Jack’s Winning Words 7/26/19
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”  (Oath of the Special Olympics)  Today marks the date, 29 years ago, when the American Disabilities Act was passed, ensuring equal access to transportation, jobs, schools…to any public place.  Even before that, someone came up with the idea of a Special Olympics for physically challenged athletes.  If you want to be inspired, go to a S.O. when one is held in your area.  “Winning isn’t everything!”   ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  A church secretary of mine was in a wheel chair because she got polio two weeks before the Salk Vaccine came out in the early 1950s.  she was from Michigan, waaay up in the U P.  anyway, she told me that before the ADA was passed and implemented, when she drove home to the U P,  there was only one bathroom she could access with her wheel chair.  and it was about a 10 or 11 hour trip as i recall.  she said she drank almost no liquids and sometimes needed an adult diaper.  the ADA and the interstate hiway system was a huge gift to her.  she and her husband divorced two years after we moved to MN.  i have often wondered what happened to them.   their daughter called me several times here in MN begging me to "fix" the marriage which i obviously could not do.  but her pleas for help still ring in my ears sometimes.===JACK: I can't understand how some parents would resist having a child being vaccinated to help prevent polio.  How cruel and short-sighted.  What chance would the ADA  have in being passed today?===SP:  Good question. and of course there is this idiot doctor in the UK who wrote a book linking (falsely) autism with the measles vaccine.  he should be put in jail for promoting such a harmful sehood.===JACK: Jail?  I have a different suggestion.  How about having him spend his sentence confined to a wheelchair? ===SP:  you got my vote!

FROM BBEL:  This is perfect for me right now. I am in the interview process  for the position of Supervisor of Special Education. These interviews are a grueling process. I need to be brave and put my best into it... that's all I can do!  Thanks for your daily inspiration!===JACK:  One of my favorite message songs is "Que sera, que sera.  Whatever will be will be."  From my experience of looking in the rearview mirror...things work out the best for those who do their best.  Be patient; be brave... and continue to do your best!  It'll all work out in the end.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  Maybe that's why they are called Special.  It's great to appreciate and enjoy the effort, and more importantly the joy of participation, than what has become the fanatical focus on medal count for the country.===JACK:  Maybe it was back in 1936 (Jesse Owens et all) that the Olympics became a contest of country versus country rather than finding the "best athlete" in a particular event.  The Special Olympics, by way of its motto, seems to recaptured the spirit of true competition.===RS:  Agreed.  Much more aware of special needs now that we have a Down Syndrome grand daughter. God teaches us in her special ways===JACK:  I knew that this quote would resonate with you.  Roy Rogers and Dale Evans had a Down Syndrome daughter, Robin.  Dale wrote a book about the effect that she had on their family.  She titled the book, Angel Unaware.