oct 17 2023
My head is soooo busy... ever since I enjoyed my ride down the Charles in an “almost a wheelchair” with the donkeys... I have wondered...
All these people that I meet- almost on a daily basis—who walk and jog around my neighborhood loops... hood pond and the meridith loop...
All they need is a little organization... I know full well. There are several people on their “route” who are sitting in a wheelchair .. who would love to enjoy the fresh air and breezes of going with them... most specifically--- there is a group of 4 women I wave as I go by... they go round the meridith loop... what a great thing it would be if they could push somebody in a wheelchair around the well paved road which would go past the beautiful rock walls, the manequered fields and of course 3 pastures of interesting rescued animals. It has to be a 2 or 3 mile loop??? I see that group ofren—they are community oriented because they are always picking up trash left over from the fairgrounds days... and then the really risky idea of.... the highschool track team mincing their way aaround Topsfield--- is there some not too fragile kid who’s parents would allow himer to be jogged with them????
More weight.. more strength training??? not all wheelchair people are fragile.
if it got really big... it could be gathered at the topsfield fairgrounds – for a test warm up loop on the grounds... then go out the. Back to the meridith loop... just like the Boston loop I envisioned down the mem drive across the Charles and up Storrow to the start.... perfect wheelchair accessible....
just needs someone.... not me.... I do concepts, and construction....not paperwork.... as we all know.
I am 110% guilty of relying on someone else to keep me going straight in the paperwork department....all my records/finances...are wide open for anyone to look over –
Basically... it is my belief....the IRS allows you to deduct only up to a % of your income to charity—after that—you can gift all you want... and they don’t care, but it is not deductable. Well I have been well over that limit ever since I started SDP in 2003... so when I spent $200 on a battery for the generator in the barn, I did not even make note in order to deduct it.. it was not going to make a bit of difference,,,, and getting into what % of the barn was SDP and what % was ERN. Was an academic waste of time. I would not dream of keeping track of donating the battery to either charity ---Those $200 expenditures got well into the many thousands every year.... but things were working.. dogs were getting well trained --- tired amish working horses were enjoying a new retirement life here...and there around new England...and other than the neighbors shooting at us, things were “normal”. Both ERN and SDP were abiding by their mission statements – my donation was max’ed..
I do have a lot of equipment here--- this is not a little back yard operation.... but if anyone who is volunteering needs to borrow anything, I am happy to loan what I have—over the years I have lost a few electric drills, but for the most part I never lock anything up.. and saved the hassle of locking and loosing keys... I pay to buy a thing , register them if needed.. pay taxes—pay to repair and maintain- and tho I have many canceled checks to verify all that... I never had anyone give a rip, or...offer to pay me back... or write the usual IRS thank you--- Elizabeth has thanked me for the hay trips--- but. In 20 years, I think it is the only time –and frankly I never expected it... - we were all busy keeping the ship afloat.
Possession of anything was never in anyones mind.... I bought -we all used...
So it was a shock to have the trailer missing... and I do have a bunch of canceled checks relating to the purchase etc....
Now.. you tell me why I would have donated it to either ERN - or. SDP? It was not deductable... so I just gave it away???? Not likely.. it is/ was mine.
Why did I buy it? Who needed it? Well....... I had a smaller one Janine was already using in Boxford to keep her manure pile going to the recycling farm in Hamilton.... it was handy... and full of her ERN XXXX... our manure pile was growing---and if I had a bigger trailer I could get more hay... which saved ERN donors $400 a week... because if I went to the dealer , it was $9.50 a bale and locally it was $14.50 - using about 10+ bales a day—and having a dunkin donuts on the way up and a nursing home on the way back, it was very logical to get a bigger trailer and save $400 in about 3 hours time.
It was useful to have around—and I. did use it to get 3 tons of sand which we all used to stop sliding around—and SDP took a lot of it to fill the green sludgey puddle on honeymoon hill..... I bought that sand.. just one more of those things I am expected to buy--- and I do not mind—except ...please do not totally ignore it either !!
