His name is Roger.
Given the current state of my appeal to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Division of Developmental Disabilities (WS DSHS DDD) the employees of which are apparently too busy to respond to my Request For Hearing in a timely manner, I have sought and found some additional care giving hours and in so doing have made a new friend.
Roger is a tremendous guy who for all of his 57 years has dealt with the challenges of cerebral palsy. And I do mean “dealt with”! Wow!
He lives on his own in a two bedroom apartment and the care comes to him. Once he’s up in either his standard or electric wheelchair he’s a force with which to be reckoned!
An avid collector of, well, let’s say “vehicles,” his walls are lined with assorted sets of Matchbox and other small scale cars, trucks and other equipment. Within the first couple days I was there, I was stunned to see that he even has the old Cooper-Garrett “set of joints” semi by Matchbox that Larry Fisher and I used to play with when we were about seven! So far, Roger hasn’t let me play with his.
Rustie the cat is his constant companion and has several times already come close to licking me to death. This cat actually gets a bit testy if you refuse to let her lick your hand, but she and Roger have made quite the pair for just over ten years.
My primary responsibility has been to fix dinner and get Roger fed his evening meal along with divers and sundry other small tasks. We head up to the grocery store about once a week and we’ve also been through the apartment on a window-washing spree even though I said “I don’t do windows.” Roger is very persuasive.
We have great conversations and usually end up laughing our heads off over the latest stupidity in the network news.
For example, the other day at dinnertime the arrest was being reported of some joker who had been stealing heavy equipment and boats and squirreling them away back in the woods somewhere. The reporter mentioned that the culprit had given an interesting reason for his crimes, which was that he (wait…wait…wait for it…) “thought he might need the stuff sometime.”
Roger just about spit his mouth full of taco all over the table. We laughed like crazy. I mean, after all, you never know when a stolen backhoe or a bulldozer may come in handy for some project you’re doing around the house. And of course, a stolen ski boat is often useful if you just want to get out on the water for the day!
If you’re the victim of a moron like this you’re obviously not laughing, but when they hit the evening news they sure do make for hilarious entertainment. 🙂 Isn’t that right, Roger?
You’re in Boardman Country!
Make yourself at home,
Brad
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What a great post Brad!!! Yep, while it wasn’t the news, last night we were watching MaximumExposure. OMG the world is filled with… dare I say it… morons LOL! Thanks for the laugh.
Your admirer,
Diane
Hi Brad…LOL…Too funny! I admire you for the companionship you and Roger share. OH, BTW, I am also VERY persuasive and boy, do I have a LOT of dirty windows (floor to ceiling variety). Waiting to hear from you!
Hey Brad……. I was passing thru and stopped to see if you came alive….. welcome back! Great story and I was wonderin if you would come by and do my windows?
I am sure Roger is keeping you honest and I know he thanks his lucky stars as to have you by his side!
Peace!
Hi Brad,
Glad you made a new friend. I’m sure he is among the best you will ever have. I know you’re having fun…Oh, and about those windows…start making a list, we’ll keep you busy!
Barbaras last blog post..Early Autism Detection Aids In Development
Hey Brad, have you told Roger about the other
roger yet?
Good morning to all my commenters!
I have obviously let the cat out of the bag with my revelatory story of a one-time window washing gig!
Those of you in line for clean windows had better have brought a sack lunch ’cause it’s gonna be a long day! 🙂 A friend in a wheelchair will trump all of you every time. LOL!
Meanwhile, I’m sure glad you all stopped by and took the time to respond.
Dad, I haven’t yet mentioned the other Roger, but I’m sure it’ll come up soon.
A have a close friend who is also in a wheelchair, he is a also a force to be wreckened with and has an attitude that surprises most people that he meets.
Hey Brad, I would like to invite you to join in the comment exchanges at
http://forumfinder.net/SMF/
The comment exchange has really taken off very well, and we now cover 3 url’s per day in order to keep up with the list.
So come on over and join and then just sit back and watch the comments roll in.
Hope to see you there soon.
Breezies last blog post..Re: Lensmaster Exchange List
Thanks, Breezie, for the comment and the invite!
I was just over to Forum Finder and got involved.
Brad great blog. There’s a lot of crazy stuff on the news and as Diane said there are a lot of “morons” out there, unfortunately some of them are the reporters themselves.
Amazing story of a friendship, lots for all of us to learn from it! Thank you for sharing & keep having good laughs! 🙂
I’m jealous. I think I need a new pal to hang out with IRL and just enjoy passing some time with. You and Roger are both very lucky people.
Wonderful post! Very entertaining. Roger and Rustie the cat sound like great friends to have. 😀
Great post. Reminded me my windows need cleaning though!
A friend is someone we find almost everywhere around, good friends are scarce though.
Just would like to say you welcome back! Great story. I hope Roger is keeping you honest.
I was passing thru and stopped to see if you came alive, welcome being back! Great story and I was wonderin if you would come by and do my windows?
nice