My road came to an unexpected halt on November 9, 2010.

That morning, I was bicycling to work when a garbage truck turned across a city bike lane. I was in that bike lane.

A team of trauma surgeons saved my life, but they had to amputate my left leg. My body and life were forever changed.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

As I learned to walk again, I measured my recovery in steps and then miles. Over time that journey grew into something more -- a way of being in the world, wherever I go.

I am a person of ability and disability. I travel in the space between. These are my postcards.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Cookie Apocalypse 2015

Mile Marker 3450:

It's our third Cookie Apocalypse, and we're getting really good at surviving!

The first apocalypse at Mile 1471 brought an unprecedented week of snowstorms.  The second at Mile 2309 encompassed three ovens and an entire floor of our apartment building.  This year brings new neighbors and spring-like weather.  Seems pretty easy, but you never know what's coming...

Let's just say we're prepared for anything!

BRING IT ON!

It's a good thing Donna's organized.  She turns one bedroom into a coat room and another into a cooling room.  She loads up an ingredient table with provisions.

We've got more people and fewer ovens this year.  So Donna creates a contingency plan.

Call it the 2015 Apocalyptic Challenge...
At least half our cookies must be NO BAKE recipes!

Here goes.  Click on your favorites to try them out!

I make a Philly standby, Chocolate Covered Pretzels with snowflakes and candy canes sprinkled on top.  (Technically not cookies, I know!)

With Sahil's help, they turn out awesome!

Sarah rolls spiked Fruitcake Balls while Helen wins for the most non-traditional Christmas treat -- Caramel Matzah Crunch.

Yum!  (Click to see recipe)
Donna puts aside her coconut aversion to make no-bake Peanut Butter Balls.  (And I put aside my peanut butter aversion to taste-test them!)

Jasmine creates Chocolate Haystacks using an unlikely ingredient, LaChoy Noodles!  We nickname them "Reindeer Poop."

For obvious reasons :)

As for oven-baked recipes, we've got those covered too.

Ben stirs together giant Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies.   Helen mixes mini Anisette Cookies.

Yes, they really turn out like this!
I scoop Red Velvet batter and roll it in powdered sugar to make a crackled cookie.





Donna goes classic with Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip.

Rupesh jazzes up his usual biscotti with orange, lemon, and chocolate chips.  (It's his own secret recipe, but here's a link to something close!)

 Manali makes fluffy, light Lemon Ricotta Cookies.

With help from our littlest baker!

Kristin sticks with her successful Chocolate Hazelnut Spiced Cookies from last year.  Sarah chooses Gingersnaps with a marshmallow twist on top.

Jasmine bakes up Buttery Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies.  (Try saying that 10 times fast!)

And newbies Josh, Elah, and Adi roll some of the best Shortbread Cut-Outs I've ever tasted!

The end result?

Enough treats to feed the entire city of Philadelphia.
Or at least our neighborhood!

Not to mention a pretty good sugar rush!

No one knows what this season will bring...
But we do know how to make it sweet!

HAPPIEST HOLIDAYS and 
BEST WISHES FOR A HEALTHY 2016!
Enjoy the recipes!

Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Green Goblin

Mile Marker 3430:

What is the Heisman Trophy doing at a car dealership?

I have no idea.  But the salesman insists on taking a photo of us with it.

At Mile Marker 3430, I am shopping for a new car.   Dad is along for the ride.

The salesman, John, is a South Philly guy.  I like him immediately.  When he asks if I'll be trading in my old car, I tell him I'm not sure.

"I'm driving a very valuable 1998 Honda Civic," I say.  "Runs like new."

He agrees it's a great car.  But I already know that.  I've been driving the "Green Goblin" for a very long time!

"If you could assure me it'll go to a good home, I'd be more likely to trade it in,"  I tell him.  "And if you'd let me interview the new owners, that would seal the deal."

He chuckles.  We don't seal the deal.  Not today anyway.

If you haven't figured it out, giving up the Green Goblin is a little like giving up a piece of myself.  Over the years, she's become an extension of me.  When she gets a flat tire, it's a sure sign that I'm on the brink too.   She even predicted the downfall of my Genium last spring!

It makes sense.  Seventeen years hold a lot of history:  5:00 a.m. commutes, South Philly street parking, dirt roads of Vermont.  Trunk-fuls of biking and skating equipment.  Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and books on tape.   (The tape deck still works, by the way!)

Gotta love the 90's :)

She got me through some tough times too.  While I was in the hospital, the Green Goblin waited patiently in my parents' snow-covered driveway.  And when I finally started moving again, she escorted me and my brand new prosthetic leg on our first SOLO journey -- a nerve-racking, white-knuckle trip to Trader Joe's.

"I drive a 17-year-old Honda," I tell people proudly.  She takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.  It's a point of pride for both of us.

Maybe it sounds strange to focus on wheels when this blog is all about walking.  But as many amputees know, not all days are walkable.  My Honda and I have grown closer over the past 5 years.  I depend on her now more than ever.  (See #4 in The New Normal for details.)

So why replace her?

Still looks like new after a car wash!
She's getting up there in car years.  This year in particular has brought adventures above and beyond the typical flat tire.  She's got rust spots on the roof.  Oil and radiator leaks under the hood.  Her dashboard lights have dimmed so much that at night I adjust the radio and heat by touch only.

My brother Mark thinks I should get a car that's more reliable.  My mom says, "Call me when you get home."  My dad sends me e-mails about 2016 models.

And perhaps most convincingly, my friend and long time mechanic Jim agrees.  He's known my Honda since the very beginning.  He even named her the Green Goblin!  And he says it's time for a change now too.

They're right, of course.  But as usual, I have trouble letting go.


Mile Marker 3438:

On a sunny morning, the Green Goblin and I go from the rehab gym to a doctor's appointment.  We glide effortlessly into a parking spot at 17th and Walnut.  No shortage of parking karma here!

I get out to pay the meter.  Then, all of a sudden, BOOM!

THE GREEN GOBLIN IS ON FIRE!

I watch in horror as smoke whooshes out from under her hood.  She looks like a smoldering dragon.

Within seconds the smoke dissipates, and I realize it's not truly smoke but steam instead.  Still.  This is a problem.

Chest pounding, hands shaking, I dial AAA.  An hour later, a flatbed tow truck arrives.

"You probably have a busted hose," says Derrick, the kind tow truck driver.  He lifts the Green Goblin's hood and peers inside. "Yep, there it is."

I'm no car expert, but EVEN I can see the problem!

The radiator hose has split along a 6-inch seam, and fluorescent green antifreeze has spewed everywhere.

On the city street, Derrick can only pull his truck about 100 feet from my car.   So he tells me I'll have to start it up, busted hose and all.   He stands next to my car to block traffic.

"Come on," I whisper to the Green Goblin.  "You can do it."

She starts.  We drive up behind the flatbed.  I cut the engine off.  Quick.

Derrick hooks up chains and pulleys, and the Green Goblin gets her FIRST EVER tow truck ride!   So do I.

We arrive at the South Philly Pep Boys in minutes.

Mechanic Jim, if not completely overjoyed to see us, takes the Green Goblin into his capable, familiar hands.  He knows what's wrong and how to fix her.

She'll be good to go in a few hours.

I start up the sidewalk toward home past fiery roses, and gold leaves, and newly bared branches.  Layer upon layer of seasons.

It's beautiful, but rattling.  Change is uncomfortable.

With the Green Goblin in peril, I wonder what's next.  In the past, mechanical problems in my car have set the stage for mechanical problems in my body.  I think about Mile 553, when brake problems led to abdominal surgery.

But then I start thinking -- and hoping -- a different kind of change is in store....

Maybe the Green Goblin is just doing her part to make car shopping smoother for both of us.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Bike Helmet Blitz 2015

Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.
--Albert Camus


Mile Marker 3400:

When I see people riding bikes without helmets, I want to shout, "Don't think about your HAIR, think about your FAMILY!"

Or... "If you get a head injury, you might not be YOU anymore."

Or... "When it's bike vs. car, the bike NEVER WINS."

Or... As a first grader taught me, "You can get a robot leg, but you can't get a robot brain!"  (Heck, I'd flash some leg, too, if I thought it would help!)

Of course this is Philly.  Offering advice to complete strangers -- even with the best intentions -- is not the smartest move.

And so I came up with an idea to spread the word:  A BIKE HELMET BLITZ.


We gather in Old City, armed with 500 lime green helmet coupons and 300 yards of twine.  We set off to walk a 5K.

Along the way, we tie those coupons to parked bikes and bike racks.

We hand them out to passers-by.

Our green coupons look great on them!


We make special stops at the city's bright blue "bike share" stations, which have popped up everywhere.  They're strictly BYOH -- Bring Your Own Helmet.

By lunchtime, every bike east of Broad Street has been blitzed with helmet coupons.

That's my story -- the Cliffs Notes version anyway!

After 5 years, I look a little different, but I'm STILL ME.   I attribute much of that to the fact that I was wearing a helmet.

I wish I could shout it to every biker that passes.  I wish I could install a helmet dispenser at every bike share station.  I wish I could make more of an impact.

But we carry on the best way we can.
And for now, this way is mine.

Thanks to the family and friends who joined me to paint the town green!  Thanks to all of you who are wearing your Got Helmet t-shirts!  And thanks to Community Bikes and Boards for giving us an awesome helmet discount!

When one more cyclist puts on a helmet...
Or survives an accident...
Or carries on...
We will have made a difference.
Maybe we already have.

Yes, there's a video!
Click here to see the BIKE HELMET BLITZ -- and a quick recap of the last 5 years!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

In 5 Years

Mile Marker 3390:

I'm at a stand still.

My thoughts are as tangled as a broken bicycle chain.

It's one thing to count miles, yet another to count YEARS.

I recently found this photo.   Big eyes, bigger hat.  It's my niece Riley Cate, posted to Facebook on November 7, 2010.

My very last post before the accident.

It hits me.



In 5 years, this kid has gone from birth to kindergarten.

When her teacher tells the class, "Everyone has 2 legs,"  Riley Cate replies knowingly, "Not everyone!"

It's amazing how much can happen in 5 years.

In 5 years, a little leg grows stronger.




If we're lucky, our health stabilizes.  Our steps go farther and faster.
A WALK becomes a RUN.

In 5 years, we're embraced by a community we never knew existed.




We learn to use new equipment.  And if we practice hard enough, we even get good at it!



In 5 years, we scale walls.



Walk beaches.





Plant flowers.


And PEDAL ON.






Five years brings danger.

But also RESCUE.






In 5 years, shells are crushed under car tires.

Footprints are left behind.




And street corners are honored with love.



In 5 years, friendships grow and change.






We say hello.




And also goodbye.





Five years can feel like a winning streak.


Or a slow uphill climb.






Either way, it's never enough.


Five years are fragile.  They dangle ahead of us on a string of hope, not promise.  Our ride can stop anytime, anywhere.

I know.

It's November.  My back aches.  I sink down farther into my socket.   I keep walking, and working, and doing what I'm supposed to do, but I really want to take off my leg and hibernate -- no, HIDE -- in bed.

Anxiety mounts.  My chest tightens.  I brace my body so hard I could stop a truck.

But it's impossible.

That part happened 5 years ago.

November 9 is my ALIVE DAY.   I like saying that.

Still, no matter what you call it, revisiting trauma is not easy.  This time of year brings celebration, but loss too.  I want to give each piece the attention it deserves.

Five years ago, I regained consciousness after a week of surgery and -- it's fair to say -- enough life-saving to last a lifetime.   I woke up DIFFERENT but very GRATEFUL to be alive.

Five years later, I still feel the same way.

It's one thing to count miles, yet another to count YEARS.  The years will pass whether we move forward or not.

I choose to start moving again.

What will the next 5 years bring?
There's only one way to find out...



WALK WITH ME TO CELEBRATE 5 YEARS

BIKE HELMET BLITZ -- THIS WEEKEND!  
(Come on out!  No bikes necessary!)
WALK a 5K with me to spread the word about wearing bike helmets!
Saturday 11/21 at 10 a.m.
Meet up at 2nd and Market Streets in Old City.
Hang out for lunch afterward at 2nd Story Brewing Co. (117 Chestnut St.)

Whether you walk in person or in spirit...
Wear your GOT HELMET t-shirt!   
If we convince even one person to put on a bike helmet, it will make a difference!

Hope to see you!  
And as always, thank you for joining me on this journey!