center-on-independent-living

BOOT STRAPS

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:15:24 GMT

To help my twelve year old daughter understand fully the power of words that she is beginning to use, I have been giving her some history of their meaning and how they should be used properly. For example, she was upset with a friend of hers that told her she needed to go, “Balls to the wall!” My poor daughter thought it had something to do with boys. I laughed and told her, “No Sugar, it is a WWII aviation term for full power. The controls on the engines had balls or knobs and when you pushed them toward the front dash panel or wall you go faster. Your friend just wanted you to go as fast as you can.” My daughter was relieved and later told me her friend didn’t even know it meant except go faster, it was just something her grandfather always said. My daughter’s friend knew it meant to move fast but didn’t know why.

This got me thinking of all sorts of things we say and although we may have a vague knowledge of what it alludes to we really do not understand the full meaning. Take, “Pull yourself up by the boot straps and get moving!” This is a common saying down here in Good Old Texas and we apply it, meaning that if you are down, depressed, work getting to you, etc. to get up and move past it. The original documented use of the phrase was in the early 19th century, “Pull yourself up by the boot straps and over the fence” to mean to accomplish an impossible action without help. Over the years, it is now translated to mean, “No one is going to help you so you might as well get past it on your own.” What is important is that you can get more accomplished, which may seem impossible at the time, if you push yourself over the proverbial fence. Other phrases that come to mind are, “Cowboy up”, “Suck it up and drive on”, and a personal favorite motivator, “Hey, there is beer in the fridge!” which motivates most folks pretty well.

Here at the Center on Independent Living (COIL) we do a pretty good job of pulling ourselves up by the boot straps and don’t let obstacles delay us for long. We push past, cowboy up and ride! Why? Because we believe that our clients are worth our efforts! This brings to mind one of our team members Steve Saunders. Talk about boot straps! He is quadriplegic from an accident. The accident didn’t slow him down for long. He is a hard charging individual that knows how to help people with disabilities; it’s like he has the inside scoop or something. There is also Nick Scott a paraplegic I met last year who is a champion body builder. He didn’t start body building until after he lost use of his legs! He was overweight, happy on the couch, and didn’t really care about much. He got in an accident and lost use of his legs and spent time reevaluating his life. He picked himself up by the boot straps and decided a change was needed. He is now an inspirational speaker, champion body builder, and started a gym where he helps people with disabilities.

I am always on guard for what my daughter will say next or probably more concerned what her friends will say next. Whatever it will be, I am sure it will be entertaining. So I guess if she has a problem with, “going balls to the wall” I’ll tell her to “pick herself up by the boot straps and carry on!”

If you would like to help us carry on the mission please feel free to donate. We accept darn near anything that helps for example, money, property, vehicles, and just about everything else. Our boots are on so we’ll make it work. Thank you for visiting, please come back now, ya’hear!

ATTITUDE!

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:15:05 GMT

Attitude is everything! Some would say that its money and to others it could be something else. But, in my humble opinion, it all starts with attitude. The right attitude at the right time accomplishes feats that will blow your mind away. Take the photo of Barry Muth in the Himalayas climbing Mount Everest in a wheelchair. Hey, I got two legs that work and I have NO desire or the right attitude to climb Mount Everest! I asked Barry the stupid question most would ask, “Why did you climb the mountain?” and got the quintessential Zen filled answer, “Because it was there!” Ok, I deserved that. I am positive Barry gave the idea considerable thought. It wasn’t about “should I

climb the mountain” , but rather how he would prepare his equipment, modifications to his chair and support systems, etc. His attitude was focused on, “I am going to climb Mount Everest come hell or high water!” and so he did.

Freedom and independence is all about attitude and how bad you want it, disabilities be damned. It takes patience, determination, focus, and a positive attitude. The Center on Independent Living (COIL) was founded on this positive attitude. Young severely disabled adults wanted to live independently and their parents listened to them. They made it work despite what the world had to say about it at the time, “It couldn’t be done!” Well they proved it can be done and did it. There are thousands of examples of people with the right attitude proving popular opinion wrong and making what seems impossible a daily occurrence.

The wrong attitude does exactly the opposite; it’s amazing how life works that way. My mother was fond of saying, “Can’t never did anything!” and she never accepted the, “I can’t” statement (Thanks mom!). We pushed hard in our family and to this day my mother will work us to near death no matter how far apart we may be. The wrong attitude will take you absolutely nowhere. Even if you desire to live independently and have a strong sense of getting the job done, the wrong attitude will bite you and can delay your goal. Be kind to those that are trying to help you! I get it, you have talked to a hundred people. Bureaucracy is SLOW, you get frustrated, and of course your attitude suffers and you take it out on whomever the poor soul is that is trying to help you navigate the red tape. Been there, done that and felt bad about it. I once went to a veterinarian office looking for a new dog food call Eukanuba. I was in a good mood, happy, had my positive attitude all fired up and asked the young lady behind the counter, “Do you carry Eukanuba dog food?” and she said, “What?” so I repeated myself, “Do you carry Eukanuba dog food?” and then she said, “What’s it for?” at this exact moment my attitude changed and I realized I was getting nowhere fast and I replied laced with eye rolling sarcasm, “My dog.” As I recall, the rest of the conversation went south. I didn’t get what I was looking for and certainly didn’t get any leads to where I could find Eukanuba dog food. Remember part of a good attitude is to stay focused, be kind, and you will prevail quicker. I eventually found what I was looking for but it took much longer.

Stay the course, keep it together and conquer the world! If you would like to help us spread good attitudes please feel free to donate! We need your help so we can help others! We accept virtually any kind of donation you can think of; oh you know like money, vehicles, property, you name it we will most likely take it to help our cause and give you a great big thank you in return. Until next time! Have a great day!

HOW KIDS BUILD A BETTER HOME- LITERALLY!

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:14:40 GMT

The Center on Independent Living (COIL) and the Construction Careers Academy have teamed up to help each other build affordable homes for people with disabilities, homeless veterans, and anyone else that falls into the programs that we support. COIL was very impressed with the quality and above all the “out of box” thinking the kids in the program have approached home building.

The Construction Careers Academy is based at Warren High School and provides students with a fantastic head start into the construction trade careers such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing, design, architecture, engineering, project management, just to name a few. They are guided by professional craftsmen, engineers, architects, and folks like us here at COIL.

Ok, I hear you, what does the Center on Independent Living have to do with teaching students construction? Glad you asked! We lectured on ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliance, what accessibility really means, and we gave them Barry Muth the President of our Board of Directors who is wheelchair bound. Barry is very open and frank about people with disabilities and the kids loved him! He was able to answer questions that most folks would be afraid to ask a disabled person. He showed them why building a structure with ADA in mind is important, how it works, difficulties conventional construction pose people with disabilities, and that just because a person is restricted to a chair doesn’t mean they are helpless.

We recently attended the Construction Careers Academy Parade of Homes that comes at the end of the school year and displays and auctions off the homes these terrific kids have built. One of the homes featured was the ADA House built from a shipping container. They knocked it out of the park with this one and it was one of the highest money makers for CCA. Barry Muth commented, “They actually listened! WOW! They really did a fantastic job!” Yes they did.

We are currently working to raise money to support the program at CCA and COIL. We are working with San Antonio Housing Authority, Build San Antonio Green, and supporters to develop a community of ADA compliant affordable housing to service our clients and those in need. If you would like to help us to help others then please visit our donations page, call us, or just send a check. We will also accept any kind of donation such as property, vehicles, houses, planes and trains, although not quite sure how we would use a train, however, I do know some kids that are very creative!

DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT!

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:14:36 GMT

That’s a loaded statement. It means different things to different people. I was in Iraq and it was 120 degrees plus and we had a rare moment when someone had some lemonade sent to them in a care package. We were “cooling off” in some shade, and drinking what tasted like heaven. One of those moments when the worries of war were put on hold and my Platoon Sergeant said “It doesn’t get any better than this!” and at the time I agreed. I later thought, “What was I thinking! It most certainly gets better than that! To be back home with family drinking lemonade with ice sounds infinitely better!”

Now I am home and have the privilege to work with an organization that has a rich history helping people with disabilities gain independence from nursing homes and into the community. As proud as I am to have served my country to provide freedom and independence for all Americans, I find it just as rewarding and in much more intimate to serve our clients with disabilities achieve independence and freedom that most people in America take for granted. My fight for the freedom for others is still there which I find kind of ironic. However, the way I fight is different. Instead of negotiating terms with the United States Army at my back, I negotiate with medical insurance companies, other organizations, state and federal agencies, and people in general to gain the support we need to accomplish the mission with just our small team to back me up. It’s frustrating, tough, time consuming, and frankly I find war much easier to deal with. But with all great things, it never comes easy! I am not a social worker, never worked in the human services field, and rarely did any community service outside what the military did within the community. It was not my plan to be in this industry- it literally fell in my lap and I thought, “I like a challenge- I’ll give it a go!”

I now work with some fantastic people that care about the clients they serve. They work very hard for very little to help people with disabilities gain their independence. I didn’t get it at first. Not until I met our clients and how happy they were to have a place of their own, be closer to family, and enjoy the same freedom most of us take for granted. Now I get it and now I know why people go into the social services field. It is rewarding, passionate, and your family grows through the people you help serve. Yes Sir, it doesn’t get any better than that, except maybe with a cool glass of lemonade!

If you would like to help us help others, then please send us a donation- we will take anything! We take money, property, vehicles, etc. Here is a thought- donate something where we would say “Wow! It doesn’t get any better than that!” It will always be appreciated!