David Enjoys His Bowling Leagues, And His Life

This blog post was provided in person by David at Coal Creek Sports Center (bowling alley) in Lafayette.

I would like to invite my friends at Imagine! to stop by the bowling alley on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to watch me bowl and to visit. I am in different leagues all three nights, and the leagues go until April 2nd so I’ll be here all winter. We bowl from around 6:00 until 8:00 PM, and I have a lot of friends at Imagine! I’d like to see, so please pass this on to them. (When asked what his all time high scores are in bowling, David said that he’s had a 207 and a 209. Some leagues have bumpers in the gutters to prevent the ball from going into the gutters but David bowls in leagues that do not use the bumpers).

I haven’t been able to get to Mapleton softball fields since the bowling leagues started, but I got there a lot during the summer. I always watched the Imagine! team on Wednesdays. 

I’m working at Bayaud Enterprises in Denver as a janitor three days a week. I’m happy. I love to work, you know that. I just enjoy life. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing, I like to keep busy.

Jack and I didn’t go to the Bronco game last week since it was against the Raiders. We go to the rest of the games but we give someone our tickets for the Raiders’ games because the crowd is just too rowdy when the Broncos play the Raiders. We just go to have fun.

Well, I hope I see some of you soon. Stop by the bowling alley and say hi!

David sure had the pins flying on this shot.

John Is Working Hard At His Jobs

This blog post was sent via audio email by John.

Hi, this is your friend John speaking. I just want to record this message, and so I will tell you two things. I am working really hard at the Hungry Toad and Timberline, and I want to tell you that.

Here’s a good joke. “What did the fish say when he ran into the wall? Dam.”  I hope you know that.

Bye bye.

Rebecca Is Saving Money For A Vacation

This blog post was submitted in person by Rebecca, who came by Imagine!’s Coal Creek office today to watch the National Forum on Disability Issues debate on a webcast.

I am still working two jobs, polishing and rolling silverware at both Rock Bottom Restaurant and the Chophouse in Boulder. I am saving money from my paychecks to take a trip to Richmond, Virginia to visit my aunt and uncle. Have a nice weekend!

Jessie: "I Walked 125 Feet Today!"

This blog post was submitted by Jessie earlier today. She came by our office in person to share this great news. If you want to know more about Jessie, check out Tuesday’s post!

"I walked 125 feet today!"

Congratulations Jessie, and keep us informed of your progress.

Jessica's Birthday Trip To New York

This blog post was tape recorded during an interview requested by Jessica.

On July 26th, my dad and I left for New York City to celebrate my birthday. The trip didn’t start off so good, our flight was delayed for six hours, and we didn’t arrive in New York until after midnight. We had to stop in Elmira, New York for a couple hours due to bad weather, went to Syracuse to refuel, and then landed in La Guardia airport. Unfortunately because we were so late our rental car was gone, but we finally got one after waiting for two hours.

Finally, we were on our way to New Jersey to find my second cousin’s house, and we arrived there at 4:00 AM. We visited for a while and at 5:30 AM we went out for breakfast. I got about an hour’s sleep, and then we went to visit another cousin. We all went for a walk on the beach, it was humid but we enjoyed seeing the waves from the boardwalk. We had lunch on the beach, then went to visit another cousin. I visited a lot of relatives that day, and we out to a Chinese restaurant around 11:30 PM, and at midnight it was my birthday so I got some presents and cake.

On the way home, we drove by the stadiums where the Jets, Giants, and Mets play. I said hi to all the stadiums, and I said hi to the Statue of Liberty too, hearing “Happy birthday” in my own way of hearing that other people don’t typically hear.

I got a decent night’s sleep that night, and on my birthday, the 28th, my dad and I went to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees play the Red Sox. We got there early enough to watch batting practice, but then it began raining and the 4:05 game time was moved back to 7:00. The Yankees started off ahead after hitting some home runs, but the Red Sox won the game. I didn’t want the Red Sox, who I cannot stand, to win that game. But the good thing is I was on the Jumbotron, holding my sign. The game ended around 11:00 PM.

We got a little sleep, and our flight back to Denver left at 5:30 am. I was exhausted but am glad I got to go to New York City for my birthday.

This is the sign Jessica took to Yankee Stadium.

Jessie Walks For The First Time In Six Years

This blog post was submitted by LeAnne Woodward, Imagine! Case Manager

I have a great success story. I work with a consumer, Jessie Irvin, who has been an Imagine! consumer for years. She is in her twenties and was born with a physical disability in her legs. Jessie has no femurs and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Recently, she started going to physical therapy for pain in her back. While at physical therapy it was determined that part of her pain was due to lack of movement. She worked with her therapist and practiced walking. Jessie had not walked in over six years!!! She was so excited and proud of herself that she stopped by Imagine! just to show me. Jessie took four steps on her own! She reported to me that she had taken 40 steps while at physical therapy which is a huge success for Jessie.

She has set a new goal for herself to walk at least five hundred steps so that she can finally start roller blading again. I am so very happy for Jessie and can’t wait for her continued progress.

Robert's Artwork: How It Came To Be

This blog post was submitted by Gary Stebick.

Recently I was at Foothills Group Home taking a photo of one of the staff members for a newsletter article about an award she received.  When I was leaving, Robert, one of the residents of the home, was near the front door and politely asked if there was anything he could do to be in the Imagine! newsletter. I told him I was certain there was, and asked him what his interests are. He mentioned art, and said he had a picture in his bedroom that he drew in high school that I might be interested in seeing.

Robert proceeded to show me the art and told me the process of how he decided what to draw in the picture. Robert‘s art teacher at Jefferson High School suggested that Robert find some pictures that he liked in magazines and use them for models for different parts of his art. Robert started by choosing to draw the picture with charcoal and pencil. He saw a picture of mountains that he liked, so mountains was the first thing he drew. Then he drew the large ship, fashioned after a large ship he saw in a photo. Then he found a photo of a man in a rowboat which he liked so he drew a man in a rowboat next. As he continued looking through magazines, he saw a picture of a helicopter and decided to put a helicopter into his drawing. Finally, since there were two ships in the picture he added the ocean, and that’s how he came to draw this wonderful piece of art.

Robert’s interest in art began when he was a child drawing in coloring books. Navy blue is his favorite color, followed by red and orange. Animals are his favorite thing to draw. When asked what he likes to do, Robert replied, “I like to help people, that's my favorite thing to do.”

The piece of art shown here has sentimental value to Robert. He wrapped the picture and gave it to his grandfather as a present.  Unfortunately his grandfather died unexpectedly soon afterwards. Robert’s grandmother knew the artwork was special to Robert and she returned it to him to serve as a reminder of his grandfather, a former Marine whose picture hangs on Robert’s wall near his artwork.