This podcast episode features an enlightening discussion centered on the upcoming event titled "Rage and Rewrite," which aims to provide a unique space for individuals to express their emotions and navigate the complexities of life’s challenges. The host, a polio survivor, articulates the significance of embracing one's circumstances, emphasizing the importance of community and support in overcoming personal adversities. The conversation delves into various themes, including the emotional turmoil that often accompanies disability and the necessity of finding joy amidst struggles. Through shared experiences, the speakers underscore the therapeutic potential of creative outlets and communal engagement in fostering resilience. This episode serves as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the disability community and the ongoing journey towards empowerment and understanding.

The dialogue further delves into the social dynamics of disability, where Rhodes recounts her experiences navigating life in a wheelchair, particularly during her formative years. She reflects on the importance of representation within the disability community, highlighting how events like the Abilities Expo serve as crucial platforms for connection and empowerment. Rhodes discusses the necessity of creating spaces where individuals with disabilities can feel accepted and understood, effectively combatting the isolation that can arise from societal ignorance. This episode invites listeners to reconsider their perceptions of disability while celebrating the strength and creativity that emerges from adversity, reinforcing the idea that every challenge can lead to growth and community building.

Takeaways:

• The podcast emphasizes the importance of amplifying voices within the disability community, showcasing diverse experiences and perspectives.
• Listeners are encouraged to engage with community events, such as the upcoming rage room event, which blends emotional release with social connection.
• The discussion highlights the significance of embracing one's disability as a part of identity, fostering resilience and personal growth.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential for navigating life with a disability, allowing individuals to approach challenges with a positive mindset.
• Community connection is vital; finding support groups can significantly enhance one’s well-being and provide valuable resources.
• The episode illustrates the ongoing fight for accessibility in various aspects of life, including public spaces and healthcare systems, challenging misconceptions about the ADA.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Aguair Professional Training
• Abilities Expo
• MV1
• Spin Art Atlanta
• Plot Twist Society

The following is a productions original series.

Hello and welcome to Walk and Roll Live.

I'm Doug Vincent along with Addie Rich.

Our podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of the disability community.

On I am a polio survivor.

She has cp.

I thought I'd get right through that so that we could get to something I want to hear about.

You know, we should have been talking about this for weeks, but it just kind of dawned on me the last couple of days.

I want to give you as much time as you want or need to talk about the event that you have coming up.

Oh, my raging rerun.

Tell her.

I, I,.

I'm like, what?

What are we talking about now?

I am super excited about this.

I'm nervous as heck, but excited because I'm doing an in person event.

We talk about a lot of what I do on the side and what I write for and stuff is my plot twist society.

And that's kind of a mishmash of a blog and just humor.

Getting through the crap that happens in life for the people we interview, it might be a catastrophic injury.

For me, it's been a divorce and different changes that have happened that put you on your butt because that wasn't what you planned.

We know it happened.

And so I met this amazing group of women, a network kind of of women, through an event thing that was posted on Facebook, decided I would not be afraidy cat.

I would go and I would go in my wheels, which I'll go to things, but typically I will not go with my wheels.

I will, you know, go with a walker, but then hide the walker or whatever.

And this time I was like, no, I'm just gonna go.

This was intentional because I wanted to finally, like, being with you and doing these things has taught me, like, love it and embrace it and make it all part of me.

And so I went with that.

And the feedback, you know, was so kind.

And people have just been so cool and are like, I mean, we talk about it, we hate it when people are like, you're an inspiration.

But like, a girl said to me, she was like, you were out there, you were having fun.

You asked for help when you needed it.

You just moved on and moved the conversation on and made people feel like anybody could come.

And that was the point of the event.

So I was like, okay, well, first time's the hard time.

And now, you know, and, and I got into some great conversations about plot twists and doing life coaching and helping people with skills that I have and I've honed because I Had to.

That they didn't know or understand.

And.

And that kind of got my wheels turning.

And so I'm doing this thing called the Raging Rewrite.

It's here in Atlanta.

It's at Spin Art Atlanta, which is a cool place that does a rage room and does, like, spin art where you can go and they give you, like, the little outfits, and then you just splatter paint or, like, splatter paint on a canvas or whatever.

And I got to thinking about, you know, people don't give you permission to be mad about things.

They're like.

They expect you to be mad, but then they're like, okay, get over it.

Let's move on.

Or, let's host a girls trip and get drunk.

That doesn't, like, fix it.

That doesn't.

There's conditions with it, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

And so I was like, you know, what if I could partner with a rage room and actually do a talk around that about, like, how do you recover when life doesn't look like, you know, what it's supposed to?

And we talk a lot about support groups.

Right.

About.

Or whatever.

Exactly.

You thought you were going to be married and have a house full of kids, and you were going to have this yard and get a dog, and now you're 47 and you don't have those.

So, I mean, it was really like how we were, you know, just talking about.

We've talked about support and how important that is in support groups.

So I was like, what if I hosted a rage room?

And before the rage room, we kind of allow a space that people talk about what is holding them back?

What are they holding on to?

Right.

Then we go write it on little papers.

We tape it to the things we're gonna smash.

We smash it, and then we come out of there, we have snacks, and we talk about, like, okay, maybe it doesn't feel better right now, but it'll feel better in a little bit and, like, give them a space to write and talk.

And so that's what I'm hosting, and I'm super excited about it.

If nothing else, I'll be laughing about it.

But the amazing thing was approaching this rage room and saying, hey, here's who I am.

Here's what I would like to do, and explaining and sending them my information about who I am, the pod and everything, and having the girl right back and go, we'd love to do this.

What adaptions can we make so you can get into the rage room and so you can use the rage room and that was actually tremendous to me because I was like, generally business owner.

She was like, if you call me or show me a ramp, you need me to buy because it stairs down into the room.

I was like, this girl doesn't know me.

This girl does not know me.

And she wants to make it so that I can do it.

And so when you get a champion in your corner, it became all the more exciting because this woman is now as excited as me and willing to make it accessible.

So super excited to support that business.

Oh, what something about.

I don't.

What does it say?

You have to tell me.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

No, my tagline is generally like that.

So it's a picture of me and I'm holding the plate that says this is.

So.

And you know, it says safety goggles required.

And I'm actually co hosting with my friend Portia, who is also kind of loud and.

And like me.

And so she's posted and she said, come join the two of us.

That are probably an HR violation.

That's part of the reason why I see it so much because you're both posting.

Yeah, I share it all.

So we're looking forward to it.

And hopefully this will become a monthly or quarterly or something like that where I'll kind of turn the theme a bit, but it'll still give a place.

Anger has its place for growth.

And so that's the point.

But thank you for giving me space to talk about it.

And you'll have to hear all about it.

I'm sure you'll be think of it great now.

So yeah, that would be great to do a monthly because, you know, what will happen is, you know, you'll do an event like this and there'll be people maybe they don't think about doing.

They don't.

Yes.

And then they start to hear from the friends.

They went, it was great.

Then they're like, I'm not going to miss it next time.

Then, you know, well, for sure, for sure.

And it's.

You can only put five people in the room at a time because there's flying like objects and things.

So for safety, like you can only do five girls at a time or five people.

Right.

So we're doing a two flow heat because there's 10 of us going.

But that's why also I want to do it like monthly because if I can only take 10 at a time,.

Like, you know, do they provide the things to smash or do you bring your own?

Yes.

So that's all part of the entry ticket is that, you know, it's so for this, this go round, it's 45 a person.

That includes like light snacks that we're providing, that includes objects we're all going to break and different things.

So it's.

It'll be fun.

We'll see.

Please tell me you're taking pictures of this.

Yes.

So there'll be for sure be pictures of all of us.

And I, I want to do like, this time is the breaking stuff, but I want to do like the splatter version and different things just to.

To.

Some people are scared of loud noises.

Maybe it's your PTSD and it triggers you because the event you were in that caused the plot twist.

You can't be around breaking objects.

Okay.

So now we're gonna switch it to like a splatter things splatter.

And then you gotta figure it out, you know, so.

And let's make sure they know the.

Date, August 30th, from 12 to 3.

And that's in Hotlanta, right?

That's an Atlanta indicator.

And if you.

I mean, obviously you can drop us a note here on Walk and Roll Live or you can reach out to me on Facebook.

I will get you set up.

I would love to have people smash things with me, but let's hear about your week.

Did you want to smash anything?

Good week.

Good week.

Didn't feel like smashing anything.

I am getting some work done in the backyard.

I think we talked about it going okay.

They were smashing your patio the last time you were talking.

I already talked about how I got trapped in the driveway.

Right?

Yes.

This was.

They trapped you.

Your neighbor had to help you.

Yeah, but, yeah, it's coming along.

Coming along nicely.

They were just here today.

They got it all framed.

I think they're going to be pouring concrete sometime later this week.

And they're going to make a little ramp off of one side, connects with the sidewalk that goes up the side of the house.

And so I can get in the.

Into the garage door on the side from the outside.

Nice.

And then they're going to put another ramp on the other side so I can get down and get around the yard.

Won't that be amazing?

Like, suddenly your whole space will be accessible.

You'll be like, oh, my God, I lived in this house, what, 20, 20 years?

25 Years.

And there's areas.

Do you have not access?

Kind of, but not really.

So that'll be nice.

And also getting a patio cover.

That's going to be amazing because it's hotter than Hades there.

Well, good, good, good.

We'll talk more about it next week.

We'll give another segment.

But looking forward to that.

Today we have.

We have Christina Rhodes.

We met her at the Abilities Expo in Long beach, and she was just zooming everywhere with.

Talk a little bit about it and find out exactly what her role is.

She's at all of them.

And yes, I'm gonna get together with my brother in Phoenix in September, so I'll probably run into her again.

I know that'll be exciting.

You'll be like, hey, we'll see what color her hair is.

Right, because her hair was such a cool color when we saw her.

Exactly.

And then the other thing is my.

My brother and his wife moved to Mexico about three years ago when they retired.

So then after the Expo, I'm gonna go down there and visit him for the first time down there, so.

Oh.

I was like, have you been to Mexico?

I have never.

From growing up in.

Have you ever been to Mexico?

No.

Okay, me neither.

Growing up in Cali, yeah.

There was a trip I was going to go to Mexico years ago, probably late teens, early 20s, and I met a girl and I just had a chance to go out with her.

So Mexico lost.

Mexico lost.

Now that's funny, because my best friend and I, Libby, we were going to go to Mexico to one spring break.

I want to say it was our sophomore of college or whatever.

We ended up just staying in San Diego and like, doing Oldtown San Diego and stuff.

But I was like, we were so close to Mexico.

Oldtown San Diego is nice.

It's really nice.

All right, so Christina's next.

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Whoa.

From the Aguyar Professional Training Studio, you're listening to Walk and Roll Live.

Don't put me on a pedestal I'm not here to inspire I've got my flaws, my highs, my lows, my own heart's fire.

I laugh, I cry, I break I'm in just like anyone I'm not your symbol of courage I'm just me done I got dreams that soar Fears that bind Moments of grace and times I'm blind I'm not your hero or your saint I'm real, I'm raw no restraint I'm more than your story welcome back.

To Walk and Roll Live.

Today we are joined by Christina Rhodes.

We met her at the Expo, the Abilities Expo in Long Beach.

They moved it to Long beach this year in the LA area.

And just over the course of the day, I just saw this mad woman just back and forth and up and down the aisles and, you know, there's.

I don't know how many thousands of people do you think were there?

And, you know, you.

You would rarely kind of see the same person.

A couple times, I think I must have seen her 10 times.

Finally we had to stop her, see what she was up to.

So we had a quick chat then and invited her to come on the show and here she is.

So, Christina, maybe you could give just a little bit more of an introduction just where you're from, that kind of thing, and, and maybe your affiliation with Abilities Expo and nature of your disability.

Yeah, thanks for having me on, Doug and Addie.

I appreciate it.

Walk and Roll Live is a cool, you know, just, resource for our community.

So thanks for what you guys do.

So, yeah, my name is Christina.

I am pretty much lifelong wheelchair user from a spinal cord injury when I was just 10 months old.

So it happened before I even remember it was a result of domestic violence.

But I don't even tell most people that because they get sad and I don't remember it.

That's just my story.

So, yeah, when I was growing up, I used to just tell people car accident because it was easier and they seemed to just go, oh yeah, okay, and move on with their day and it doesn't affect them.

So.

But as I got older, you know, so I have been with Abilities Expo in one way or another for, you know, affiliated with them for over 20 years.

I've worked with lots of companies that have exhibited with Abilities Expo, a colors wheelchair, MV1, a couple other accessible vehicles throughout the years.

But now I work for Abilities and do sales.

So I help folks connect with booth space and give them all the details and opportunities they need to get there on the show floor and connect with the community, interact with other folks with disabilities and, you know, find their people.

Very nice, very nice.

I did find a picture of you.

It looked very young and I kind of read the article And I guess you had.

Were the facilitator of kind of a hangout at the.

At the Abilities Expo.

That must have been probably your earliest interaction with them, right?

20 Years ago.

Yeah, probably.

I first went to an Abilities Expo when I was Ms.

So 21 years ago, I just rolled in there and, you know, was.

I grew up in a really small town in Northern California and happened to be able to be down doing my Ms.

Wheelchair event during Abilities Expo.

So I rolled the show, and I was just blown away.

Coming from a small town, seeing just the technology, the community, you know, other folks like me that were just active and, you know, younger folks rolling around in wheelchairs.

It was just such a huge eye opener, being the only kid in my whole school district in a wheelchair.

Yeah.

So that was my first experience.

And then I started the Abilities Twitter account.

Gosh, I don't know, probably 15, 16 years ago, something like that, and ran that forum, was an ambassador for them for their Atlanta show.

Because I lived out in Atlanta for about a decade, so it's been awesome.

We've just missed each other.

I live in Atlanta now.

Yeah.

All right.

When did you leave?

2017.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

You asked where I'm from.

My family and I live in New Mexico now.

We live in a cool little town called Truth or Truth or Consequences.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, how cool.

I've actually heard of that.

That's amazing.

No, that's fun.

And I'm sure it's a lot different than Atlanta.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, so you've got quite a resume.

Broadcaster, sportscaster, musician, artist, gourmet party chef.

What else?

Did I miss anything or did I.

Did I add anything?

Oh, yeah.

I haven't been a party chef.

Oh, okay.

Pastries.

Yeah, pastries.

Me?

Yes.

Oh, okay.

No, jewelry.

I just make jewelry and art.

But, yeah, no, I'm.

I didn't tell Addie I was making stuff up either.

Yeah, right.

I was like, okay.

No, but I mean, you keep yourself busy.

Obviously, you don't like to sit still.

And so can you tell us about some of that or how you found the passion to.

Some of those things?

Yeah, sure.

I. I guess, first and foremost, I'm a mom, and my daughter is 14, and she does homeschool, so My daughter and I hang out a lot and do her schoolwork and activities.

Luckily, with abilities, I get to work from home.

And so that's really convenient, you know, when I'm not traveling to a show.

And so my daughter and I are both very much into a lot of like the same hobbies.

So we both do the jewelry making and art, kind of different, you know, different modes of it.

But we like to do little markets here in our town.

My husband's the head brewer of our local brewery, which is where all the local live music and things are.

So we go and have little markets down there and interact with the community.

I really love live music.

So any chance we have to go hear some music, I'm definitely all over that.

And then, yeah, just disability advocacy.

Having a, you know, chronic illness takes a lot of time in itself.

So I've had a wound for about three and a half years that I've been dealing with that has not closed and been seeing all sorts of doctors and specialists.

And that is just incredible how much time that takes.

And that, that could be pretty much a full time job in itself, managing the appointments and the insurance and the bills and like all that comes with that.

So that takes, that's, I would say, is one of my hobbies the last couple years.

Forced hobbies.

It's a forced hobby because it literally.

That doesn't even count.

Like, I think that that's one of the things we've had a few guests on recently that have had like perpetual wounds that will not go away.

And I think that that's something that people that don't have a disability that like have healing issues don't understand.

They're like, oh, you get a cut, two weeks, it's gone.

Or a bruise and it's gone.

And we're like, no, that's not exactly how it works.

Yeah, yeah.

So many other things too, that, you know, where they come up over time as we do this show, but the not being able to regulate maybe your, your, your temperature, you know, very well in heat or cold, you know, extremes and, you know, bowel issues, you know, it's always talked about, it seems like.

So you're dealing with all those things all the time.

In addition to all the things we mentioned here before, tell us a little bit more about the, the part of your career.

Broadcaster, sportscaster.

That's true, right?

Yeah.

Yes, that's a fact about me.

I was the general manager of a radio station that was a part of the university that I attended, Brenau University in Gainesville.

Georgia, and it's a historic women's college there.

Just such a really cool school.

And I was going to school there for mass communication and then stayed on to get my master's in organizational leadership.

And so while I was going to school there, I became the general manager of their little radio station.

And it was just so fun because it was an eclectic station where all the students had opportunities to have radio shows as well as volunteers from the community.

So we had all sorts of DJs from different ages and different walks of life playing everything from current stuff that the kids love to classical music and world music and different languages.

So it was a really, really fun time.

So I hosted a couple of radio shows, did some interview shows, produced some stuff, and then was a mentor to a lot of the students and community people that came in there.

So that was a lot of fun.

How did you get that skill set or decide that you liked that?

Because, I mean, it takes a skill set.

Yeah, my family has always been in broadcasting, and so mostly television broadcasting, but my mom worked in radio a little bit when I was growing, and they were mostly on the production side.

But I have always been fine in front of the camera as well, or speaking in front of people.

I think that's another kind of learned skill that comes with having a lifelong disability because strangers approach you and talk to you, you have to talk with medical professionals, you have to answer a bunch of questions all the time.

So, like, you get comfortable just chatting with people and being kind of in the spotlight, you know, again, whether we'd like to or not.

You know, you roll into a room and everybody looks at you.

So, you know, you kind of either learn to shy away from it or just embrace it.

So, yeah, so I was interested in broadcasting because of my family's kind of background, and then just I got interested in radio because I was very into music.

I really love interviewing and chatting with people.

So that kind of, you know, the talk radio side kind of was a natural part of it that came along as well.

And then, yeah, the teaching part of it, I enjoy teaching, too.

So my time at Brenau was a lot of fun.

And then, you know, I've done just working for different companies, done a lot of just television interviews and product interviews for the news or different shows about different products that I've represented over the years.

You do a bit of that at the Expo, right?

There were some stage interviews that you did?

Yeah, I got to interview Marissa Boddy from Wicked.

She was a really, really cool person.

And that was so Fun to have an opportunity for the abilities audience to see her and hear her story.

That was really cool.

You know, you mentioned, you know, you go into a room when we're disabled and you, you know, you get a few head turns and all that.

After a while you just don't even notice it anymore.

You know, it's, it takes, you know, when I get together with my brother or we go out with a sports team and it's like, oh, yeah, we're kind of different, aren't we?

Then you start to notice it that people, people are really looking in.

But you know, as I, as I kind of navigate social media, I'm starting to see this distinction in.

And Addie and I have this conversation a lot with, you know, whether you come to disability later in life and it's acquired or early in life, you know, you're kind of like me, you know, acquired it early in life, you know, within a year and you know, so it's lifelong.

But when I look on social media, it seems like the younger generation are pushing back a lot on that.

People asking questions or saying things to them.

I saw another post today.

It's just, it sounds, it sounds like they're kind of their, their experiences.

They can't hardly go out of the house without people accosting them and asking rude questions.

And I, I truly don't get it.

I mean, I haven't in years.

You know, man, when I was younger, I remember a lot more, but, but not usually as respectful too.

Even when I did get a lot of it.

So what's your, what's your experience been?

I mean, I think it's been mixed for me as, as I've gotten older, I think it's less.

But when I was a young girl in a wheelchair and didn't necessarily, and this is, I hate saying this, like, look disabled, that's such a silly thing.

And that doesn't exist.

But that's what people would say all the time.

Oh, you don't look disabled.

Yeah.

And so, and you're.

Or you're too young to be disabled, which is wild too, you know, it.

Doesn't make any sense.

Yeah, I think when I was younger, people did make weird comments to me or you're too pretty to be disabled.

That was my next, what I was going to go for was that so.

I was like crazy.

You know, even doctors would say things like that and it would just, it's so offensive to all of us, you know, and when I was pregnant, because I carried my daughter almost full term and that Was a wild time.

People could not contain themselves.

And I was in Georgia then and I feel a little worse in Georgia.

Like in certain places, like, I don't know, I mean, I feel on any.

Topic that people can be ignorant.

They will be ignorant in Georgia.

Like, I'm sorry, like, I hate to stereotype, but there are beautiful, wonderful, open minded people.

And as it's become more of a melting pot, I believe it's lessened.

But I feel like anywhere there's pockets and maybe everybody's taught different levels of like couth.

Right.

Or they just don't have the experience.

So maybe I need to give them a little grace that it's definitely lack of exposure.

But yeah, yeah.

But yeah, people were very shocked and they would just like say things before their brain stopped them, like, oh my gosh, how?

And I would just let them come on, you can get there, you know, and then they would be like, oh, oh, I didn't realize that.

And I'm like, yep.

So you're answering your own questions.

Just you're figuring it out, like,.

Yeah, right.

I think I've told the story here, Eddie, but when I was.

My daughter was 2 or something like that and I had a friend who was in the same office building and we would, we would go lift weights together.

So I'd go in there and get them after work.

And sometimes you know, my wife at the time would bring my daughter up and so she would kind of run in there with me, that kind of thing.

We had a coworker that would ask him.

He finally came to me out of frustration, but she would come to him and say, well, that's, that's not Doug's daughter, is it?

Like, he's like, well, yes.

And, and every time she would see her, it would bring it up again and she would ask and he just got so tired of it, you know.

But it's like, I mean, the joke I used to say is, you know, I'm obviously her father because she looks just like me.

She like at a two year old, picture side by side, you couldn't hardly tell the difference.

But we're not sure who the mother is.

You know, she looks so, so right there alone.

It should have, you know, figured it out, but.

Yeah, but to be that persistent, it's.

Yeah, it's interesting.

Yeah.

People need to get out more.

Yes.

So, you know, not gone without it, but it's.

Yeah, it seems like less and less.

And it seems.

And I never really had a big issue with it, you know, and I don't Know, if it's just the social media part of it now and you know, because there's posts about, you know, the top seven things you shouldn't say to somebody in a wheelchair.

I see those over and over and over again.

I think that's also just the nature of social media, like being an expert and here's what you shouldn't do and here's how you, you know, everybody offended me and I don't know, social media is created to like be divisive.

So I think that probably gets a lot of posts and even from people that, you know, are, you know, the non disability community that reads that they're going, oh my God, I've said that before and oh geez.

And so it's just big, probably made to create.

I mean, people have a lot louder mouths now that they have a lot more platforms and they have the protection of a screen and a keyboard.

Right.

Like a lot of that probably happened or they said it to their families or they said it amongst themselves in whispers or whatever.

But there wasn't social media where they felt like there was no repercussion if they just typed it out.

You know what I mean?

Like, it's, it's become like this weird upside down world, like what is actual reality and what is not.

My nephew is 17, so probably similar to your daughter that like I'm like, do you even actually know what reality is?

Like, like because you're, you're playing video games so much, you like all these things.

You know, it's his version of the world and the world outside.

I'm like, whoa, I'm scared.

I'm scared.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I always look at it as an opportunity too, to educate people.

Because, you know, sometimes those questions, they obviously, you know, don't know.

They don't know what they don't know.

And if they at least approach me respectfully, you know, sometimes it's friends that have known me for a while and they, they don't know.

It never comes up, you know, we're just friends, you know, and then they'll, they'll want to have that conversation and that's, that's fine if you're respectful.

That's when I make up the, the, the wild answers.

If somebody asked me, you're not respectful, you know, then it's, you know, crashed an Apollo 11 or something, you know, I just make something wild up and they'll believe it, you know.

Yeah, my friend had me do that some years back.

She was like, do you ever tell people like, you know, if they're rude, tell them a fake story.

And I'm like, no.

Like, I've never done that.

You know, I'm like, in my 20s.

And so we go out to a club and we're going to go dancing together.

And we've got our husbands and they're, you know, both able bodied and they're trailing behind us and we roll in there and we're like in our best dressed, you know, we are like, looking our best and this guy just stumbles up to us and goes, like, what are you doing here?

Like, you can't dance.

And we had like, just rolled through the door and we can dance.

Like, let me tell you, like.

And so she just looks at me and, like, tells me, like, this is your moment.

Yeah.

She's like, this is the mark.

Do it.

I was like.

And of course, the next words that come out of his mouth is like, what even happened to you?

And I was like, okay, here we go.

And I was just.

I, like, she answered first.

I think she said like a shark attack or something like that.

And he looks at me and I'm like, bungee jumping.

And he was just like the first thing that came to my mouth.

My out of my mouth.

Cool.

And he just was like, whoa.

And just turned around and like stumbled away.

And I was like, that kind of felt good.

Like.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

That used to happen to me when I would, like, go out dancing with friends, right.

And at that point I didn't really drink, but boys would always offer, like, to give you a ride home or whatever, right?

And I would always be like, yeah, jokes on you in the morning.

Like, yeah, like, that was the best.

Because we started, like, keeping count of how many people would do that.

And we're like, are they interested because they're interested or because they think they're going to get something?

Yeah.

Oh, my goodness.

So I don't know.

You gotta laugh about it, otherwise it's kind of sad.

Absolutely.

Yep.

The wildest one, I think was when I was a kid, there was a kid in the neighborhood.

As I approached 17 and 18, we had to.

We had to sign up for the draft.

Vietnam was going on.

And he says, man, some people do anything to get out of the draft.

So he's implying that we're making it.

It's like, I'm thinking, well, man, this is a long game I've been playing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You must have knew it was coming and started getting early.

When I was real early.

His parents started even before he started, so that's a good segue, though, because what do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions?

Like, as advanced as we are as a.

As a community and as a world, what do you think some of the misconceptions still are that people have about disability?

Just that, like, we have the ada, so we have every right and everything is accessible.

And we were good.

Like, I.

When I moved to little small town, New Mexico, I was sitting out.

We moved to a really rural area where it was just all ranches, and we're sitting out at the fire with one of the cowboys and I was talking about, you know, some sort of access somewhere, and he's like, I don't get why you're complaining.

Like, don't you guys have that law?

You know, And I'm like, the ada?

And he's like, yeah, like, that it's a law that places have to be accessible.

They have to build a ramp and like transportation too.

Right?

You know, And I'm like, huh?

Yeah, well, kind of.

You know, there's plenty of loopholes, but yeah, I mean, the law intends to make things equal and accessible, but people don't have to follow the law.

Do you follow every law?

No, you know, neither does.

Neither do business owners or, you know, like, it's so.

It's just.

I think that's a huge misconception.

That's like, yeah, man, 20 something years ago, you guys got your.

Your rights and you're good, you know, so I just.

That's not the case.

And we know that.

And, and then, you know, just these last few years, I've always had to deal with it, but just health care, like, what a obstacle and just.

I don't even know the words, like how difficult that is for us to navigate all the time without an option to not, you know, like, this is our life and navigating this system and the inequality that even exists within the health care system, which is wild because it should exist for us, you know, So I think a couple of those things, you know, marriage inequality, you know, there's just.

There's a lot that.

That still exists that we have to fight through.

You know, people joke about the disability tax that, you know, anything we want to do usually costs a little more than, if not a lot.

I was going to say a little more.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, even if it's just, you know, parking or something, even a little bit where you're going, you.

We usually have to compensate to be able to have the same experience as other folks.

And.

Yeah, so there's A lot.

And we roll through life smiling and just doing it.

So.

Yeah, yeah.

Adapting, making the, you know, the best of what we have.

But always, yeah, you know, I think we, it's.

That's one of the things I think that's grown really in the community is we're getting together and we're starting to have a larger and larger and larger voice about these things, you know, whether it be accessibility or, you know, just.

Just having some of the, the devices to help us experience, you know, there's more and more talk now about having adaptable equipment at state parks, national parks, so that when we go that we can enjoy it and enjoy the paths and all those things that everybody else does, you know?

Yeah, yeah.

And to the national parks credit, I think it still exists.

Gosh, I haven't renewed mine in a while, but don't we have a free national parks and I think it's lifetime.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Then I think that's something that I wasn't in like my late 30s till I found that out.

So, yeah, people with disabilities, that's something that you should definitely, you know, take advantage of, get outside.

And our national parks welcome us.

And yeah, you might only be able to hang out by the visitor center, though.

I like that.

I mean, my sister and I, we went to the Tetons and we went to Jackson Hole and all those places and it was cool.

Like they did the boat thing and they probably could have figured it out, but like, the gangway was so narrow.

I was like, forget it.

I hung out, people watched.

I've learned to be a professional people watcher.

Like, there are certain things where I'm just like, hey, I'm here and I can't do it like you, but I can be here.

I like photography.

Sometimes I can't get as close as the family gets, but I can take some pretty cool pictures from my vantage point.

And yeah, and to Doug's point, I do think that more and more parks, I just feel like they're conscious about us.

And more and more parks are trying to get more accessible equipment.

It's something that they care about.

You know, not everyone, obviously, but it seems like for the most part that's part of the culture of our parks and start trying to build wider pathways where they can.

And so I appreciate that you need more nature or we're every human needs.

More nature, otherwise you don't appreciate it and preserve it.

So.

Yeah.

What kinds of things do you learn?

You know, being at the Abilities Expo for, you know, two or three days in that concentration of our community.

Do you.

Are you still constantly kind of hearing new things, learning new things?

Always, yeah.

That's just one of the coolest things about abilities is that I've been attending for 20 years.

You know, there was a little gap when I moved to New Mexico that I didn't attend shows for maybe five, six years.

But I.

Every single show I attend, I learn something new, Meet some new cool advocate or somebody doing something awesome in the community or 20 people.

The technology really is incredible.

You know, just for outdoor equipment to, you know, just.

It feels like we're in the future sometimes.

You know, you're sitting there at that technology booth where they're, you know, have the little crown, you know, with electrodes on your head, and they're literally like moving the mouse around and typing and stuff with their brain.

And I'm like, man, we heard about this when we were in elementary school.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Now and then, all the cool, like, events and workshops and entertainment that they have, I just love that, that, you know, folks, especially the young people with disabilities, can come in there and just feel like they have community, you know, feel like that they are normal, that they are the norm there, and see people dancing and assistance dogs everywhere.

And it just.

I just.

I think it's so healing.

And I used to say, you know, when I would just go, you know, work a booth and, you know, maybe attend a show or two a year, that it would just recharge me.

Like, I would go home with, like, a renewed sense of self, you know, just ready to, like, tackle stuff, know that people are out there, companies are out there working hard for us and trying to get us, you know, the resources and products we need to, like, tackle this world, you know, so all the.

All the things we were just, you know, pointing out that we still need, you know, it feels good to go to Abilities Expo and know that people are trying to fix it, they're trying to make it better.

So, you know, here in Southern California, there's so many organizations that put on adaptive fairs, and, you know, there's one this weekend and in other towns, like.

Like, you live in a more smaller town, right?

What kinds of things are available to you?

Other things there?

No, not so much.

I get to go to lots of shows.

Yeah, I go to all the shows in the southwest.

So luckily I get to go every few months to an abilities expo.

But New Mexico is a small state and there isn't a huge disability population here.

The folks from onward Motion live in New Mexico.

I don't Know if you know them.

And so we, we get to meet up usually at Abilities Expos, which is crazy.

Someday.

Someday we'll meet up in our own state.

But you know, the little town I live in, there's a couple folks, a handful of folks in wheelchairs that I rarely ever see.

But yeah, it's.

I like to.

Again, that's why I like to get out, get out to these shows and interact with the community.

And I'm sure up in Albuquerque, I'm a couple hours away from like a bigger city.

So I'm sure Albuquerque, El Paso is a couple hours south from us.

I'm sure there's a little bit more activity going on, but I don't get up there as much.

I mean, there's beautiful outdoors there.

Can you access that?

Yeah, yeah.

Actually we have the Gila wilderness here and there's some ruins up there that is just really incredible.

And a friend and my husband carried me.

They put like attached a pool chair, like a lawn chair to some scaffolding poles, like made it like a little queen.

I was gonna say you were the queen.

And they carried me up to like the Gila cliff dwellings and it was just the coolest thing.

It's amazing.

Yeah, I'm totally like obsessed with like ancient stuff and documentaries and ruins.

But, you know, most of that stuff is definitely not accessible.

They weren't like, someday Christina and the other people like Christina want to come here?

We should put an elevator.

No, but I mean, we can still.

That's.

That's why you.

That's when you know you have a good community.

My best friend is like that too, that she and her husband, they hike all over the place.

And when we went to Abilities, like, well, since we've been little, she's always like been the piggyback for.

Because luckily I was light and so I want to like, do stuff for school or whatever.

She'd always piggyback me.

And so her husband and.

And herself have always joked that they wanted to like make a little card or whatever.

And when we were at Abilities X Expo, there was a company that does like those.

Almost like those little wheelbarrow looking things.

Yeah, the Huckleberry hiking.

The Huckleberry.

Yeah.

I was like.

I wanted to call it a blueberry, but I knew that was.

I took a cruise in one of those, I think at the Phoenix show and loved it.

I am absolutely gonna get one some.

Some point in the future.

It does have like a weight limit.

So they're, I think probably exploring to, you know, figure out how they can get more weight in it.

But yeah, I'm kind of tiny, so I was able to fit in there and my husband and daughter both tried it and even my kid could pull me around in it.

So I'm like, oh, yeah, we're doing this.

Yeah, off road, right.

So you're preparing to release a book?

You've done a book now?

Yes.

The specific book that I'm getting close to release is my first fiction novel.

I editorial writing forever and written a bunch of blogs or a bunch of community or, you know, hundreds of blogs for companies in the disability community.

And I do have, you know, quite a, quite a bit of writing done and kind of, kind of like an autobiography.

But, you know, I'm not sure what I'll do with that at some point called Rolling with Purpose.

But yeah, the book that I'm going to release pretty soon, I don't have dates for it yet, but it's.

The working title is called Unexpectedly Enchanted.

And it's about a young girl that moves to New Mexico and kind of finds her community and love here in the land of Enchantment.

So Amazing.

That's exciting.

I like to write as well.

And do you feel like that has always.

Has that always just been with you or that something that like kind of developed?

I feel like for me, because when we can't use our body as well much, we are imaginative and we build the world in our head while we wait for other things.

And I feel like that that is kind of where that was born for me.

Yeah, definitely.

I think our, you know, us imagining things and kind of sitting there and looking off into the distance and imagining how we could go and what it would feel like and what would be out there.

I think that that definitely lends to our active imaginations.

And I've always just really loved to write.

I mean, I remember being sitting in, you know, my mom was taking some night classes, some college classes when I was in, in middle school.

I was in a creating creative writing class with her and just listen, kind of listening to what the teacher was talking about and writing down some points because I already like to write a little bit.

And I remember naming the girl the, you know, the main character in my book.

Then and there, you know, when I was like 12, being like, okay, if I ever write a book, she's going to be called Becca.

And so, yeah, that, you know, I guess like throughout my life, different pieces of it have, you know, kind of been planted.

And then New Mexico has just really inspired me.

The land and the people and the culture and just the vibrance, vibrant energy that, that fills this place.

So I, you know, decided I wanted to try to capture a little bit of it.

Neat.

Neat.

Very nice.

Very nice.

Yeah, my, my brother and I both caught polio when we were kids and so we grew up and we got to that age where you're 7, 8, 9 years old, your friends are riding bikes and, you know, we're, we're like, there's got to be a way they could make something where we could drive it with our hands.

You know, we kind of look at a bike and if you move that there and there, you know, and then years later, you know, almost too old to start that, you know, they started coming out with those things.

So.

Yeah, there's just so much of that stuff now.

It's awesome.

I.

To go back maybe a little bit.

What was your, what was your school experience like?

Like, you say you were the, you were the only, you know, and I, at least I had my brother for a couple of years there.

You know, he kind of went ahead of me because we were in a school for disabled kids.

And then we got mainstreamed and he went the year before me.

So he had already kind of, you know, cut that path before I got there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So my class had 70 something kids in it.

I moved to, moved there in fifth grade and then stayed on through high school and graduated high school there.

And yeah, I was the only kid in the school or any of the other schools that I knew of.

You know, when they would come and play basketball games or anything like that, I.

In a chair and they had to build a ramp at the high school to get me in.

And yeah, I mean, I don't really know how to describe it because it's just all I ever knew.

I never, it was just, you know, I was the one in the chair.

Obviously I stood out, but I kind, I guess I should say leading up to that.

My grandpa was in the military and my mom and I followed around my grandparents when he moved for the military, which was very often.

So before fifth grade I went to six.

That was my sixth elementary school.

So I jumped around so much before we landed there.

So I had gotten pretty resilient.

Yeah.

And pretty good at making new friends.

Yeah.

And also just kind of kids said that I was a little mean when I got there.

They're like, whoa.

You know, like, I don't know, just intense maybe.

Like, I just had taught so many children how to interact with me and you know, just, they said like, you've never let anybody help you.

We'd try to open a door and you'd be like, I don't need help.

And I'm like, oh, sorry.

You know, I was just.

I, like, you know, developed a little, you know, shell to, like, protect myself.

And I made friends really easy.

I was always very social.

But yeah, I was independent and wanted to show these kids, like, hey, I got this and you know, I. I know what I'm doing and.

Little bit of a chip on your shoulder.

Yeah, yeah.

And kind of like I, I wasn't.

I never really got teased much.

I mean, kids would say mean things, but I don't remember it having much of a negative impact on my self esteem.

I would more wonder, like, I had some, some uncles, some twin uncles that were like 14 years older than me, and they like to really mess with me.

So I think they kind of made me tough when it came to people teasing and stuff like that.

I would just wonder when they would say something like, oh, you're dumb, you can't walk or something.

I would just be like, okay, you know, like, you know, I don't.

I don't remember it being hard.

I mean, there are some.

A couple years in middle school where there was some like girl bullies, but I think that was kind of just middle school, like girls, you know, But I don't think it was much about my chair.

So I guess I was pretty lucky.

Lucky in that way or just somehow my personality, I just did my thing again.

Mirrors my experience.

You know, I would.

Made friends and you know, the people that didn't want to, you know, whatever.

Yeah, yeah.

And I would.

I mean, Addie's outgoing and, you know, she.

She moved to Atlanta.

She moved to Atlanta, you know, out of college.

Coming from a small town in, In California too, you know, as plopped down into the inner city and so good luck.

So I was like, what?

Wait, wait a minute, wait.

Now here we are 25 years later, and I'm still here, not teaching in the inner study anymore.

That was two years of that, and that was fine.

But I think that there is a certain thread that runs through us that says, hey, we can give us, give us a, you know, a challenge.

Give us a spoon and a bowl of food people don't want to eat.

We're gonna eat it, right?

So.

But you do motivational speaking too so obviously, you kind of took it forward from being a kid who was like, I'm gon bounce instead of, you know, stay on my knees.

Yeah.

What is it that you hope people hear from you?

Or, like, what is the angle that you kind of take when you do.

A lot of what we're talking about today?

Just that you kind of get to decide what attitude you're going to have about stuff.

And not.

Not to say that I don't have bad days and get down and, you know, like, think this sucks sometimes.

But most of the time, I. I realize that the world, my lens, is going to be determined by the attitude that I'm putting forth.

So, like, we were talking about.

About people asking us questions and interacting with strangers in public that say wild things to us.

Like, it's never really been too offensive to me.

I don't.

I like what you said, Doug.

You know, people don't know what.

They don't know.

If they're asking something that feels offensive, 99.9% of the time, they're not doing it,.

Especially as adults.

I'd like to think adults are, like, trained not to be outwardly offensive.

Like, it literally probably comes from curiosity.

But like you said earlier, sometimes the brain and the mouth and all those things don't connect.

It just falls out of your face.

And then you're like, say that again out loud to yourself and see how that sounded.

And if you follow that person around, they probably don't have a filter in everybody they talk to.

Don't take it personal.

You know, don't take it personal.

Are naturally curious creatures.

It's just our nature so and so.

Like, one of the other things I talk about and, you know, in my speeches, is that critical thinking, to your point that you were just talking about, Addie, Critical thinking and problem solving is a skill that we get to really hone by having a disability.

And so even if I'm speaking to folks that don't have disabilities, it's just kind of bringing that awareness that when you're faced with a challenge, you can look at it a couple of different ways, like, with a defeatist attitude, or you can look at it as, like, all right, you know, let me see if I can do this.

Let me see.

Because at the end of the day, it feels really good to accomplish something, especially if you have to work extra hard for it.

So, like, I kind of know that that feeling is at the end of something, if it's a challenge, if I.

If I get it done, then I get to have that Feeling about like, hey, like, I did that, I did that.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, and there's little things like that every day.

Right.

I mean, still.

And sometimes you don't even notice because, like, you say you've honed that I call it, you know, like flexing that muscle so much that you are encounter something, assess it, figure out how you're going to do it all in, like sometimes the blink of an eye and you don't even think about.

Those are the smaller things, of course.

And then there are things.

Yeah, you really have to sit and think about for a while.

But yeah, yeah, we just do it all the time, every day.

What are some of the questions you get when you're doing your speaking engagements?

A lot of people are very curious about parenting.

When they find out that I've had a daughter and that she's 14 now, they want to know about different parts of that.

What it was like being pregnant, what it was like having the newborn.

You know, what about when she was a toddler and she's running away from you?

And so I talk a lot about parenting and then, yeah, people are just curious about just life in general, like how you get stuff done, how.

How it's been to have a career, how it's been to just accomplish life, you know, with these extra challenges and.

Yeah, I'm sure you get a lot of the same questions just living your life.

Yeah, exactly.

How do you put on your pants?

Same way you do, just slower and not standing up.

But kind of along those lines if there's somebody who's listening now, because obviously throughout this interview, we've now seen that, like, you have a deep sense of resilience.

You know, you're happy, go lucky in many ways.

Right.

And grateful for what you have.

All the things you're my kind of girl.

But if there's somebody who's either like newly disabled or just trying to figure it out or finds them self falling into that and has, you know, some of the depression or feeling stuck or those things that, like, maybe haven't plagued us just because we weren't gifted that outlook, I guess.

What, what advice would you give them?

Seek out things that make you feel good.

It's different for everybody.

Some people it's music.

Some people it's cinema.

Some people it's being with friends or spending time with animals or being outdoors because this life can get overwhelming and all the things that we have to deal with and the accidents and the, you know, falling out of your chair and the pain and the.

The tough days and wounds.

Yeah, the wounds.

And the unpredictability of, you know, you planned something months ago and then the day comes and you don't feel good.

And so there's a lot.

So that can become what your brain thinks about most of the time.

So forcing yourself to do the things that make you feel happy and make you feel good is a relief that you need in your brain and in your body.

Because when you are stressed out and worrying your body can't function the way that it needs to, the mental and physical health are absolutely connected, and there.

There is no separation.

And so find finding a way to do things that feel good and do them often enough that, you know, do it.

Do them as often as needed if you're having more of a hard time than seek out those things more.

So I think that's important.

Just for mental health, finding community is extremely important.

Knowing that other people have been through what you've been through and have made it through and are living their life and have done things that you didn't think were possible, have had kids, have had a career, have gone on to do the things that you think might have been taken away from you now.

So finding community is how you discover that those things are still available to you.

And then how you find also all the resources that we talked about.

You know, connecting with the disability community will help you find the right chair that you need, or if you like sports or whatever it is that you're into, that's how you're going to find that technology or the nonprofits or the folks out there that will help connect you with.

With.

With what you need to.

To live your life.

In my head, those are.

Those are.

Those are all good.

Those are, all.

Those are gold.

That's our drumbeat.

You know, it has been for months now.

Just find your community.

That's.

That's the biggest one, I think, you know, and it's instant.

I mean, if you've never been to an abilities expo and you come there.

Yeah.

You're gonna find people just like you or at least close enough to where you know you're going to connect without even knowing you're connecting, it just kind of.

It just kind of happens, you know,.

Find the local organizations that will be having events that will keep you connected to the community throughout the year.

Yeah.

And be thankful for what you're, you know, what you do have, you know, you know, that's.

I kind of go through that list, you know, when I'm feeling down, you know, just, you know, there's things that are bothering me.

I. I just kind of.

Well, I've got this, this, this, this, and this.

Because I don't have that.

Don't let that ruin, you know, your.

Your mental health.

You've got all these other good things going on, so.

Yes.

All right, well, I think we're winding down here.

I. I have to ask you, because that's a big part of your social media.

I just.

I. I've been.

I. I walked on crutches and braces for, you know, years and years and years.

So I've been in the wheelchair maybe 20 years, and I just have not.

I haven't really tried very hard, but I haven't mastered the wheelie.

I mean, I can hop over things, but to sit in a chair, I mean, I see people and it just is second nature.

And I. I don't know.

I don't know what the advice might be, but.

Well, I.

You know, I got hurt when I was 10 months old, and because I was a kid and, you know, you want to protect your kid.

I had wheelie bars until I was 13 and went to Texas Lions camp.

And so that was really my first interaction with other folks, you know, other kids in wheelchairs and all.

Obviously, all the campers and.

Or, you know, the.

The.

No, not the campers.

The counselors.

Yes, the counselors, you know, were trained to, like, help us get better in our chairs and gave us all sorts of.

Of cool wheelchair skills.

And so they taught me, the summer that I was 13, I think, how to pop wheelies.

I did it a couple times.

Wasn't too confident.

And then the next summer, I went to Shriners, and they were like, no, you are going to perfect this because it limits your independence if you don't know how to do it.

And I'm like, but I'm scared.

They kept me in that gym and Shriners until I could pop down every size curb in there and hop up a lot of them.

And I left there like a wheelie master.

And then it has been just such a huge part of my life.

I.

People are constantly making comments because they think I'm showing off.

Yeah, think what you want.

Yeah, I. I'm just always doing a little recline.

Like this.

Yeah.

You know, because it.

It changes the pressure, you know, that, like, if you, you know, get out of your wheelchair, if you pop up the front at all, even if you had wheelie bars on, just that little bit of pressure changes is important.

And so, like, for my spasms, for everything, I just.

I'm always popping a wheelie Sitting there, popping a little wheelie.

People are like, you show off.

I'm like, people sit in normal chairs all the time and pop back in them.

Yeah.

Like normal four leg chairs and people are leaning back, so don't give me that.

But, yeah, being able to hop down, there's that spiciness.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I do my Wheelie Wednesdays every Wednesday and find a cool spot to do my Wheelie Wednesday videos.

And people.

My brother, he's.

He's got it down.

One time we were in Vegas and there was a.

A ramp that went down into a lower section.

And, you know, that was impressive enough to me, but he put a child.

I don't know whose child it was, but he put it on his lap and did that.

Yeah, I mean, that's what really.

I mean, like, you.

You know, you can't tell a child.

All right.

Find that balance spot.

You know, he's.

I would do it so much, especially when Cameron was young, because she would jump in my lap and, like, have me show off and I would, you know, turn around, do this, like, real, you know, big, like, really thing with her in my lap, and she would just love it and send all of her friends with, like, can I do it?

And I'd be like, ask your mom, because, you know, it's kind of a. Yeah.

A crazy ride.

And if their mom said yes, I would let them do it.

My trick was that I would say, you have to lean on me and you can't lean forward.

Like, you have to be glued to me because when I pop up, you're going to want to lean forward.

It's going to change the balance.

So if they could promise to do that, and they would, Most of the kids would just put their head back and, like, on me and just lean into it with them and.

Yeah, that's fun.

All right, well, I'll work on it.

I'll try to get better.

All right, Doug, at the next expo.

Well, you know what?

Next expo, I'm thinking about coming to Phoenix because my.

My brother moved to Mexico so he could just come up north and we're going to meet there.

We're talking about that.

So September, right?

Yes, September 11th through 13th.

I'll be there.

All right.

All right, good deal.

Well, thank you so much for taking some time out and talking with us.

We appreciate it very much.

Thank you for sharing your story with our listeners.

Yeah.

Hey, Doug and Addie, it was really nice talking to you guys and thank you for having me on and sharing your experiences and.

Yeah, thanks for what you do.

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So, I mean, I love her story.

I love her spirit.

She is just somebody who smiles with,.

Like, her whole soul.

When she'd smile at you, her whole face was, like, beaming, and I was like, oh, she's a fairy in the world world.

Just such a cool person.

Spelled K R I S T I N A. Yeah.

So if you want to follow her and see what we're talking about.

Yeah, you can.

Yes.

She's just.

She's our kind of people.

I mean, our kind of people seem to find us, but there are particular, like, shiny ones that are even.

She's one of them.

Yeah.

And I think it's attitude is so important.

And she is an example of attitude being so important.

It's true.

And just the way that she has, like, continued to mentor and give back to the community, just even in the job she has now.

Super cool.

You see why she's super effective at her job, too, because she is so warm and inviting.

It leads to conversation and comfort and feeling like you have a place to be.

So super cool.

Christina, we're excited that you're here.

Thank you for joining us.

We appreciate that very much.

And, oh, did we say thank you in the opening segment to ab ab.

Thank you for coming and joining.

We did, but we'll say it again.

Yeah.

Talk all about bocce ball and all that.

I, you know, still continuing to work on, like, the resource page, bench page, some new things.

And I, I did.

I think I mentioned it before, but I added a travel category, accessible travel and amazing.

So I added some things to that and I also added a few things to the camping page.

There's a place, it's actually in Colorado, but it's called Wilderness on Wheels.

It's an accessible.

A wooden path that goes through a forest.

Oh, cool.

And they also have places where you can camp.

There's tents and cabins that are accessible.

Amazing.

Let's do it.

Yeah.

So disability in next year is in Denver.

You should come.

Done.

You should come.

And we should go do that stuff because I think it would be great.

I need.

I.

You know, now that I'm retired, I used to give a guy in my Kiwanis club a hard time because he's retired, you know, and he'd come to the meeting, say, I won't be here next week.

I'm on vacation.

And I would say, what do you mean you're on vacation?

Your whole life's a vacation.

You're retired.

But, you know, now I get it.

You know, I haven't really gone like a vacation destination trip.

Yes, Phoenix will be great, but, yeah, I would definitely do that next year.

Yes.

Put it on your calendar, Doug.

We're going to meet at Disability and it was a tremendous experience and I think you have a lot of value and knowledge that you could add to that community.

So we're doing it.

Sebastian Yagubi.

I think I got that right.

Yes, no, that's right, I did.

What do you guys got cooking?

Well, I mean, the things that he's going to talk about when he joins us were pertinent into, like, you know, the erg stuff that took me to disability and trying to give people, like, ways to camp.

He talks about accessible camp and getting outdoors and things.

Right.

And there's a lot of people that if you have a parent or a child or you are personally different, you think, oh, well, that's not for me.

And Sebastian has.

Has given different talks.

We're both thinking about camping again.

I know it inspired you and it also inspired me to be like, hey, people at my work could use this because they're still feeling.

I don't want them to just go work and go home as a caregiver.

Like, let's bring those.

Let's make the adaption so everyone can enjoy the outdoors and have some semblance of like a quote unquote norm, more normal life.

And so after our conversation, I reached out to him and was like, hey, I think this could expand and.

And I'm hoping it does for him and some other connections I made at Disability.

And I mentioned him because I tend to be a networker by accident,.

But.

We look forward to telling his story next week and having people get some more access to.

Very good.

Alrighty.

Well, have a good week.

You too.

I'm seeing next week and you two people, we'll talk about smashing stuff again next week.

All right, be right here.

Thank you for listening today.

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