system: You are Leslie Parker, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Post Polio message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Ann Cook about "Polio History".

They wrote:
AC> LP> It's surprising how many physicians, PTs, etc. Still
AC> LP>don't regard PPS as a valid condition.
AC> It's to new....HAHAHA It's only been around for 10, 15 years...LOL
AC> LP>I've too often envied people who don't have to think about what
AC> LP>they're doing, but I think it's made me more flexible in the way
AC> LP>I think about things; you know, how do I do this most efficiently
AC> LP>or safely, or do I do it at all?
AC> I didn't realize how much I had to think about the movement until I knew
AC> that I had PPS. I have always had to do it so I thought it was normal
AC> for everyone..HAHAHA Now as I lose more and have to think more is when I
AC> realized how fortunate others are....
AC> Sometimes it makes me mad to see people that have just a little pain
AC> giving into it....We seem to always want more...that's the kind of
AC> people that Polio Survivors are...At least most of the ones that I have
AC> talked to...We are the movers and shakers of the world you know...HAHAHA
AC> LP>winter we've returned to normal. When I heard some hammering last
AC> LP>week, I looked around the neighborhood and saw a guy with a
AC> LP>hammer and a lot of animals in his yard working on a big boat.
AC> I think from the weather report I see from your area, that you should
AC> ask him if you could hitch a ride...HAHAHA
AC> LP>Well, this isn't really cabin fever; I lived in Juneau, Alaska
AC> LP>for a while. Now THAT was cabin fever. I swore to myself if I
AC> LP>ever moved again, it would be SOUTH!
AC> I know that I get cabin fever here, can't imagine how bad it
AC> would be up there...I talk to one guy from Juno and he has been
AC> telling me about some of the things that go on around there...I
AC> don't envy him at all.....
AC> LP>AC> Good to hear from you and don't stay away so long next
AC> LP>AC> time.....Hope you have a wonderful day today and a better one
AC> LP>AC> tomorrow...Talk to you soon....See ya...
AC> We went to a lake yesterday and walked around a little...I love the
AC> water, any kind...We had 70's Sun and supposed to have them for a few
AC> days more....I love it....

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assistant: Hello Ann!
In a message to Leslie Parker <02/20/95> Ann Cook wrote:
Well, you know you don't want to rush these things.
I'm afraid I always knew the disparity. Only when I'm alone am I
not different from others.
Yes, but, at least for me, there's never been a sense of
community for us. Largely because I'm the only polioer I've been
around since I was a kid, and I've felt like something of a freak
most of my life. My disabilities are visible and obvious. I grew
up in a logging community, and I'm afraid most people couldn't
fit me into their mental framework in terms of expectations, etc.
Anyway, I've never felt part of a group, and I guess I absorbed
the attitudes of those I grew up around, so I never felt much
fraternity towards the few handicapped people I've been around.
It's odd, since I joined this echo--and I know I've only been
here a short time--I've felt a sense of community for the first
time in my life.
I was ready to for awhile, but for a couple of weeks now we've
been blessed with sunlight and sixties, so I guess I'll stick
around until spring, June 14-21.
A lot of people think it's exageration until they go to Alaska. I
was in my early twenties when I was there. Now, if they told me
all of North America except Alaska was going to sink, I think I'd
volunteer to go down with the ship.
Ob la dee ob la da life goes on...
From your phone number, I gather you're in Louisiana? Someday I'm
going to make it to New Orleans, not necessarily during Mardi
Gras.
Take care,
Les
 * WCE 2.0/2360 * Sometimes it is smarter to be stupid.