Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Abel Greer is a young, 13-year-old Madison County resident who has earned the moniker “The Can Kid,” mainly because of his activities in collecting aluminum cans. But beyond making the roads and byways of Madison County better-looking by picking up cans and other trash, Greer has proven with drive and determination that he “can” do much more.
Greer had a rather auspicious start in life, as his mother, Wanda puts it. He was born prematurely, at 31 weeks, at Wolfson Children's Hospital, in Jacksonville, Fla. Weighing approximately three pounds at birth, Abel faced many health challenges that required four surgeries at an early age. He spent the first year of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the hospital. According to Wanda, it wasn't until the age of five or six-years-old before Abel could pursue normal activities. Abel has certainly been making up for lost time since.
After moving to Madison County from Tennessee, Wanda decided to homeschool Abel, rather than enroll him into public school halfway through the school year. In one year of study in Florida Virtual Flex High School, Abel is just shy of graduating with his high school diploma and is ready to begin dual-enrollment classes at North Florida College. Abel has hopes of attending Cornell University to study medicine. “Cornell has always been my dream school,” said Abel, who wants to one day become a neurosurgeon. “I like the idea of saving lives every day, and the human brain fascinates me,” added Abel. If Cornell doesn't pan out, he says he might like to go to the University of Florida. Abel has also been accepted to begin the welding program at River Oak Technical School.
With such high goals for his education, Abel knew that his higher education would come with a steep price tag. He has decided to take it upon himself to begin working toward those goals now. He had a bit of inspiration when he took an American Government class which had a community service component to it. Abel says he was concerned with the amount of trash he saw on the roadways, so he began picking up aluminum cans. After collecting what seems to be a mountain of bags of aluminum cans, Abel went to cash them in. He was paid $400 for this first installment of cans. Being too young for a traditional job, Abel has decided to work odd jobs, such as yard work, until he is older. He doesn't mind getting hot and dirty doing yard work, pulling weeds, etc. Any money he earns goes into a jar for “school.”
When he isn't picking up cans or doing yard work for someone, Abel says he enjoys reading, swimming, cooking and playing chess.
If anyone has simple yard work, or anything of the sort, they need done, Abel can be contacted at (904) 365-1126.
With his drive and determination, there is little doubt that Abel, “The Can Kid,” can do whatever he puts his mind to. He certainly seems “able” to do so.