ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — “He said: ‘I was in my early forties,

With a lot of life before me,

An’ a moment came that stopped me on a dime.’”

Those are the opening lines to Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”

For Baldwin County native and daredevil rider Bubba Blackwell, it has always been his motto to live life to the fullest. But it was the death of a friend seven months ago that prompted Blackwell to want to give back to the community that has always meant so much to him.

Randy Texter was a mentor to Blackwell on the racing circuit. Blackwell would go on to follow in the footsteps of legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, traveling the country doing shows, eventually breaking all of Knievel’s records jumping with a Harley Davidson.

He always kept in touch with Texter and his children, Cory and Shayna, who are also professional racers.

When Texter took over his family’s Harley Davidson and Blackwell was touring the country doing stunt shows, Texter always invited Blackwell every year to perform.

“We would always take time to talk and visit before the shows,” Blackwell said. “I consider myself to be an eternal optimist and he was that way too, always upbeat, always positive.”

Then, in April of last year, when Blackwell came to do his yearly show, Texter shared that doctors had made a grave discovery.

As a child Texter had survived leukemia, undergoing a series of chemotherapy. After surviving into adulthood, Texter would discover during a routine examination that he suffered from internal organ damage because of the chemotherapy.

“Through it all, he remained optimistic,” Blackwell said. “He said the doctors were doing tests to determine if they could do a heart and lung transplant and he felt that if that was successful, he had a good chance of recovery.”

Before leaving, Blackwell and his family went to dinner with Taxter and his family.

“I made everyone stop and take a photo outside the restaurant,” Blackwell said. “I just had this overwhelming feeling that it would be the last time I would see him.”

He was right.

A few months later, Blackwell was performing at a show in Ohio, when he received a call from Texter’s son, Cory.

“It just happened that there was a race scheduled before our show and Cory was coming into town for the race and needed a place to stay,” Blackwell said.

The next morning as they were up preparing for the day, Texter called his son from a hospital in Cleveland and Blackwell had one last opportunity to speak with him.

“I could just hear it in his voice,” Blackwell said. “For the first time since I had known him, I felt that he didn’t have th optimism that he always had when we spoke.”

Taxter told Blackwell that doctors had decided not to go forward with the operation because there was only a 70 percent chance he would survive the surgery.

“He said, ‘I’m a racer, Bubba. I’ll take those odds every day. What am I supposed to do now,’” Blackwell said. “I mean, his son was standing right next to me. I’m trying to channel my eternal optimism and find something positive to say and I have to tell you, it was difficult.”

But, Blackwell said, the conversation ended well. There were other things that they would try.

“It was kind of strange,” he said. “He started talking about how he was happy with how the business was going and that he hoped Cory would become more involved with the business end and not so much on the racing part of it. I don’t think he was necessarily giving up. I just think he was trying to put everything in order in his mind.”

Two weeks later, while performing in Colorado, Blackwell received another call. Texter had passed away.

“I wanted to be there, but I had a committment that I had to keep and from where I was, it was just impossible to get a flight,” he said. “But I was able to keep up with everything online. The local newspaper did a story, and talked about how a lot of the local racers brought their bikes and rode with the processional and there were quotes from his family saying how proud they were that he always did things to give back to the community.”

That set Blackwell’s mind in motion.

“I got to thinking, what can I do so that my 5-year-old daughter can one day say she was proud of me,” he said.

It just happened that Blackwell was at the Mobile-based country station 95-WKSJ, promoting a show. He mentioned to program director Bill Black that he was looking for a way to give back to the community.

Black had the answer.

“He mentioned the ride for St. Jude that they do every year and felt that interest in the ride had plateaued and they were looking for a way to breathe new life into it,” Blackwell said.

In the end, Blackwell would agree to partner with KSJ for the ride.

The original intent, he said, was to have the event, in Baldwin County, but after negotiations with a local site fell through, Blackwell said, he was almost ready to back out when he received a call from the Mobile County Fairgrounds.

“They are not only going to host the event, they are providing the location at no charge,” Blackwell said.

So, beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, Blackwell will host the 10th annual Kruise for St. Jude. The ride will set out from the Fairgrounds to the Mobile International Speedway, where they will do a lap around the racetrack before returning to the Fairgrounds for a concert beginning at noon.

“My good friend Rick Crawford, who now manages the racetrack, will be along for the ride,” Blackwell said.

Wes Loper will kick off the afternoon’s festivities at noon, followed by Carey Lane before Nashville recording artists The Dirt Drifters hit the stage, followed by the LoCash Cowboys and Emerson Drive.

In addition, Blackwell said, he has received merchandise to give away, including items from Harley Davidson footwear and Dunlop tires.

Cost for the ride is $20 for riders, $10 for passengers. For those who do not want to ride, admission to the concert area is $5. An additional $2 gains entry into the Fairgrounds’ Mayfest, which is also wrapping up this weekend, with rides, games and more.

Blackwell’s goal is to move the event next year to Baldwin County, where he hopes to make it an annual event.

“I want to make this event as big as possible,” he said. “I am a huge fan of Kenny Stabler and what he’s done with his charity golf tournament. That’s my goal. It’s going to take a few years to accomplish it, but we’ll get there.”

For route information and more about Saturday’s ride, go to KSJ’s website at www.95ksj.com.

For ride information and other information about upcoming events involving Blackwell, visit his website at bubbablackwell.com.

Despite being at the age where most professional athletes have long since retired, Blackwell said he wants to keep going as long as possible.

“I used to have this insane notion that I had to accomplish all of my goals by the time I hit 25,” Blackwell said. “But now that I’ve passed 40, it has become my goal to let people know that it is never too late. And I want to send a message to all the kids out there that just because you are from a small town is no excuse for not achieving whatever you set out to achieve.”