| "Thank you" doesn't begin to cover it |
[Dec. 15th, 2008|12:17 am] |
I have had a great weekend and I'm way behind on reading posts, but I needed to make this post.
On Saturday I went to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) marphod's for Picnicon Beta, and he handed me a birthday card. I was a bit chagrined, because it was in fact HIS birthday (mine was Monday), and I hadn't brought him a card or anything like that. Anyway, I opened it up, and there was a Sacajawea dollar taped to the inside, under which was written, "Rachel - this is the last dollar needed for your sponsorship. Happy Birthday."
About eight zillion people's names were on the card.
Apparently, marphod hunted down folks on here and other sites and herded cats in order to raise the full amount necessary to sponsor the guide puppy in Dad's memory. For those of you unfamiliar with puppy sponsorship, it costs $6,000 to sponsor a dog at GDF, and the sponsor gets to name it. Thanks to everyone who chipped in, there will be a little black lab pup named Rob, and maybe he will grow up to be a guide dog.
I was speechless, and you know that just doesn't happen. ;) Then I called Hedy at work to tell her. Then I cried. I don't even know how to express how incredibly fortunate I feel. It sounds cliche to say, "there aren't words", but there aren't. How can I say, "thank you" and have that cover it? But those are the words I've got. So many, many, many thanks to my wonderful friends, who span multiple continents, and some of whom I haven't even met (!!!), for making me the luckiest person on Earth, and for hopefully bringing some other lucky person independence in Dad's memory. Hedy was awestruck. My mom was bowled over. And I think Dad would be....holy crap, I'm not sure he could have believed it. I think you guys would have made him cry. He definitely would have said, "Wow!" a lot. I wish there were a way for him to know about this. Damn, see, I'm crying again.
I'm going to list the folks whose names were on the card, but please know that this is not a complete list, and that some people are still working out logistics and all that. Also, I'm told that some people were very interested in contributing, but simply weren't able to right now. However, the folks mentioned in the card are:
some_kitten and terras
greyhame and pyrodon
catya
eisa
redembers
blimix
slit
aiela
beloitst
queenortart
gilana
betweenstations
fiddle_pup
vvalkyri
brewergnome
beloitst's friend, whom I've not even met or heard of before
some_kitten's parents
dcart
empire74
blk
ausir
cpk
aillecat
violacat and eeka13
collegecate
upsilon and family
EschwaBBS
HeinousBBS (!!!)
trysha and saxifrage
and of course, marphod, who organized the whole shebang (!!!!!), and who also noted that he might have forgotten to write some people's names on the card :)
Thank you so, so much. I just....wow. Truly, I am blessed. That much love is something I will carry with me and treasure always. Hedy and I will now start looking into whether and when we can visit the school and pick out a puppy in person. (Several litters were born recently to breeder dogs I actually know). And I can't wait to go to Celebration Sunday and tell Rob's handler how their dog got his name and how he got sponsored.
All my love,
Rachel |
|
|
| Give me my vote, you ignorant tools |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|11:13 am] |
Well, I voted, despite the best efforts of the poll workers at my polling place. squonk, I should totally have watched that tutorial, because God knows the poll workers at the King School sure as fuck didn't. You are wise, and I will listen to you from now on!
"They trained you on this, didn't they?"
"Oh, yes, but I didn't pay attention to that part."
Well, fuck you very much too. I think it took 3 or 4 people before they found one who could tell me that the insertion tray on the machine had been folded closed, and that was why I couldn't insert my ballot. Rrrrrrr.
And yes, I twittered to Election Patrol and Vote Report and WBUR and everyone else, plus I took the League of Women Voters survey. And now I have free decaf. But I remain pissy. Although if Obama wins, my mood will certainly improve. :)
Don't forget, Obama drama at Local 50 tonight! w00teth!
P.S. The bake sale at the King School, however, is fantastic. Best gingerbread I've ever had. So at least that part was a win. |
|
|
| It's starting.....I guess! |
[Nov. 3rd, 2008|12:48 am] |
I'm way behind in reading, and may or may not catch up eventually, but I did want to let people know that You Don't Look Blind is becoming a reality, slowly but surely. I'm not up for an election post right now, which would be the obvious thing to write, but the disability issues blog appears to be taking shape. I've also created an RSS feed on LJ, which can be found at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif?v=92.2) udontlookblind.
There may not be much content for a few days, but I do have a few things coming, including commentary on a fascinating and chilling study on violence against people with disabilities. Yeah, pretty cheerful beginning, eh? Incidentally, the blogroll is still very much a work in progress, and I'm open to suggestions of things I should include/read.
While I'm not putting my real name on You Don't Look Blind, I'm not exactly hiding either. I make it pretty clear that I'm not representing my employer or anything like that, and I don't necessarily expect folks to agree with me. Now I'd better actually stick with the thing, since I've announced it and everything!
I'm kind of nervous about this thing, truth be told. We'll see how it goes. |
|
|
| Hey, look! We're on the radar! |
[Jul. 28th, 2008|04:05 pm] |
I was out of town for the 18th anniversary of the ADA. That's my excuse for not having posted, and I'm sticking with it. Fortunately, Senator Obama did not make such an excuse, and wrote the following op-ed. I guess that means the presidential candidates have figured out we exist? Well, one of them has, at least. Glory, hallefrickinglujah, and such.
( Here's the actual text of the piece. It's not perfect, but it's more than we're used to. What a standard, eh? I'll take it. )
Hat tip to Chris Hart for the link. Chris rocks like a nursing home on the San Andreas Fault, dontchaknow. Thanks, Chris! |
|
|
| People were asking, so here you go |
[Jul. 16th, 2008|02:12 pm] |
hammercock has more information on the federal attempt to declare oral contraceptives as abortifacients, and what that means.
Gee, thanks, George! I didn't get YOU anything!
ETA: Wait, wrong link. That one is about how people are going to be able to refuse to provide birth control, abortions, etc. Let me find the HHS-related link.
ETA2: jadasc has kindly provided some links in comments. I have also found and skimmed the actual HHS brief - unfortunately, it is a PDF. However, I call folks' attention to page 30, lines 8-11, specifically:
"Abortion" means any of the various procedures - including the prescription, dispensing, and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or other action - that results in the termination in the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation. [emphasis mine]
Yeah, that'd do it. Oy. |
|
|
| Harriet McBryde Johnson |
[Jun. 6th, 2008|08:01 pm] |
Attorney, author and disability rights activist Harriet McBryde Johnson has died suddenly at the age of 50.
What a loss. I got a great deal out of her book Too Late To Die Young: Nearly True Tales of a Life. (Yeah, I know). Her articles were incredibly thought-provoking.
Good night, Ms. Johnson, and thank you. |
|
|
| Many thanks, and some information |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|02:18 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | at work, downtown | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Pialee The Awesome Cow Orker (tm) on the phone | ] |
First of all, I can't thank folks enough for the outpouring of love and support I've received over the past few weeks. It's been humbling and awe-inspiring, and I am a truly fortunate person. My family has also been really blown away by the concern and caring shown by everyone. Thank you.
There have been some questions about donations in Dad's name, so I've typed up a little thingy, and I'll post it here.
In lieu of flowers, we would be honored by contributions in Dad's name (Robert Tanenhaus) to any of the following worthy causes:
- Sponsoring a puppy from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. (GDF) in Dad’s name. Please mark all checks and electronic donations as designated for Open Sponsorship by Rachel Tanenhaus, ID #345963. Checks may be mailed to: Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc., 371 East Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787-2976; or you may donate electronically at www.guidedog.org.
- Donating to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). Checks may be mailed to: 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851; or you may donate electronically at www.multiplemyeloma.org.
- Donating to the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). Checks may be mailed to: IMF International Headquarters, 12650 Riverside Drive, Suite 206, North Hollywood, CA 91607; or you may donate electronically at www.myeloma.org.
- Donating to some other cause dear to your heart.
Thank you so much. |
|
|
| Goodbye, Dad |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|10:29 pm] |
Robert Gary Tanenhaus
(Rachmiel Gershon ben Avraham haLevi)
March 15, 1946 - April 20, 2008
Dad died tonight just before 9:00. He was surrounded by people (and one dog) who loved him, and he knew that. His death was relatively peaceful, and he is no longer suffering.
May he finally find peace, and may our memories of him be a comfort to us.
Good night, Dad. I love you. |
|
|
| Gimp the vote! |
[Feb. 5th, 2008|12:55 pm] |
The Massachusetts Disability Law Center is encouraging folks having problems accessing the polls/voting to call them today, so they can help put the smack down. They are open (today only) from 7 am until 8 pm. Call (800) 872-9992 (voice) or (800) 381-0577 (TTY). Especially call if it's something immediate, like "I can't get into my polling place", but something like "The person who assisted me is trying to influence my vote" is certainly relevant too!
Look, if any other group were denied the right to an anonymous, independent vote the way people with disabilities are as a matter of course, there would be riots in the streets. I am not exaggerating, and I am not being melodramatic - we are routinely denied this basic right of citizenship, and often when we do have it, we have to go through other (often biased) people to get it. I won't call it a conspiracy, because I don't actually believe we're on the radar to begin with. So let's get out there and make some noise. |
|
|
| ATTENTION CAMBERVILLIANS! |
[Feb. 4th, 2008|04:32 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | at work, downtown | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  worried | ] |
| [ | music |
| | people. things. stuff. | ] |
Abbie the Cat, of Abbie the Cat Has a Posse fame, has been missing since Sunday morning.
If you live, work or hang out in or near Davis Square, please keep an eye out/look for him. (Particularly if you see better than I do - although he's a large print cat!) Abbie is a wonderful and much-loved cat, and derspatchel misses him terribly. Abbie is probably hungry and scared, but is very affectionate. Food will certainly get his attention. He's a huge (20+ pounds), fluffy tuxedo cat with big eyes and long whiskers.
If you find him, e-mail derspatchel at his LJ e-mail address. I'd go looking for him myself, but the one place we know he absolutely isn't is "anywhere Brodie is".
Abbie, please come home. The guy with the food is worried about you, and so are the rest of us. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
loved
annoyed
nervous
determined
angry
crushed