Hey Bobbie! Cool story! In the small town where I grew up very few people (then) ever did much outside our own small group of communities. For some, just the idea of going to another state (besides NJ, only 10 miles) was incomprehensible. "No Way!" is what everyone would say when they'd hear of even an able-bodied person traveling more than 2 states away! It was one of the main reasons I couldn't wait to leave! That was before my accident. After, whew... the idea anyone would survive "like that" let alone have a real life was unimaginable to most people I knew.
I'm glad I never was the type to limit myself to others' expectations of life! Just like your mountain climb, we all get our chances for something exciting. It's just a matter of deciding when to take that chance! Scuba is my latest thing. Incredible being weightless, no chair, drifting in the current and seing things nobody's ever seen. The Handicapped Scuba Assoc. I mentioned in my last post takes the stand that if you can breath you can scuba! Best wishes Folks! --Tod On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 4:18 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I bet that was both fun and exciting. Something your mind will never > forget. Thanks for sharing. > Best Wishes > > In a message dated 4/27/2011 3:15:53 P.M. Central Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Hi All, > I want to to share a true story with you all. In 1980 7 yeast post I was > 25 and in college when I received my first van. My dream was to always drive > 3,000 mile's cross country camping the entir way when I got the van, I just > didn't know who was going to go with me. My sister who was also in college, > Patti who is a year younger than me, heard about my dream and offered to > help drive and take complete care of me. > I got the van completed in June and we drove off July 5th 1980, it had > under 500 miles on it when we left New Jersey. We had many planned stops, > one with friend's, who are teacher's, every summer drive out to Glacier > Nation Park in Montana with a large group of high school student's. We met > up with them at the end of July at a large KOA camp ground at Logan's Pass > just off the "Going to the Sun" highway, there were about 25 student's and 5 > chaperons'. > Now, I must describe the manual chair I was in. I had gotten angry at my > "chair" one day years before and tossed in the trash the seat belt, 1 leg > rest (then I crossed my ankles) and BOTH arm rest's OH and back in the day > this manual chair weighed 40 pound's and I weighed around 110 pound's. > At the visitor's center the elevation is 6,639 feet with the top being > 9,500 feet in 1.25 miles. So, if you think about the pitch/grade it is > EXTREMELY STEEP near the top. At the beginning of the climb there was a > board walk with 177 steps then it turned into a gravel path, this is where > most people turn around. Patti, Tracy, Carol & Bill would take turn's > pushing me up and up and up but when the acned got VERY steep one would push > me then the next would push them, then the next push the next person until > we had a chain of people pushing me at the same time. There were a LOT of > fellow climber's that just couldn't believe that they were bringing me to > the top of this mountain and they took ton's of picture's, one person took a > picture of our "chain push" as we sang "…driving that train, high on > cocaine, Casey Jones you better watch your speed". As we got higher and > higher we started seeing mountain goat's and patch's of snow. Most of the > time one person would push while 2 other's would be on either side of me > pulling until we got to a section were it was so narrow that 2 people > couldn't walk side by side. > (On the way back down it was VERY MUCH HARDER for them to hold me back. > At one point Patti had my chair tipped back at a VERY steep pitch which was > all gravel, she lost her footing and we both started skidding towards the > cliffs edge. When we stopped I asked Patti "…what would have done if I went > over the edge"? She just said "I was going with you then") > Well, we finally made it to the top which took about 2 1/2 hours and > the view was absolutely breath taking. (If you google "Hidden Lake Montana" > you'll see a picture of the top, you could ALS google "Logon Pass Montana" > and see a picture of the mountain from the bottom) I cried when we got to > the top, I felt - and still do - that if I can get to the top of this > mountain ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE FROM NOW ON! > So, that's my story. I truly hope it inspire's someone to try something > that they had trepidations that they could or couldn't do. Bobbie > > > Sent from my iPad > >
