Putting It Out There

Last night, Greg & I gave a talk to the Spreenkler Group of Milwaukee. They have casual forums every Wednesday and provide information & feedback to creative enterprises.

In their words:
"Spreenkler Creative is a creative services agency that hires talented college students to give them real client and project experience, expose them to dynamic organizations and help them launch their careers."
www.spreenkler.com

It started as a group of about 8 people getting together for Margaritas and has grown by leaps and bounds. Normally the presentation would have been at Bucketworks, but that facility is recovering from a massive flood that damaged their space. So we met at the new Independence First facility. It's a good-energy, beautiful place. Here's a quote from their website.

"The Independent Living Movement was born out of the civil rights movement for persons with disabilities in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Consumer choice, autonomy and control define the Independent Living Movement. The independent living philosophy holds that individuals with disabilities have the right to live with dignity and with appropriate support in their own homes, fully participate in their communities, and to control and make decisions about their lives. The National Council on Independent Living is comprised of organizations throughout the nation, including IndependenceFirst, that continue to operate under the independent living philosophy."

YES. Don't we all deserve that?
http://www.independencefirst.org/

Thanks to our hosts for the great pizza and, most of all, the enthusiastic audience who offered provocative comments and suggestions. We also got some ideas for more people to interview.

IN OTHER NEWS:
If you're in the Milwaukee area, watch for an article about us in this Sunday's (July 12) CUE section of the Journal Sentinel. Stan Miller spent a lot of time with us observing how we work, from sitting in on an interview with Paul Olsen of Scooter Tow Hand Gliding to Greg's first hand gliding lesson and brief flight.

AND SOME PERSONAL NEWS:

Last week, I officially graduated from a 3-month Cardiac Rehab Program at Columbia Hospital. You know, the people who saved my life? For several weeks after my Heart Attack, it was the only place where I felt safe. They helped me push myself and provided gentle encouragement and much love. All the women who work there are extraordinary people who help people like me get back on their feet and then on the road to living healthier. Something I have to work at every day because it's not exactly second nature to me. I had filled out a huge questionnaire when I first arrived and then the same one last week. Based on those answers, my emotional, mental and physical progress was measured and rated. Overall, I made a 150% improvement! This was so overwhelming to me that I just cried and cried, especially when they handed me my official diploma.

After hugs and tearful goodbyes to the Ladies of Rehab, I saw some people from the next class sitting in the waiting area. So I had to show off my diploma and offer them some encouragement. Now, I'm pretty much "the kid" in these classes. Most people are anywhere from 10 to 30 years older than me. So I think I had it a lot easier than they do. Each recovery is unique. As we were sitting there, I said: "You know what the hardest part of this was?...Making the decision to live." To my surprise, they all nodded in agreement. It would have been SO MUCH easier to just say, "This isn't worth it." So much easier to just go home from the hospital and give up. And for a couple weeks, that was the biggest internal struggle for me. It's not enough to have great family and friends tell you they love & need you; in fact, that was often annoying to me! I hated getting advice like, "well now you have to ......" Grrrr. Words like "should," "have to," "must," and so on just don't work for me. There were no easy fixes.

Now I have this newest diploma hanging on the wall of my newly-created exercise room for motivation. I need it!