Alex Rudick: No Limits Alex Rudick, my father, dreamed of being a writer. He was 16 years old in 1929 when the stock market crashed, and when he turned 20, the unemployment rate still hovered around 25 percent. Coming of age during the Great Depression, he was told that writers starve, so he became a CPA. He provided for his immediate and extended family with his business sense. My mom referred to him as “physically handicapped” due to contracting polio as a young boy. My dad walked using braces and a cane. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Anna Keene: Full of Grace Anna is my key business partner for custom made bottlecap magnets. That was not my intent, but Anna envisioned herself working alongside her son and so it is. The first time my wife and I met Anna her life was turned completely upside down because her husband had just died. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Beautiful Reality Challenged Dreamer I remember one time visiting a fellow who spent his days in endless tedium at a “day program.” An example of an “enlightened” activity at such a program might be for one person to screw a nut and bolt together, after which his “teammate” took it apart. Visiting such a place is despairing, to say the least. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Beck Rudick: Listen to the Little One (De Hes de Kleine) Whenever my mother was delighted with “her baby” (meaning me), she would say in Yiddish, “De hes de Kleine.” In English, it translates into the proud declaration: “Listen to the little one.” After saying it, she either flashed a loving smile or else she uttered a joyful laugh. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Beth Weegar: Yogi for Everybody I fell in love with my wife Beth in the late 1970s when I first observed her patient, gentle manner as a “teacher/counselor” who worked with people with developmental disabilities. Many people admired her and assumed she must have great patience to do the work she did. I know now that being married to me was a much greater test of her patience. And I’m happy to report that she’s passed that test with flying colors. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Bill Gooding: Piss on Pity In the late 1970’s we opened the first “barrier-free” group home in Vienna, Virginia for 12 persons with developmental disabilities, 6 of whom resided in state institutions due to lack of accessible housing and community supports. One of the first residents of the home was a gentleman named Bill Gooding. Bill used a motorized wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, but was sharp as a tack and quick with his tongue. Many a time Bill mocked me and laughingly said to me, “You’re lying right there.” I can recall his chuckle like it was yesterday. Bill had more spark than an electric scooter, and commanded respect. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Cam McQueen: Social Capitalist I often experience love at first sight. So it was when I met Cam McQueen, owner of the Block Off Biltmore vegan bar. While I sometimes become disillusioned when I later learn people aren’t what they claimed to be, Cam is the real deal. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Creating My Reality: From the Bottom Up I recently read two letters to the editor about age discrimination in hiring. Both were from highly skilled older white males unable to secure employment. My experience was similar to both writers; however, the second writer blamed his inability to find work on political correctness — a backlash against aging white males due to affirmative action. While I agree that aging white males are losing their dominance in society, I don’t lament that fact. And I don’t think ageism today is any different than when I was coming of age. (Read my blog “Never Trust Anyone Over 30” for more on that subject.) Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Dolores Yoke: Vision Becomes Reality I first met Dolores and her husband Bill in 1983 when my wife and I opened the first group home in our community for people with developmental disabilities. While others were signing a petition drive to keep us out of the neighborhood, Dolores asked Bill to donate his talents as an architect to make blueprints required by the fire marshall for renovations needed before we could open the home. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
George Dobson: Do Small Things with Love I met George Dobson in 1979 when we opened the first group home for individuals labeled as “multiple-handicapped” in Vienna, VA. George used a wheelchair for mobility and had full use of one hand. His other hand was atrophied and curled into a fist, and he couldn’t use it. Had he received physical therapy for his cerebral palsy on a consistent basis, he might have maintained use of the hand. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Homeless People: Learn to Live in Abundance Abundance is the condition of being in rich supply. Ironically, the best model for living in abundance came from a homeless hitchhiker I met many decades ago. This was when I still routinely picked up hitchhikers and sometimes brought them home. He was homeless in the sense that he had no home or permanent place of residence. This particular fellow, whose name I no longer recall, stayed with me for a week, even shadowing me at work. When he decided he’d received what he needed, he knew it was time to move on with his life. I wished him well because he’d given as much as he’d received. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Hope DeVall: Choose Joy Hope radiates love, beauty, and acceptance. She and her husband John, create a space with their massage school where all are welcomed. Students come from far and wide to attend their school. I met one student who came from a small mountain town to attend their school. I could understand this, as her town was too small to have a massage school. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Ian Rudick: I Am My Father's Son My dad met my mom through a newspaper, although it’s not like you think. If I understand the story right, my mom-to-be and dad-to-be first met from separate rowboats in a Central Park pond. My dad-to-be asked my mom-to-be, across the water, if she was done reading her newspaper. She was, but she charged him five cents to buy it from her. Since they were in the middle of a pond, he paid it. Even if this isn’t exactly right, the story works for me. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Ian Rudick:Chutzpah I was able in less than a year to overcome an incurable disease by ignoring the advice of my specialist Dr., surgeon, and leading foundation for my disease. medium.com/@loveallserveall/chutzpah-8fee696cd818
Jacob Rudick: Suffer No Fools My son Jacob has become a sensitive man. He has depth of understanding and little patience for incongruity. Although these are admirable qualities, they did make his time in public school — and his transition to the working world — at times problematic. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Judy Mick: Fear No More In 1983, my wife and I “rescued” Judy from a state institution for people with various labels. She’d lived there since she was 12, when her family’s doctor suggested she’d be better served away from society. Now she was 44. We brought her back to her home community to stay in our group home located near her sister and mother. But Judy cried herself to sleep, and I realized that integrating her back into society (and her old neighborhood) was not going to be as simple as I had imagined. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Lance Kurland: Living in Harmony When I moved to Asheville, North Carolina in June of 2014 one of the first persons to reach out to me was Lance Kurland, intuitive healer, collaborative singer/songwriter disguised as an insurance salesman. I knew immediately I had moved to the right place. Lance defied all stereotypes of what it meant to sell insurance. Click here to read the rest of the stories (apologies to Paul Harvey
Marcella Rudick: Live to Dance My daughter Marcie seems to have inherited and improved upon the kindness gene. She is exceptionally considerate as a daughter and as a friend. I’ve never heard her speak disparagingly of one friend to another. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Marilynne Rudick: Live Like Sisyphus I woke up this morning and managed to spill a plant my wife thought she had made spill proof as this wasn’t the first time I had toppled it over. “How did you do that?” she incredulously asked. Things happen in ways I cannot explain or understand, I thought. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Never Trust Anyone Over 30 It’s been over 30 years since I passed the “age of trust.” It’s like I reached 30 again. Does that mean that I’m doubly untrustworthy? Or does that mean young people can trust me again? Discriminating by age alone can be confusing. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Rob Rudick: Happy to Be Alive My brother Rob was diagnosed with first-stage prostate cancer in 2001. Fortunately, he was diligent about having his PSA screening test, and they discovered the cancer quite early. He opted for surgery to remove his prostate gland and found a surgeon who was able to do something called “nerve sparing” surgery. Personally, I don’t think you spare any nerve when you undergo potential life-threatening surgery. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Sara Laws: My Model of Love and Service I am honored to work for Sara and the Hope Chest for Women. I met her at a Chamber Business After Hours event and was attracted to their small grassroots organization created to be in service to women with breast and gynecological cancer. I initially tried to sell Sara on my bottlecap magnets and renewtees. She was very helpful with ideas for people I might partner with. She also shared with me her concerns about her agency’s ability to raise needed funds. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Shirl: You Had Me at Hello I find it somewhat ironic that the line from Jerry Maguire that I believe epitomizes the “millennial” generation and the implications of the digital age, would remind me of someone dead, but not gone. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Sherrie Rudick: For Better and for Worse Sherrie, my “oldest” sibling, is ten years my senior. Being the youngest of four kids, I had the benefit of learning from my elders, for better or for worse. Just as the marriage vow states, “For better or for worse,” Sherrie understands a marriage is for better and for worse — as is a relationship with your baby brother, a job… almost anything. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey) The King and I Although I grew up singing the songs from Rogers and Hammerstein musicals with my mom, “the king and I” of the title refers to a relationship with a woman from my past. No, it’s not what you think, but it’s an illuminating story nonetheless. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
Trevor Lewis: Tuned In I met Trevor Lewis "by chance" when we were paired up to speak with one another after attending a business event. We traded gifts. I shared ideas for marketing his business and people with shared values, and he did an emotion clearing for me. It became clear his experiences went beyond my own, yet unlike many who have exceptional abilities; he had a humbleness and gift for empowering others rather than exalting himself. Click here to read the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey)
