In a message dated 1/24/2002 7:04:43 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:


> oh, i know betty. she sent it.
>
>
She surely did.  Two days later, she got a letter in the mail from the
Commissioner of Accounts for the Circuit Court of the City of Alexandria.
She thought to herself -- before she opened the envelope -- "Ahhh...how quick
the retribution."
The envelope contained copies of documents I had sent them two months ago
regarding my Mother's estate.  They were just returning those copies for my
personal files.

But, since you brought this up, I'm hoping I can come to the list for
assistance as I prepare this lesson plan I talked about for Alexandria
businesses.  Right now, I'm getting a feel for the things I want to do, but
getting input is a better way to make sure I've got my bases covered.  I just
want to make sure that I'm addressing the most important things.

I've ordered the tape "A Credo for Support," to use in the training.  That's
on Norman Kunc's website (normemma.com) if anyone wants to view it.  When I
saw it myself, I was moved in ways I cannot explain.  It said everything
about everything that has hurt me in the past few years, and not to my
embarrassement, I found myself in tears.  I want them to see this.

This isn't going to be about specific changes, alterations to businesses or
whatever.  I want this to be a healing thing that will help to bring both
communities in Alexandria together.  I want this to be a feel good thing,
which I believe is very important under the present circumstances.  Before
September 11, I would have been thinking in a different direction.  Now
though, both communities are in need of emotional healing in ways that we
were not before.

You know, this is one of the reasons I'm not a joiner.  I've seen too many
things of good potential get killed in committee.  If this had to go to some
committee table, the flavor of it would be destroyed before it got off the
ground.  Frankly, that's exactly what happened when I started Wings in
Flight, Inc.

I worked my butt off to see the realization of that dream.  Because I wanted
to be FAIR, I gathered people to form a board of directors.  I did my
homework, and I knew that when we applied for tax exemption, the IRS would be
looking at things like that.  I also knew that many heads could be better at
this than one, and that I should not rely soley on my own judgement.  There
are good reasons to have boards of directors.

Now, Wings is dead and I am the person who killed it.  When our pro bono
attorney suggested that the best way to advertise for money was to show
pictures of disabled kids on the nature hikes looking pathetic (yes he did
say "looking pathetic -- and the more pathetic the better"), and the board
member present at the time thought that was a good idea, I knew that we were
going to die.  I knew in that second that I would kill the organization
myself -- which I did -- before I would ever allow our children to be
exploited in that or any way.  I said that by doing such a thing, the money
we would take in would be tantamount to blood money.  Neither of them got
that.

Blast Jerry Lewis and his influence.

It doesn't matter though.  Wanting to have a nature program for kids caused
me to start looking into the lives of familes with children who have
disabilities.  That led me to Tracy Latimer, etc.  I probably never would
have come to you if not for that. I just wouldn't have known about these
aspects of disability rights.

I probably would have killed myself.  Man, you can't take a person who was in
the Children of the American Revolution, and then the Daughters of the
American Revolution, fill her with all these notions of liberty and justice,
and make her love that concept so deeply -- so incredibly deeply -- that she
would personally die to preserve it, and then slam dunk her into the lower
rung of the caste system without expecting some backlash.  I would have gone
mad.

Thank God I have Harriet Tubman's memory to adore, and life to attempt to
emulate as best as I can.  I can only hope that one day when I am gone, that
I will have earned the right to be buried anywhere within a hundred mile
radius of where she is.

Anyway, I have reason to want to keep this away from any group in the
immediate area.  I'm in the process of changing the name and mission
statement of Wings, so that it will reflect these new activities.  This will
give me a better stance to say "Nope.  Thanks for the offer, but this baby is
my organization's brain child."  Screw tax exemption.  I'm paying for all the
stuff anyway, and to me, taking a tax break means answering to the government
in ways that are none of the government's business.

I still need input though, to do the job the right way.

So...whatever.  I'm just prattling today.  Just a prattling.