James Taylor - You've Got a Friend

When youre down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
And you know whereever I am
Ill come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Youve got a friend.

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
Ill come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And Ill be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, aint it good to know that youve got a friend?
People can be so cold.
Theyll hurt you and desert you.
Well theyll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but dont you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
Ill come running to see you again.
Oh babe, dont you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
Hey now, all youve got to do is call.
Lord, Ill be there, yes I will.
Youve got a friend.
Youve got a friend.
Aint it good to know youve got a friend.
Aint it good to know youve got a friend.
Youve got a friend.

New Spasms and searching for an answer

Every day for about the past two months I have been having more and more muscle spasms. They do not hurt but to explain it would be to say it like this:

If you have a board behind your leg and the board is padded ( thank goodness), your body pushes constantly. Your heal against the back of the board and the muscles are all pulling.

Does this have to do with stress? Does this have to do with neurology and those forgotten adults who need treatment and not the cure? I hope that someone who reads this may have ideas. I dont care what part of the world youre in or who you are, if you have had experience with CP and muscle spasms, I am open to all ideas.

Nick

Thoughts

My thoughts wander through parallels of great distress. My body is finding new ways of spasming that make every day living a lot more complex. You see, I must stay distracted my mind on other things- work, attendant issues, etc. But I feel like society expects more from people like me. I have to break down a lot of stereotypes- good, bad, ugly, true and false, about my disability and my very existence. I like to believe that I understand people enough to realize that their ignorance is their loss, and none of my business. I go out of my way to educate these people that folks with disabilities are just people who happen to have impairments that effect their ability to empower or destroy people with disabilities. They don't understand that we are just like everyone else, but are we really? I think that there should be a poll: " but are we really?" How we feel, our actions, our ability to live, our ability to have employment and education; it means a lot for people with disabilities to become overachievers and get support in achieving what everyone should have and what everyone wants to have. A chance, a real and honest chance. And I think that for those who sit around and choose to only exist, or don't exist, it poses a real problem. It buys into a stereotype that people with disabilities are just people who use benefits and don't achieve anything throughout their lives. It is very frustrating that only 75% of people with disabilities are unemployed, and they want to be employed. But people should not stop trying. We have to keep going. And challenge our minds. I am really frustrated for some unknown reason.

Obama's Agenda

One can only imagine the wieght on Obama's shoulders as he enters the White House. His agenda is pretty Liberal and he needs every bit of our support. He is going to get a lot of crap from Congress, and I doubt he will accomplish much in his first 4 years, if he can win a 2nd term, he won the war, and his agenda will become their agenda. He will win over his non-supporters, and either they will hit the road or jump on board. I hope he can clean up the mess of 8 years of George W. Bush. In terms of world politics and international affairs, he has a lot to work on. He has to do something about Iran. And at the same time he has to get Gaza and Isreal to come to some conclusion. Like thats really gonna happen. And there's always our country. The high crime rate, the lack of jobs, the poor economy, the lack of health insurance for most Americans, the minority and all their issues, education which is failing this country...he needs to also end the drug war and illegal immigration. Oh my god, he has so much to do! I hope he is for real.

Breaking Up With Destiny

Word Count: 505

Breaking Up With Destiny
By
Nicholas Feldman

It started the way any old relationship would, the attraction, the wanting to do things together, and feeling passion. This went on for a few years with many twists and turns, and upside downs. Then, one day I had an epiphany.

Destiny wasn’t who I thought she was. The activities that Destiny and I used to find cool were no longer. Destiny wanted the world to show her the way, and protect her from the harsh realities. I see these realities every day in my business, and in life. They are the fights that make people real. Of course all of these events crescendo with a doll that almost resembles some sort of mythical character pulling two people together, hearing it all, and now becoming a grumpy old man with nothing to do but sleep all day and listen to Destiny. The creature is tired of being the silent shrink, and doesn’t want to hear about any more busy talk, or BS.

When I came home and I looked at Destiny one day, I thought I wanted to marry Destiny. Then just some time ago, I walked in the door and it was quite different. I am a power monger hungry for nothing but success, and a comfortable lifestyle. This is the opposite of Destiny.

Destiny is a very happy-go-lucky, non confrontational artist who wants to teach children, and doesn’t care at all about money. Our friends who were there all disappeared years ago. New friends were hard to acquire, and the TV show Friends did not make up for it. When I get angry, I yell and scream. When Destiny yells and screams, it turns into loud childlike wails that only a pedophile might enjoy. Destiny used to get into it and really focus all their attention on the wailing. I really could care less, and would much rather have a more practical conversation.

It would be neglectful of me not to mention the fact that both of us have physical disabilities and a case of identity theft brought on a lot of our final arguments. These arguments had a lot to do with people who helped us out in our daily lives.

Destiny and I both have Cerebral Palsy: a neurological condition that affects speech, motor control of the limbs, and can cause mental retardation, deafness and blindness. Neither of our mental faculties are affected by our physical disabilities. Destiny uses a power wheelchair, and a synthesized voice, with some use of her arms and legs. The person reading this should also know that I require significantly more care than Destiny. We are now just the so-called “roommates,” both trying to find our way out of this. It has been six years, with no regrets, but lots of changes. I get more reflective than I do sad. That’s just how I am. I think to myself that no arguments are necessary, no words can be said, and it’s just time to move on…