2 years already?

Saturday marked my second year as a wheelchair fencer all in all this year was a positive one, that’s not to say I didn't have set backs, there were moments when I asked myself “what the heck was I thinking” When I attended that first practice I had no idea what I was doing nor what I was getting myself into. There were many times in that first year when I seriously contemplated quitting fencing, especially when the costs started adding up. During that first year I kept at it getting stronger and learning all I could, fortunately I also struck on the idea of making cookies to support my fencing habit, and not just any cookies, shortbreads, a rather obscure cookie style to support a passion for an obscure sport, a rather unknown version of that sport at that.

This last year in fencing I continued to develop and managed to win my first medals. Cookie sales were a great help with gear, registration fees, food and the most important thing. Coffee! Each year on my “fencing birthday” I set goals for the next year, this year I want to continue as I have over the last two years continue collecting medals and keep finishing higher each time I compete.

My next tournament is in March over St Patrick’s day weekend with luck and your support I can hoist a Guinness in celebration of new medals and a great finish.

Again I want to thank you all for joining me on this adventure, purchasing my cookies and standing in my corner while I compete, train and build my cookie business from an experiment into something that will not only support my fencing dream but will help others reach a measure of financial freedom (as outlined  in  Where do I go from here?)

So here I go embarking on another year as a fencer, the hours of training, the miles put on my tires, the frustrations when practices get tough. Another year slinging cookies to suppourt my passion and my dream, full of highs and lows, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Discounted

The other day I was at the pet store picking up food for my dogs, and decided to take a look at the selection of fish that the store had to offer. As I navigated through the tanks full of guppies,goldfish and tetras, I found myself  looking at a cool eel looking fish labeled as a Knife fish. As soon as I saw it I wanted to know more, Its called a knife fish after all. I asked the friendly aquarium specialist for the rundown on the knife fish, the first thing she said was that it was half off because it was a "special needs" fish. Knife fish are blind and according to the  aquarium specialist food needs to be placed right in-front of the animals nose. Well It is called a knife fish and since it was discounted by the store because no one would take it due to its disability, I had to have it. The fish is by no means disabled, yes its blind, but it cruises around the tank with ease. As soon as the food hits the tank the little monster is right on it. After experiencing the fish for a few days I couldn't help but laugh. I wonder how many times I've been "discounted" because I roll around instead of walk.

  I've seen it many times, at restaurants my girlfriend gets asked how many for dinner even when I roll in the door first, she gets asked what I want for dinner. If I didn't keep a sense of humor about it I'd go blind with rage. I was at a craft show when I first started my cookie adventure, someone came up to my table and saw the cookie boxes arrayed on the table and asked my table mate who made the cookies, when she pointed to me the lady who posed the question laughed and said "yeah right he couldn't have done that he's in a wheelchair" I think on that incident while looking at what I've done with cookies and I have to laugh.

  This past weekend I took part in another hobby of mine, that of learning rifle marksmanship, while I was engaged in the instruction my girlfriend was approached by one of the attendees and told that "it was good to see me out" to steal a line from one of my favorite movies where am I supposed to be in a closet?

People who use crutches, canes or even wheelchairs are not broken, people with any disability are people, people who have hopes and dreams just like everyone else, true we may have to improvise and adapt how we do things, but we are not to be discounted.

Still slinging cookies and swording it up

It was brought to my attention that its been over a year since I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for an article on CHUD.com. Its been one heck of a year. The cookie biz has been great at times and I've caught wondering what the heck I was thinking. The same with fencing, I've had days when fencing rocks and I've had days when I just want to toss the gear into the closet and forget I had even heard of fencing. With an injury,  a lull  in sales and the delta fiasco I really had to dig deep, put my head down and power thru.  So here it is one year after my big break and "I'm still kicking ass, baking and swording it up! I couldn't have done any of this without the support of my loved ones and my loyal tweeps. Thanks for all the support. Lets make the next year even better. Tell your friends about this crazy wheelchair fencing baker you know, share my story and enjoy handcrafted cookies from a little guy with big dreams and a rolling pin.

The Delta saga continues

On July 1st I posted  an open letter to Delta on my blog, detailing my flight experience on June 12th.  A member of the Delta Assist Twitter team contacted me that night and asked for my flight my fight info and claim number.  After I provided the information the Delta Assist Twitterling asked for a contact email, and told me that a file would be created.  A file was going to be created?  A file was created on the day of the flight when I talked to my first customer service representative and then again on the 21st when a letter was sent to corporate customer care.  Ten days after the letter was received by corporate and eighteen days after the flight I had heard nothing from Delta,  not even a “We are looking into this” or  a “Go to hell, this isn't worth our time.”  So I took action by posting my letter.

I didn't expect anything to happen over the holiday weekend so I went on with my weekend, including attempting to practice in my Delta-modified fencing chair. On Sunday I was enjoying the Braves game when I saw a Delta commercial where they claim to have the customer's back; they are not just building a bigger airline but a better one.  My experience indicated that was not true, so I re-posted my letter on Twitter.  Another Delta Assist agent contacted me and asked for my flight information and claim number.  This time when I provided the information I informed the agent that they had already received this information on the 12th of June, 21st of June, the 1st of July and now the 3rd of July. It was at this point that I discovered yet another customer service failure.

When I discovered the damage to fencing wheelchair I reported the damage to the first line customer service representatives at the airport. I was told that I would be contacted the next day by a Delta representative to discuss what they could do to assist in the repair and/or replacement of my mobility device. When I told the Delta Assist agent this they informed me that average turnaround time for a response is thirty days. When one person tells me one thing and another tells me something else, the frustration level understandably rises exponentially. I was promised that my case would be escalated yesterday. I won't hold my breath on this one.

I do have to thank the Delta Assist individual that I communicated with on Sunday; they were the first person to apologize and offer to take action on my case.

I'm starting to wonder if Delta sees its disabled customers as secondary citizens whose safety is not as valuable as those people who have a Delta Sky Miles credit card, whose right to mobility can be compromised for the convenience of gate agents, and who can be given false promises to shut them up.

I wish to thank my friends on Twitter and Facebook who have shared my experience with their friends and family. I will keep you updated on how things progress.