Michael's and Beetle was our Mike's nickname. It stuck with Mike throughout his life and many of his friends never knew his real name until his passing.
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Mike & Hockey
Michael found Hockey when he was 9 years old. He found an advert in the local paper regarding a sign on day. As him and his cousin James were huge "Mighty Duck" fans, they thought it was a great idea! Sadly for them when we got to sign on day there was not an ice rink in sight - It was GRASS FIELD HOCKEY!! Although they were a bit let down, they thought they'd give it a go. Michael went on to become the Keeper for Logan Boys Hockey and played with this team for many years. He was also fortunate enough to be chosen to play for the Metropolitan East Primary Schoolboys Hockey team as their Keeper.
He must have been good as he was also chosen for the Brisbane Hockey Team a few years running!
Most of his younger years and early teenage years were taken up with playing Hockey, watching Hockey, with us ferrying him and his team mates around to Hockey games. We had a ball  Many times we found ourselves with a houseful of Hockey boys eating pizza and watching scary movies. We were lucky enough to go away with Mike on many of his games from Bundaberg to Toowoomba (freezing cold) but we loved it all!
I hope some of his old team mates will add to this part of the site also, especially if anyone has photos.
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