Are you smarter than a politician?

 For some strange reason, I've been following politics. I am absolutely positive I do not want to be a politician, however, it's mind blowing how incredibly stupid these people are yet they run our country. For example, the governor of Illinois, whose name I can't even pronounce, was caught red-handed trying to sell Illinois' Senate seat. He knew he was under investigation but made phone calls clearly expressing his intention to use the seat for his benefit.

If that doesn't make you queasy, let's go a little further back and look at the economic plan that the house originally came up with. Just for fun, let's pretend that the plan was brilliant to begin with. Republicans and Democrats worked together to create what they felt was an ideal solution. As soon as it was over the men and women who made these decisions, and cross party lines, were interviewed by every news channel imaginable. Do you know what they were most proud of? They were surprised that they were able to work together, ignoring party lines, to come up with a decision. I don't consider myself a rocket scientist, but isn't that what they're supposed to do every day?

I'm not even going to touch things that President Bush has done in his eight years. It's too easy! But keep in mind that people voted for him, twice. Not only that, but people weren't credibly interested in Sarah Palin. Personally, I've never heard dumber things said out loud in my entire life and I've seen people on drugs. She claimed to have experience in foreign affairs because she could, "see Russia from her house." When asked where she got her news, she couldn't even think of one credible news source. I don't even want to talk about her wink. While she's done other stupid things, there was one final moment that literally scared the crap out of me. She proclaimed she was going to run for president in 2012 because God told her to. If there is a God, and he pays attention to American politics, there is no way he contacted her to say that she is the best option for president.

It's easy to point fingers at politicians, especially because they're always in the limelight. So let's look at other regular citizens that are just as stupid. How about the group of skinheads that it planned to kill Barak Obama. These brilliant few took pictures of themselves with M-16 rifles, and placed them on My Space with details on how they were going to infiltrate and execute their plan. On their sites, they had explained the received intelligence on buildings that he would be in and even joked amongst each other online. Oddly enough, they were caught. Congratulations! You are equally as smart as a politician.

Finally, I feel the need to point a finger at athletes. While some of them are relatively intelligent, it's obvious that there are a bunch of bad eggs. Going back a few years, Ricky Williams tested positive for marijuana. Not so dangerous but I want to compare his folly with recent events. For example, Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg. That already sounds stupid. The whole story is even better. He went to a fancy nightclub wearing sweatpants, with a loaded gun in the waistband. Claimed that he was nervous to be in the area but I think he's just that stupid. So as you probably can imagine, the guns slipped from his waistband and in an attempt to grab it, shot himself in the leg, probably ruining his football career. First of all, if you're worried about going to a certain area, DON'T GO. Second, why are you wearing sweatpants to a fancy club? And lastly, if you are dumb enough to bring a loaded gun and stick it in the waistband of your sweatpants, PUT THE SAFETY ON! Congratulations, you're smarter than a politician.

For the record, I'm not saying that I've never made a dumb decision. However, my dumb decisions affect very few people, which technically makes them okay. So the next time you make a stupid decision, or you see somebody else make a stupid decision, consider whether they, or you, are smarter than a politician. Good luck!

Arise Fundraiser

Welcome! I apologize for not updating the blog consistently, but I have been overwhelmed by preparations for the fundraiser that was held on Saturday.

The concert was... extraordinary. It was simply amazing that we managed to get all of those people to join us to celebrate the progress I've made. Since I wasn't able to attend last year, I had no way of knowing what to expect. I have to say I was blown away by the response of friends, family, and the community.

While I spent a good majority of my time saying hello to everyone, I was able to hear the musical acts that were performing in my honor. The first to play was Lenox Underground, an adult musical group that had a couple members from Summit. I have to say I was a little skeptical at first, but when they got to work and people were dancing, I had no problems grooving myself. Playing a collection of cover music as well as original pieces, they set the stage for the rest of the night.

The second musical act, Orchard, was a Rufolo brother concoction. Playing mostly original pieces, with an occasional Radiohead cover, the band blew everyone away. Some who have heard them before were surprised by the level of creativity and talent. The rest of the audience who had never heard them, watched in awe. They had such an eclectic sound and even played a song that I had written when I was in high school, which just happened to be titled "Arise".

The final act was a friend of mine whom I had met in Manhattan years ago. We had lost touch but one of my close friends (Maria) managed to contact him so he could surprise me with a live performance. John Lardieri played the final few songs at the fundraiser, leaving the crowd speechless. It was truly a gift to hear him and share his music with the rest of the crowd.

This fundraiser was such a humbling experience. Even in this weakened economy, people showed up by the hundreds to share what they could, whether it was time or money. Friends of mine put so much effort into this event and really created a wonderful evening. My mother and I hate having our hands out, but find ourselves in that position often, recently. We try to accept everything we are given with humility and gratitude.

Even though it was a tiring day, we ended up at the bar. My closest friends and family members came to enjoy a night cap. Here, at some crappy bar in Springfield, is where the night really set in. The thought of everything people have done for me, in just one evening, was overwhelming. I looked around the bar, mid-sip, and realized how truly lucky I am.

Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday to watch the Buffalo Bills lose yet another game. It wasn't just another game, but a battle against my brother-in-law's favorite team. To all those who watch football, you know how truly humiliating it is to lose to San Francisco. Here I found myself battling with the energizing feeling from Saturday night's festivities and the pain of losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL. For those reading, if you are true friends you will join me in saying, "SCREW YOU SAN FRANCISCO!"

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, unless you are San Francisco fan. Tune in next time.

Spinal Cord Injury Education

Hey guys. Today's blog is going to discuss basic elements of spinal cord injuries and where some good information can be found. To start off, I have added some links on the left side of the blog that will direct you to two of the websites that I've found to be useful. Also, as you may have noticed, there is a link that will direct you to my website.

For those of you who have spinal cord injuries, the two websites that I have on the left have some really good information. There are forums about how to travel, where to get used equipment, and classifications on what type of injury you have. However, for able-bodied people, it may just be interesting for you to read both of the websites just to get a feel for what I'm talking about.

One of the toughest things about being a recently injured person is that, when you are discharged from the hospital, they give you very little advice. When I got home in March, my mom and I would be spending a lot of time at the hospital because we didn't know how to handle a lot of the situations. My mother is not a nurse and in order to get nursing care you need to have a lot of money. Basically, you're on your own.

Since March, I've learned a lot of tricks and techniques that make my life easier, as well as my family's, by asking other paralyzed people how they deal with certain issues. Recently, my mother received a phone call from a family who has a recently injured child. The parents simply don't know how to cope and don't have the knowledge they need to adequately care for the child. It's almost like a moral imperative to help people that have the same injuries as you. When I'm at Kessler, everybody asks everybody else questions, no matter how inappropriate they might seem.

While it may seem that I'm not giving any specific advice, I want to do more than that. So instead of listing all the things that I think might help, I suggest looking at these websites and sending me any questions or comments. I would be more than happy to answer any questions for able-bodied or paralyzed people. No issue is off-limits and no question is stupid.

I look forward to hearing some of your questions and comments. Also, depending on how many of you actually get involved in this forum, I will use some of the comments and questions as blog suggestions. So don't be shy and please direct anybody who may need advice to my blog or website. Thank you.

The Mask

Happy Halloween. Although the metaphor is rather trite, I feel that people often pretend to be something that they aren't. Sometimes it's to seem better than they are, more powerful, more in control or simply to hide what they are or what they feel. Everyone wears a costume on Halloween, but people wear masks almost every day.

Dealing with paralysis is hard, end of story. However, sometimes it seems better or easier to deal with. In reality, it's a struggle where there are rarely good days, only not bad days. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but there are times when I don't want people to know whether I'm sad, upset, angry or any other feeling. Those emotions are personal and it's our decision whether we allow other people in.

Countless numbers of times I find myself emanating happiness when, the truth is, I'm not happy at all. Sometimes I just don't know how to deal with the situation and the way I choose to deal with it is to put on a happy face so that people don't hassle me. It's probably not the healthiest way of dealing with my problems but my philosophy is that if I can't deal with my problems, nobody else will be able to.

This doesn't mean that I'm always lying about how I feel. Maybe I embellish a little but there's no harm in that. I suppose this week's message is to be honest with yourself. You can lie to everybody else, but you can't lie to yourself. Grab your problems and your emotions by the horn and face them head on. One thing I've learned is that if you're in a bad mood you have the ability to snap out of it. The famous line "don't worry, be happy," isn't just a really annoying song, it's actually sound advice.

For those of you who are going trick-or-treating, enjoy yourselves. Notice all the kids in their costumes of superheroes, famous athletes, mythical creatures and scary stuff and just think about what I've said. They idolize people or images they really don't know because it makes them feel powerful or athletic or scary. Sometimes, we do the same.

Beginnings

Hello everyone. This is my first of many blogs. I plan on making this blog as resourceful as possible, while also giving insight to my personal life and thoughts so that you may get a grasp of what a person who is paralyzed deals with day to day.

Before my stroke, I would never have thought that I would end up paralyzed for the rest of my life. You see people in wheelchairs, but it never occurs to you that at any moment you could end up in the same situation. It just never even occurs to you. I learned quickly that health is fickle. It's sincerely one of those things that you don't know what you have until it's gone.

After the immediate reaction, which is mainly fear and anxiety, the question of, "why did this happen to me?" starts to build in your head. In my particular situation, I never got an answer nor will I ever get an answer. My paralysis was not caused by attempting something dangerous or an accident that I could've prevented. There is no rhyme or reason, which makes everything much more frustrating and confusing.

It's been a little over a year now since my stroke, and, I've made an enormous amount of progress. I'm proud of myself for pushing my body to its limit. I'm proud of my family for sticking by me through every situation. I'm lucky that I am healthy given the circumstances. However, every day is a battle to stay motivated and positive. It's definitely not easy and in the future entries  I'll divulge some of the positive and negative things that I  endure.