Finally, a new Angry Political Nerd video! He hasn’t had much to be angry about since the election. But that could change if the Joker has is way!
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Cindy of the Seventies
Last summer, about a week before vacation, I was cleaning out a closet and found my old diary from 1974 (age 16)! Most of the diary is from 1974-1978. I stuck it in my suit case, so that I could reflect on my life while relaxing on the beach.
It was so much fun reading it! I don’t have a very good memory, but honestly there was so much written in there that I didn’t remember at all. It was strange, like I was reading someone else’s diary. I have no idea who that kid was! Most of it is just typical teenage stuff, but I will say that being a teen in the 1970’s was very different from what it’s like today. It is an interesting snapshot of one teenagers life in the 1970’s. Some of it is pretty funny, some of it is embarrassing or boring.
When I got home from vacation, I typed the whole thing word-for-word (minus copious spelling errors). I added a few photos and other documents – some newspaper articles, 70’s memorabilia, etc. I then had books printed (at lulu.com) as Christmas gifts for the few people who might actually be interested in reading it, those who were there; my mother, father, sister and my two best friends.
I might blog some of it here. I was actually thinking about doing a retro blog of “Cindy in the 70’s”, but not sure this is something I want to put on-line…
Here is what I was doing on this day in 1974:
We won our match. I forget what the score was. I missed the top five by only 5 points. I got a 95 prone and a 67 off hand, for 162. I know I can do better, but I’m lucky I got that in a match, because I get so nervous. I think this was the best I’ve done in a match.
Jay didn’t come tonight because he went back to college. I hope he comes to some of the matches.
Tomorrow we are having action shots (photos) for the yearbook.
We got all these papers and things to fill out if we want class rings. They are letting us get them now, because next year the price is supposed to go up a lot. This year they cost about $50.
The match was a shooting match. I was the only girl to ever make the Waltham High School Rifle Team. Funny that I really don’t like guns now.
I have a second diary that covers 1988-1994. This diary is not a day-by-day diary like the first one, just sporadic update-type entries. So, there is a black hole from 1978-1988. I don’t recall the reason for this gap; I guess life in the 1980’s got too busy to write. I didn’t keep a diary after 1994, although I did some writing and of course now I have this blog.
California Octuplets
(CNN) — A woman in California delivered what may be the nation’s second live-born set of octuplets on Monday morning, surprising doctors who expected seven babies.
“The hospital said the woman didn’t want her personal information released to the news media, and it would not answer questions about whether she’d had fertility treatments.”
Stupid question, did she have fertility treatments? How else could she have a litter of kids? Crazy!
Aretha Hat a Hit!
Have you heard the hoopla around Aretha Franklin’s inaugural hat? Her hat is a hit and the blogesphere is buzzing about it. From what I’ve read, the hat was made by Luke Song, a hat designer from Detroit. Mr. Song has been flooded with calls from women wanting the same hat. Luke said that the hat would cost about $500 if he were to sell them, but the hand-molded, hat with the rhinestone bow is a one-of-a-kind hat made especially for Aretha. Song said, “Her particular hat, I will not sell a copy, even if someone offers me a million dollars.”
I admit that I googled Aretha’s hat to see where I could get one. Since I can’t get my own Aretha hat, I thought I could at least photoshop myself wearing one. Here’s my new Facebook Avatar.
Track Lift
Several people have asked me about our track lift system. Because we have two children who use wheelchairs and who also have very different needs, our system is quite elaborate and probably more than most people with disabilities would need. We have a “Surehands” system and it is a huge help. Actually, more of a necessity now as the boys are 15, over 100 lbs each, and still growing.
Here is a view of the track in the kitchen. This track covers most of the first floor and runs from the kitchen all the way through the living room. The track to the right goes into the bathroom over the toilet. The round thing in the center is a switch, sort of like a railway train switch to a second track off to the right.
Here is a view from the living room into the kitchen.
The box on the rail is the motor. There are a couple of different kinds of motors and several different models. They have portable motors that can be moved from one track to another. We opted for permanent motors. This motor rides along the track as well as up and down via the controller in Eric’s lap. Some models have wireless controls, which would be better since the wire tends to get tangled. But the wireless motors are more expensive. In this photo, Eric is using the SureHands “body support”, which mimics a strong pair of hands.
Anthony can’t use the body support, because he has very little trunk or head control. We use this sling for Anthony. Eric can use either the body support or the sling.
We have a platform lift to take the boys up to the second floor. I’ll have to post some photos of that soon. On the second floor we have two separate tracks in the bedrooms. In the master bedroom we have a track that runs from the bedroom into the bathtub. This is an older model motor. Some of our system is second-hand in order to save a few dollars. Eric is in a water proof bath sling. Anthony can not use this sling, but we also have a roll-in shower chair for him.
The motor runs by a rechargeable battery and the control works by forced air rather than electricity. So, no worries about dropping the controller into the tub.
Here is the track in Eric’s room. This motor only goes up and down and slides manually along the track. Not as nice or as sturdy as the motor downstairs that moves long the track, but again, less expensive.
This is a hoyer lift on our back patio to lift Eric in and out of his hot tub. He also uses the same bath sling in the hot tub.
Our system cost around $30,000 (not counting the outside hoyer lift). Our private insurance covered 80% of the cost, which is super. Many insurance policies will not cover lift systems. Medicaid will pay for simple lifts, but usually not something as extensive as ours.
The company who installed the system is called “Lift and Care Systems” in Lakeville, MA, (508) 947-3304. They were very nice to work with and did a super job. The instillation was a lot of work, because the doorways had to be modified and the ceilings had to be cut open and reinforced in order to handle the weight of the system. The lift will support over 400 lbs. With the help of this system, I should be able to care for the boys for many years to come.