july 20 2016

- i have already forgotten teh exact words  but not the  concept  "impossible  is just a place to start"  froim trunmp's son.. made me think i might have gained something else if i heard the whole speech.. however  it   made me remember the tee shirts we had for some aids bike  ride  i got involved in as a motorcycle escort for the  pedalers   "  I'm Possible" which brings me to  some of the applications we are getting for the dogs we have in training.  maybe we should redo our web site -- being disabled is not a state of entitlement. just because your doctor put some latin name to a joint on your little toe is no reason to announce to the world "i don't work, i am disabled" and often..".i am alright now, but my doctor says it is progressive "--  that becomes a perfect reason not to do the things you didn't want to do anyway..  if i sound liike an expert... i am---just AGE... without all the latin medical diagnosis- is enough to have me decide i can no longer sweep floors or shovel snow--which i hated anyway....  at the other end of th e work spectrum is car driving-- which i like-- and i know eventually i  will have to quit.... but i know right now  i am fine  in the morning and the problem is nap time--to work around that limitation i either don't drive at that time... or more likely  i stay awake by eating-- usually ice cream--- a double decker cone will last  about 20 minutes  of highway driving.  which brings about another problem with my problem with aging... my ability to exercise is limited, but  it has not limited  my ability to chew-  for me... this is a big problem-- and it is getting bigger.  with a bit of organization and technology, we could outlaw the " your call is important to us. please hold"  and put to work a bunch of people who say they can't work. if explore's tech group  can get someone in georgia  to move the sdp cameras on puppy hill, there should be ways to do away  with the "hold" button...  cure the unemployment problem by making all hold buttons illegal-. *****  i found out that being a little old lady at times  can be of great use. i remember.....( this is getting to be a section of the dd)...  back when i started SDP-- and before  many people had heard of service dogs, i knew i had public access legally.. so i waltzed into the local mall with a perfectly  trained harlequin wearing a service dog vest.  i was immediately confrunted by one of these "almost a cop" people with a white ironed shirt and big gun on his hip called "security guard".  told me i HAD to leave --i immediately... .pleasently ...sat down .  There was nothing in his rule book that  told him what to do with me.." i will have to call the police" caused me to remark about not having anything in the oven for supper.  i never had so much attention by just sitting still.  for 2 hours  --- it was great fun-- and  now- the manager of that mall and i are best freinds.... he never heard of service dogs  except  for the blind.... if i was a young woman- i would have been treated differently- and probably argued... but  the old lady just sitting there was very educational... for all. ***** these guys from explore have a massive  pile of  STUFF-  to install --how completely  equiped?  they even had their own shop vac, collection of tools and are keeping all the cardboard to pack up alot of the stuff we no longer use in teh "overflow room".. i expected 2 cameras... to start with they have 2 microwave oven looking thinsgs whch they have prewired to be components of our system...  problem was  -- our system just kept groiwing and getting held together with duct tape... i think there will be no duct tape in this installment. ********** Carlene, just a update on our Appreciation Day. I don’t know where to start.  This has been quite an Appreciation Day for my  husband and I at the Fire Department of Cottleville, MO, District 4. We always go about 4:30, just before their dinner, as we found this is the time they will be there, unless on a call.  During the day, they are out training. Two of the three men we have met before and the third one was new to us, but they had already informed him what would happen on the 19th....so, there they are waiting at the door for us with a handshake and a hug.  What a group of appreciative men; we were invited to sit down at their new table with center logo and large leather chairs fit for a king.  We sat at the table chatting away like long lost friends.   One gentleman wanted to know where I got the cheese cake  and hoped he will be there when I bring another- another couldn’t believe that I made the chocolate peanut cluster (one didn’t get any and he was bummed).  It went on and on, they remembered everything I brought into them on the prior 19’s. Captain Dave is about to become Grandpa for the first time in a week or so, you can bit I will be there shortly after with a little something pink or blue. The single man, Matt, doesn’t cook, so he was taking the crew out for dinner.  Matt will be there the 19th of August and he has invited us to come for dinner.  Carlene, I’m sure you didn’t realize that a friendship as such would develop from Appreciation Day - but we have gained some beautiful friends. We left with love in our hearts. Ila  ************** love it !!!! ****** I had a dream last fall when I got Emmett, to walk the Plymouth water front with out using my jogger. Well tonight that dream came true. I finally walked the entire waterfront  with Emmett's help. He helped me maneuver stairs, curbs, street crossings, inclines and declines. We even listen to a band, I am so happy to have him! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!