Rise and Meet the Day

WOO-HOO from Mile Marker 10,000!

Guess who just walked 10,000 miles on a prosthetic leg??

This kid!

I'm gonna keep this postcard short, but I didn't want it to get lost in the mail.

Long story short, I almost missed 10,000...

What's In Your Backpack?

At Mile Marker 9,950...

I carry a backpack.  Always.

The hike to Hawksbill Summit is no different.

As an amputee, I learned early on that backpacks were the way to go.  

Carrying anything while walking was a challenge.  I could do more, handle more, be more when I shouldered the weight squarely on my back.  

With a backpack, I returned to work.  Walked around the city on my own.

Lugged laundry down the basement stairs.

I believed that if I could just CARRY everything, I'd be able to balance whatever life handed me.  

It's like I always carried HOPE in the front pocket of the bag.

But there's something else about backpacks too...

What's in a New Socket?

Greetings from Mile Marker 9,559!

What's in a new socket? 

Me.

After a record 3 years (and 3,000 miles) in my old one, it's time.

Wait, you say, you got a new leg?

Nope, not quite...

What place gives you that "back-to-normal" feeling?

At Mile Marker 9,525...

I shop.  

At a bookstore.

In person.

A trip to Inkwood Books is always a treat.  But after 14 months of browsing online, this feels like a luxury vacation!  

Just imagine...

Have Heroes

Long awaited greetings from Mile 9,449...

Ever have a moment where you just don't have the words?

Or possibly, a year??

At Mile 9,449, I take my first steps inside Jefferson Hospital since before the pandemic began...

Bench Barish (a.k.a. Take a Stand)

Greetings from Mile Marker 9,446...

It's time to take a stand.

This afternoon, I'm circling Old City with my neighbor and friend, Wendi.  

That's 2 Wendy(i)s in two days - if you're counting.

We're squeezing in a quick mile before the five (yes 5!!) Zoom meetings Wendi has lined up for this evening.  

If that sounds insurmountable, you don't know Wendi...

Talk It Out

Hello from Mile Marker 9,442...

Once upon a time, long before cell phones and Google, there was a low-tech college dorm.

And in that dorm, there were two rooms across the hall from each other.  

And in those rooms, there lived two just-turned-18-year-olds who (on paper at least) didn't have much in common...

Some Get Rained Out (and that's ok!)

Hello from the soggy sidewalks of Mile Marker 9,438...

I'll let you in on a secret:

Some get rained out.

Yep -- Throwin' it back to Mile 255.

Back then, I realized this rule applied to amputees and others with disabilities.  

But you know what?