I have witnessed many of the great things Hillary has accomplished throughout her life and have known her since she became First Lady, when her husband Bill was elected President. I have read all the great things she has done, since becoming First Lady, but many whom have been born, in the 1990’s, don’t really know all the good things she has done.
They have been spoon fed all the lies and misinformation of Faux News and the Rethugs, so they believe all the bad things they are told about her. How can we make these people aware of all the good she has done, after having been “brainwashed” by the right?
I grew up in North Central Wisconsin in the 1960’s and 1970’s and being disabled with Polio and getting around with braces and crutches, even though I attended school, there wasn’t a whole lot of concern, for my condition. I passed the Driver’s Education written test and wanted so bad, to be able to do the behind-the-wheel portion, but alas, no Driver’s Ed car with hand controls!
I had bought hand controls, for my mother’s car and my older brother installed them and the instructor suggested they could use my mother’s car, for the training, since it was only a year old, but she would have to put a duplicate brake on. She didn’t have the money to do it and the school made absolutely no effort to find the money to pay for it themselves.
I wanted to be part of the gang and be able to drive, go out on dates etc. I wasn’t very outgoing and since I lived about 5 miles out of town, on a farm, no one in school included me in anything. When I was in grade school, kids my age, included me in many things they were doing.
They let me and another girl, in my class, whom was also disabled, play soft ball with them. They were patient with us and we were able to hit the ball, but since we could not run fast, they let us get to the bases. It wasn’t about winning, it was about including us in what they were doing.
I remember playing marbles and how popular it was, when I was in grade school, in the 1960’s. They would draw a circle in the dirt and each boy would put several small marbles in the circle and would use their finger, to flip their shooter marble, to knock other marbles out of the circle.
At the time, whatever marble we knocked out of the circle we got to keep. Since I could not kneel down on the ground to shoot, they let me use my crutch to shoot my marble, to knock other marbles out of the circle. It made me feel great to be included in whatever games I could participate in.
One of the boys in my grade would help me climb the steps of the slippery slide, until I got to the top and could then slide down. My arms were strong and I would pull myself up, while he pulled my feet out, so my toes would not get caught on the step. They were more than anxious to help me participate with them, the same with the other girl in my class, whom was a dwarf and had club feet. They included us in many of their games.
We would also play Captain May I, which we enjoyed. The other girls would help the disabled girl get on the swing and then push her. She had short little legs, short arms and tiny fingers, so it was not easy for her to hang on to the chains which held the board, of the swing. At that time, they had black top, under the swings, so if you fell out, you could get hurt.
Since my legs were locked straight, with my braces, I could back up, until the seat of the swing was against my butt, then toss my crutches down and lean back, to lift my feet off the ground. My legs would be straight out and I could pump the swing like other kids, but I couldn’t bend my knees, while on the swing.
I remember going on the merry-go-round, which was like a circle that had bars, which partitioned the surface of the merry-go-round and gave you something to hang on to, when someone would go running around, getting it to spin as fast as they could.
If you didn’t hold on tight, you could end up flying off the merry-go-round. After spinning on it for a while, when you got off, you were pretty dizzy and had a difficult time walking at first. It was fun, when they included us in their games, when we were young.
In the 1960’s, people didn’t seem to be too aware of the person, whom was disabled. It was difficult for me to walk with my braces and crutches on ice, when I didn’t have anything on my shoes or crutches to grip the ice. Later when I got much older I found ice fishing cleats, which I would wear on my shoes and my friend found me ice cleats, which could be fastened to my crutches, but when I was young, there was nothing.
I remember that day, when everything was glare ice, and the buses were late. When we got to school, the bus driver dropped me off at the sidewalk, which led to the old high school and left, seemingly unconcerned how I was going to cross the icy blacktopped playground.
I was in 7th grade and had to cross the blacktopped playground, which was glare ice, to get to the doors between the new grade school and the old one. How was I going to cross the playground, covered in glare ice, with braces and crutches, which would slip out from under me so fast, it wouldn’t be funny?
No one watched to see when I got to school and help me across the ice, so I stood there on that once small piece of sidewalk, where they had salted. How in the hell am I going to cross glare ice, without falling down?
To top it off, it had rained a little, so there was water on top of the ice! I stood there for a few seconds and since no one was around, I decided to get down on the ground, sit on my crutches and scoot across the glare, wet ice, to the school door. It was not easy reaching the door handle, then pulling it, so I could crawl inside the building.
I was totally pissed off by this time that no one concerned themselves about what I was going to do, when I got there. Not even the teacher seemed to be at all concerned that I was so late for class!
My butt was soaking wet, I was pissed off, crying and exhausted. I sat for a few minutes before I was able to get myself up, then had to climb 3 flights of stairs, on top of it all, since I was on the 2nd floor. No one even asked me how I got in the building, having to go across an icy black topped playground.
Not even the Janitor sanded a path, to the school door. It was just glare ice, with water on top. When I got in high school I was pretty much ignored, since I was disabled and couldn’t keep up to the rest of them, whom had cars and would go here or there.
But then I think, what if I could have gone with them or was able to drive and do things with the other kids, would I have just gotten into a lot of trouble and my life would be so much worse than it already was?
When I got in high school, it was kind of like I was invisible. I would sit in the library at noon, after lunch and eat candy and read or do school work. Girls would talk to me, but none of them made any effort to get to know me better. Boys hardly ever talked to me, unless they happened to sit near me, at lunch.
When I graduated, in 1972, one of my classmates, a newer girl, whom was quite beautiful and was blond, wrote in my year book, “wish we could have gotten to know each other better.” Nice time to find out, when we are all going our own ways and I would never see her again!
In high school, I got no guidance as to what I should do, so I just shuffled along. In the 2nd semester, of my Senior year, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, approached me as to what I was going to do, after I graduated, in May of 1972. A little late, to try and help me, doncha think?
They insisted I go to college, even though I had not taken 4 years of math, to help me, when I went to college. I was totally lost in college Algebra, so ended up dropping it. No one was there to suggest getting a tutor or anything like that.
My mother had only gone to 8th grade, my dad had gone to 9th grade and had been in the Navy, but because of a freak incident, he could no longer do anything. All he could do was shuffle around the house and yard, dragging his left foot, unable to use his left hand & arm and could no longer talk.
My dad worked at the local flooring mill, during the winter, then worked on the farm, during the spring and summer, to plant and harvest the crops. A guy was going around the mill, where my dad worked, throwing “cherry bombs”, those big red fire crackers, which made a huge bang, when they went off.
My dad was in the men’s room sitting next to a metal garbage barrel, when the guy kicked open the door and tossed a lit cherry bomb in, which landed in the barrel, next to my dad and exploded. It was a small men’s room, with a low ceiling, and the barrel was a regular metal 30 gallon barrel, which amplified the sound.
This happened, when I was in 6th grade and was about 12 years old, so really never got to know him like I should have. Now he was pretty much totally disabled and since my mother had to deal with his disability and had no experience with schooling, she was not one to give me any advice about school and what I should do.
My one older brother was out of high school, went one semester to college, then ended up getting drafted into the army, after he got married. He wasn’t there to guide me and my other brother didn’t offer any guidance either, even though he was only about 3 years older than me.
I muddled through the first semester, of college, at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and even though I had to drop out of Algebra, I thought I did pretty good, for what little high school education I had. I was able to get a 1.75 grade point average, for first semester and could have come back to school, but the DVR wanted me to have at least a 2.0 average, before they would pay the 2nd semester.
There were too many changes, one of the biggest was having to change dorms, had to register myself, whereas my cousin, Irene, had registered me for 1st semester. She was a Junior and could register early and was able to get me all my classes I wanted.
Before I found out about the DVR not paying for the 2nd semester, I had to register alone this time. Registration was very archaic, where they had all these booths, in the gymnasium, with one for each class. You had to make out several schedules, in case one of your classes were full and you had to pick another one.
It was crazy and I wanted to quit, so when the DVR told me they weren’t going to pay, I was overjoyed! If I could have gotten back into my dorm, from 1st semester, it might have been all right, but there were just too many changes.
I quit and went to Technical school, which is where I should have went in the first place and took a 1-year course in Account Clerk. I was able to get a job in June 1974, which was nice, but the office I worked in was upstairs, so it required me to climb 2 flights of stairs, to get there and the restroom was on the first floor.
My arms were strong enough that it didn’t bother me, since they had railings on the stairs. I got laid off, after 9 months, collected unemployment, then my mother found a bookkeeping job for me, at a farm implement dealer, which she patronized and they had just fired their bookkeeper for embezzling $8,000 from them.
The bookkeeper was supposed to check out the cash register every day, to make sure the parts man wasn’t taking money, but she ended up pilfering the money herself. When I was hired, the woman, whom was showing me how to do the job, didn’t seem to care one iota about my condition, griping right away, because I was parking in the back of the building and climbing over 20 metal stairs, to get to my office.
I was taking up a customer’s parking spot and should park where the other employees park, which was about a half block away. This was in February 1976, when there is snow and ice, which I had to try and walk on, with braces and crutches, to get to work. She didn’t seem to care.
I found out I could get disabled license plates, so applied for them and when I got them, I parked in front of the building, on the main street, which they were on, so now I only had to walk about 30 feet and go up 3 steps and I came in the front door. I parked in front, to piss her off, since she just didn’t seem to have any concern about my limitations.
Back in the 1970’s, businesses weren’t very handicapped accessible and really didn’t care much if disabled people had jobs. They didn’t go out of their way, to hire the disabled, and I actually had one company say they wouldn’t hire me, for the job I applied for, because it involved going up and down stairs carrying computer printouts, I guess, but made no effort to maybe find a way to fit me in.
Not having any luck finding a job, I ended up creating my own, by starting my own upholstery business. I did upholstery from 1977 — 2008, when I began losing the strength in my arms.
I did go to a rehab center and took a computer course, learning how to operate a computer, in July 1989. I was able to get a temp job in data entry, then was able to finally get a job, with the company I was temping for, on January 2, 1990.
It was about that time, that Bill Clinton became President and Hillary began her fight to create a Universal Healthcare System, but with all the lobbying against it by the Insurance Industry and others, it didn’t pass. She has worked her whole life fighting for the rights of Americans with disabilities.
With her dedication to those of us, whom are disabled, she has helped us obtain access to many businesses and helped us find jobs, by making sure businesses are handicapped accessible and make every reasonable effort to accommodate us.