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Before I became disabled, I was very much the outdoorsy type. Camping, hiking, biking, running, and bare-foot almost all the time, I loved the great outdoors. But this past weekend's outing brought home a realization for me... that the rigors of some outdoor activities may now be out of my reach. What may be considered rigorous for me may not be for most, but I think the combination of the long drive it took just to get to the great outdoors, and then adding in the heat and sun of the desert certainly amplified the difficulty for me. One of my dreams for our retirement years was to sell the house, get one of those fancy-schmancy RV's and tour the country. But this trip made me realize that what's probably best for me would be to stay within the comforts of home and simply bring nature to me. Heck, I'm practically there with my dogs, lizards and snakes. Nature is within my reach right from my couch. Filed under: Disability Coping

An Indiana farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called -- and that on the few occasions when it did ring, her pet dog always moaned right before the phone rang. The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog or senile elderly lady. He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned loudly and the telephone began to ring. Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found: 1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire via a steel chain and collar. 2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose. 3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the phone number was called. 4. After a couple of such jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinated on himself and the ground. 5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to rin...

Sep 26, 11:35 PM (ET) SAN DIEGO (AP) - A dispute that began over the capture of an opossum in a residential neighborhood ended with police shooting a Rottweiler and arresting a man after stunning him with a Taser gun. A fight broke out in the Talmadge area of San Diego after a resident saw a large opossum running in the area Tuesday and asked a maintenance worker to corral the feral animal, prompting a call to police. An officer at the scene shot a Taser gun at one man who became combative, according to police reports. The man removed the barbs and fled through a neighboring yard, where a Rottweiler allegedly came at the officer. The officer fired several shots in self-defense, police said. The man was found and arrested a short time later. Police said they were evaluating him for being under the influence. The dog was taken to an animal hospital. Its condition was not immediately available. Filed under: News

The hubby and I went on a "herping*" trip down in Sanderson TX this weekend. This was my first-ever herping trip and it was awesome! The reptiles, the scenery, the friends... all made the long drive worth-while. Just a crip-note about this trip: because of how my body reacts to physical stresses, we had to leave a day early to drive down for this trip. The drive totaled 7 hours for us and we were towing a trailer with my scooter in it. This extra day allowed me to "rest up" for the weekend's activities. I was able to sleep an extra 6 hours on Friday, giving me more of a fighting chance to be up for our herping activities in the desert on Saturday. * First off, what is Field Herping? Field herping is the act of finding Reptiles and Amphibians (herps) in their natural habitat. It is a hobby shared by quite few people compared to things like fishing and hunting. Many people enjoy keeping herps in cages and breeding them and such, but others would rather see an...

AL Masters said... WillaWomen, Nice comments. I too struggle with my own blog entries about disability. After a while blogging I noticed that I would write entries that were meant as a complaint about a particular disability related issue, and I did not like what I saw myself saying. I created a new blog and started over writing not so much from an activists point of view, rather I relay issues as they happen in my daily life. Many entries I write have nothing about my disability, however most have some point that relates back. I don't like reading my own complaints, so I just write from the heart about issues I care about and let the reader conclude what they will. AL Masters criprevolution.blogspot.com I will be adding a link to your blog. Thanks again and good luck. Daedalus said... You are probably also helping others to cope with their disabilities, too. jan said... Since I write a...

Jack the Cat Chases Black Bear Up Tree Jun 10, 9:03 AM (ET) WEST MILFORD, N.J. (AP) - A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree - twice. Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising. "We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's editions. Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey property on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat. After about 15 minutes, the bear descended and tried to run away, but Jack chased it up another tree. Dickey, who feared for her cat, then...

Sep 15, 9:42 AM (ET) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - A homeless 10-year old caramel-blonde cocker spaniel bested 11 other shelter dogs in an audition on Thursday, winning a walk-on role in a New York musical production of "Annie" in December. Whiskey, who was surrendered by its owner four months ago, dutifully posed for the cameras, eagerly chased a cookie when asked to, and even gave Marissa O'Donnell, the 12-year-old actress who plays "Annie," a big surprise kiss. That was all Whiskey had to do to win over the judges, members of the media, and about 100 onlookers at the Madison Square Garden where the auditions were held. "He was actually my first choice because he's not restless and he's quite friendly and not afraid of people," O'Donnell told Reuters. O'Donnell, a native New Yorker, will play the title role in the musical, which returns to the New York stage in December for the first time in 10 years. "Annie...

I know I haven't written in this blog in quite a while. For those of you who've been asking, I'm ok. My health has been doing it's usual ups and downs, but I'm still alive and kicking. This has been my dilemma: I've always prided myself on how well I've dealt with my disability. Granted, my symptoms came on slowly over many years, giving me ample time to acclimate and deal. But I've never been one to chide "woe is me, I'm a sad crip". But I found that writing in this blog caused me to think about my life and my disability more than I ever had before. I had to think about how it effected me and those around me, and then write about it. I had to come to terms with my feelings about access, coping, public perception, and daily struggles in order to write articles for this blog. So I started to think, do I really want to dwell on my disability, or do I just want to live life like I have been all these years. Not necessarily in denial, b...