<P>I am happy for you that your disability is minor rmough that you are able to hold down a job. Some of us are not so lucky. </P>
<P>Some have much bigger mountians to climb that others. And sometimes we need a little help to make our way. NO, DO NOT WHINE ABOUT IT. but don't belittle someone elses problems until you have walked a mile in thier shoes.</P>
<P>And just because you can not see the disability, does not mean it does not exist.</P>
<P>flame off</P>
<P>joy</P>
<P>radei<BR><BR></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">----- Original Message ----- <BR>From: "Jennene Stanley" <MOOHARPIST@COX.NET><BR>To: "Barony of Namron" <NAMRON@ANSTEORRA.ORG><BR>Subject: [Namron] One more try.... <BR>Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:59:16 -0500 <BR><BR><BR>Now that my eyes are finally cleared from that chemical spill that <BR>happened at the airport. Fun fun... <BR><BR>Gotta make some comments..... then I am going to shut up and get on <BR>with what I really like to do, Play! <BR><BR>>>>> ....In our non-SCA daily life, we have to deal with harassment <BR>>>>> from the insurance company's private investigator, the <BR>>>>> insurance company refusing to pay for prescribed medications <BR>>>>> that he needs,......<<<<< <BR><BR>Welcome to the wonderful world of have a disability. Been there, <BR>done that.... sill doing that and don't expect it to stop anytime <BR>in the near future. It's just one of those things you learn to put <BR>up with just like putting up with traffic, electric bills, and the <BR>mortgage. Everyone, whatever ability, has their own set of "pains <BR>in the patootee" that come with living they have to deal with. <BR>That's life. <BR><BR><MOTIVATION on mode speaker><BR><BR>Some have said to me "Oh, I wish I had your strength" or "Tell me <BR>how you did it". Well, here's some of it. I'm not gonna sugar-coat <BR>it to preserve delicate sensibilities. This attitude I acquired did <BR>not come from sitting on my butt in front of a computer reading <BR>emails and indulging in electronic pity parties. The *personal* <BR>struggle to come to terms with a disability is something that <BR>everyone do for themselves. No outside laws, groups or guilds is <BR>going to do it for you. I feel that it is really a personal inner <BR>battle that you have to go through to become self actualized and at <BR>terms with what fate has dealt. Your friends and family can only <BR>help and support from the outside. But in the dead of night, when <BR>you look in the mirror and wonder "Is it really worth it?" Only, <BR>and I mean only, THAT PERSON in the mirror can make that decision. <BR>For the recently disabled: It's a hard enough road with out putting <BR>in your own obstacle course. Take what you have and start from the <BR>b! <BR>ottom, build your foundation, then work your way up. Sure, like <BR>everything else you are gonna fall on your butt. The way you get up <BR>and deal with that fall can make or break you. It's like a horse, <BR>get back on. *SHUT UP* about how much pain you are in. All that <BR>accomplishes is that the pain is the only thing you are thinking <BR>about and thus, it doesn't go away. Simple as that. Look for and <BR>embrace challenges because that is the PATH from having a <BR>disability and that disability having you. <BR><BR><MOTIVATION mode speaker off><BR>(And yes, I have done a lot of motivation speaking for the National <BR>Arthritis Foundation, C.D.C. and other groups and if you want the <BR>whole spiel, talk to my agent) <BR>>>> Unfortunately, the term "reasonable accommodation" seems to be <BR>>>> open to debate. I personally don't consider it unreasonable <BR>>>> for an event coordinator to do the research to choose a site <BR>>>> that doesn't <BR>destroy vehicles, allows someone in a wheelchair to actually get <BR>into and use the bathroom, and has paths that don't have gullys <BR>that endanger the able bodied and prevent someone in a wheelchair <BR>from even leaving their site.<<< <BR><BR>Well, when you live in Oklahoma and want to commune with the <BR>outdoors on a low budget, it is. The fact is that we live in a <BR>state with very few sites within the driving distance from a home <BR>group, (to make multiple trips from storage buildings, ect), within <BR>our price range (under 10 bucks a head or so) and willing to rent <BR>to us. (alot of these camping sites are owned by religious folk. <BR>I'd rather deal with a gully then someone trying to force their <BR>moral beliefs on me) When I started playing here one of the main <BR>sites was Marlow (with NOTHING). We brought everything. If you <BR>needed it, you brought it. (I still remember Mairin's personal <BR>porta pot thingy she had in her tent). I couldn't really handle <BR>this kind of camping despite the help from my friends. But instead <BR>of complaining and insisting we go somewhere else or else, I came <BR>up with a solution. A camping trailer. (which we will be selling in <BR>the spring to get a new, larger one). I built a tent to hide it and <BR>have been l! <BR>iving in it at events ever since. There are some really cool ones <BR>now set up for AT toys that would be perfect for people needing <BR>access. Yes, it can be hard to get it in to site but we deal. (Brad <BR>is a wizard at trailer parking.) It is possible to get around. I've <BR>done it in my motor scooter. (hey, can we have races at Beltaine?) <BR>You have to sit down and put together personal strategies to deal <BR>that don't overly burden others. I don't particularly like <BR>Cimmiron either but I am going to play the game with the cards that <BR>are on the table while looking for something better. <BR><BR>Some kingdoms don't even camp. I went to a event in Caid that was <BR>in a hotel. It had more of the feel of a SF Con then an event with <BR>the room parties and such. I had a lot of fun (even got to sit at <BR>the high table and participate in a gentille food fight). But it <BR>was expensive. The hotel catered the feast (they have a problem <BR>with folk bring in their own food) and you had to get rooms...ect. <BR>However fun (and accessible), I know I couldn't afford it on a <BR>regular basis. (around $300 per person for BASICS not including <BR>transportation.) My slant on the ADA <BR><BR>I have had to function this world before ADA. When I was a child I <BR>wanted to learn to play the violin. All the in-house teachers <BR>thought I would be "setting my self up for disappointment" (and you <BR>don't even want to know how many time I heard that line growing <BR>up). My parents got into some faces and I got my violin lessons. <BR>Now I am a professional musician. But this did not come about <BR>because of any special consideration or special equipment. I <BR>learned and earned my place in music groups. An important lesson I <BR>carried into the rest of my life. What I believe the ADA is a <BR>mechanism that provides accessibility to the same experience and <BR>opportunities. It is not a shield to hide behind if you can't hack <BR>it. As for sites, *everyone* trips over those same gullys, gets <BR>quagmired in their camping site and gets their cars/SUV s torn the <BR>hell up. But we chose to subject ourselves to the same experiences. <BR>And it make for great stories around the campfire. <BR><BR>I could go on ad nausem. I simply do not have the time. I hold down <BR>a job, keep my family going and have a ton of stuff to do that <BR>doesn't involve sitting in front of a computer all day. We have an <BR>event coming up and I gotta get ready for it. Feed me some Payment <BR>at Protectorate and we'll talk Anya -- Jennene Stanley <BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <BR>"There is nothing to fear in the dreaming, only that which we <BR>bring with us." <BR>-"Atonement" Babylon 5 <BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <BR>Email: Mooharpist@cox.net website: www.mooharpist.net <BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________ <BR>Namron mailing list <BR>Namron@ansteorra.org <BR>http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/namron <BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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