The waiting game.

The flight from hell was Sunday night and i was supposed to receive a call from the airlines customer service department on Monday, its now Thursday, and still no call. A letter stating my disappointment in the pathetic customer service I received was authored last night and sent to the corporate office. We shall see how that is received, but I honestly don't expect to receive much more then a canned response. The most disturbing part of my flight experience was not the damage my fencing chair received although that's going to be a pricey fix and will most likely result in having to purchase a new chair, but rather the lack of respect I received from the gate agent. Perhaps the gate agent should have his shoes tied together and then be asked to navigate the jet way and the aisle of a aircraft, then have his keys arrive an hour later. Better yet I offer my services as a mystery flier to the airlines and evaluate how the gate agents at various airports deal with individuals with disabilities. Continuing to wait, but getting more and more frustrated by the moment!

The flight from hell

The endeavor games were a great experience for me, I learned a lot and made some new friends, the event was fun, the flight home was another story. I flew home on Sunday, I checked my fencing bag, my fencing chair and a small suitcase. This came to a grand total of $185.00. I understand paying for my fencing stuff, however the small suitcase makes no sense, I'm not being lazy I'm traveling on my own and don’t want to heft a suitcase thru the airport. With the money that the airlines make on baggage fees I think they can make an exception for a person with a disability, hell the state of California doesn’t charge people with handicapped placards parking fee's, all I'm asking is one bag, I don’t think that is asking too much.

After checking my bags I made my way thru TSA, the officers were pleasant enough, what cracked me up were the able bodies individuals who were complaining about the pat-down search, folks, even before the new procedures were enacted I have always been subject to pat-downs by airport security, its all part of flying. So I make it thru security and find my gate, the plane is delayed ,so I settle down with an e-book and wait. A friendly gate agent called me to the desk and asked if i'd like to switch to a flight that got me into Atlanta earlier, I jumped at the offer and asked the gate agent if my bags would be transferred to the new flight, I was told the would so I took the new flight. I made my way over to my new gate and as is my normal procedure I took advantage of a low in the traffic and asked the gate agent to go ahead and place a gate claim tag on my chair. I have flown quite a bit in my life and placing a gate check usually means a day glow pink tag gets placed on my chair, I roll down the jet way to the aircraft where a ramp worker takes charge of my chair and safely tucks it in the belly of the plane where it rests comfortably until we are reunited at my destination. Apparently a gate check to this particular gate agent meant that I was supposed to give up my chair and sit on a seat in the waiting area for over an hour. My wheelchair is like my legs, actually it is my legs, yeah I don’t give up my “legs” for any period of time I keep my butt in my chair until it's time to get on the plane. I don’t know how many of you have flown, but when you hear the announcement that states “ airline X would like to offer pre-boarding services for those individuals needing a little extra time, or those traveling with small children” I qualify as one of those individuals who needs a little extra time down the jet way. That has been policy for as long as I can remember and has been the way every airline has boarded me in the 80 plus flights that I have taken, apparently that policy changed on Sunday, because when it came time to get on the this flight it was decided that I could board the plane with the herd of other travelers, now I am all for equal treatment but there are times when safety take precedence over equality. I managed to get to my seat after waiting for the travelers ahead of me to wrestle with a stroller and a few bags and getting jostled all the way to my seat.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful I enjoyed a few more chapters of my e-book watched the sunset from window seat and reflected on the things I learned at the tournament. I made my way from the gate to baggage claim and waited for my bags to appear on the carousel, and waited and waited. After 30 mins had passed and no bags had appeared, I rolled over to the baggage services department and asked the obvious question, “where is my stuff?” The baggage services personnel located my bags and informed me that they were still on my original flight! They offered to deliver my bags to me Monday morning but at the time that flight was only an hour out so I figured i'd stick around and wait. So after enjoying an airport hamburger, fries and a coke I made my way to the baggage carousel where my bags were expected to arrive. I received my first bag without incident, then it was off to the oversized baggage claim area to pick up my fencing chair and my gear! My fencing chair arrives on the conveyor belt fliped over upside down, and damaged, the gear was ok thank god, but it was time to head back to baggage service and report damage to the fencing chair. I have been waiting for a claims specialist to contact me since Monday, still no word. I'll keep you all updated on how things turn out, until then I'll trade you cookies for funds for a new fencing chair!

An inspiration? Me?

After I posted my last blog entry, a good friend said

“You never cease to amaze me! You are a brilliant, admirable and inspirational leader on all levels. You are truly one amazing person and I am proud to call you my friend.”

Ive never seen myself as amazing, or inspirational i'm just a guy who is doing what he can to make his way in this world, and finding a way to support his passion and his dream Just a modern day pirate who plays with swords and decided to play by his own rules charting his own course, granted selling cookies isn't anything very dashing, but it works and as my friends will attest I’m not one to do anything that is conventional. Maybe its my unconventionality that makes people think I’m inspirational, I don’t know, but I am honored to be seen the way my friends see me.

On Thursday I head out to Edmund Oklahoma, for a tournament, I have to admit that despite the fact that I’ve been to a few, i'm a bit nervous, I keep wondering if i've done enough training since the last time I took to the strip, and if my mental prep is enough, but more so I'm nervous about letting my friends and followers down. I see my customers and friends as my sponsors and partners in this adventure and I want to make sure that they see a return on the money the invested. Yes each and every one of you is in my corner when I am on the strip. Ok so maybe I'm less of a pirate and more of a Privateer! As always thanks for reading and wish me luck in Oklahoma!

what i've learned

I was reading my twitter feed the other day, and saw a post that said social media is about building relationships and interacting with others, not a constant barrage of buy my stuff. I admit for the last few months I have forgotten that. I got wrapped up in the need to fund my new equipment and travels to upcoming tournaments, and so my social media comments became less about creating relationships, and letting the social media would get to know who I am and why I do what I do, and more about buy my stuff. This abrupt change has lead to a huge slowdown in orders, and all because I stopped doing what worked and got caught up in the pursuit of the bottom line.

Let me introduce my self. My name is Rick Zengler, I'm a northern transplant in Atlanta who has developed a taste for sweet tea and barbeque, I'm big baseball fan, history nut and voracious reader, I’m a wheelchair fencer with the Shepherd Swords , with aspirations to compete on the international stage, and to make it to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I sell shortbread cookies and toffee to help offset the cost of gear, and competition fees. One day Id like to see the cookie business grow from a home-based entity to a larger one, that will not only fund my fencing dream, but also provide me with the ability to live the American dream, and to provide employment opportunities to other disabled individuals, and help them gain independence and confidence.

So that’s a little about me and my dreams and aspirations in the long run. In the short term I am getting ready to attend the UCO Endeavor Games in Edmond, OK June 10-12. Wish me luck.

The next step is to get my wheelie butt out from behind the computer, out of the kitchen, and take a short break from practice and introduce myself to my friends and neighbors and tell them who I am and what I’m about. Farmers markets and craft fairs are the ideal market, but unfortunately the ones that I have found take place on days when I have practice, so all I can ask is that all who read this to spread the word about this crazy guy you have heard of that sells cookies and play with epee's, and kindly direct them to www.wheelingchef.com

365 days +1

So yesterday was my 34^th birthday. It was a quiet day, not like in the past when its been a night of drunken debauchery. No this year it was a day of reflection I found myself thinking about how things have changed for me so much in the last 365 days. This time last year I was recovering from my 1^st fencing tournament, and I had only flirted with relaunching wheeling chef. Here it is a year later and I am preparing for my 5^th tournament and sitting trying my best to expand my simple cookie business into a thriving cookie enterprise. This year has had its share of challenges as well as triumphs,but its those ups and downs that make life fun.

Following my first event in May I knew that fencing was a good fit for me, yes it was hard work and extremely frustrating at times, but the feeling of accomplishment that comes from participating in such a sport has helped me in more ways then I can express. With all the benefits that come with fencing, there is a cost, not only the physical cost of the workouts, but also the financial cost of the sport, in order to continue in the sport that I had fallen in love with I needed to do something to raise some capital, but what?

A few years ago I was at a small Renaissance festival in Michigan where I saw a vendor selling homemade welsh cookies to the masses. Seeing this I thought I could do something similar. With the encouragement of friends and family I started Wheeling Chef. The 1^st attempt at a cookie business was not very successful, but I knew it had potential. The idea would be shelved until I needed it. I resurrected wheeling chef in July and I haven’t looked back since. July started slow but a friend picked up on the story and introduced me to a friend of his who wrote a blog about “this guy who sold cookies to support himself in a sport that most people have never heard of.” That exposure gave me a push in the right direction. I dove head first into the world of social media and started to gain followers on twitter. My followers challenged me to push my cookies away from the traditional flavors of my original line to flavors that fit my personality and fed into the “inner pirate” that was starting to unleash itself through fencing and following my own path by selling cookies. Guinness cookies, maple bacon cookies were born! About this time I was contacted by a local radio station personality and did a podcast talking about the strange connection between cookies and fencing. 

I started generating sales and was able to pay the entry fee to my 3^rd tournament, and buy a new sword.. My coach was seeing development in my fencing and told me to start thinking about going to an international event. This was a huge wake-up call, not only would I have to continue to develop as a fencer but also reequip myself with an internationally rated uniform and weapons. This would mean selling 200 dozen cookies no small task but after a little more exposure on thilllist and some scrimping and saving on my own I managed to purchase the gear! I was so focused on the gear that I came up short on the entry fee, it stung a bit to come that far and still fall sort, but I proved just what I can do when I put my mind to it. So that’s how my last 365 days of my life have been . I still need a new mask and a of course some funding for my next campaign but I know I can make it happen. Sales will boom and sales will dry up to nothing, practice will hurt, I will doubt my resolve and the wisdom of this whole shortbreads and swords a I will just put my head down and solider on, and thats the fun part. 

Blackberrys dont bounce!

Like most Americans I carry a cell phone with me everywhere I go, for safety reasons, to keep up with twitter, answer emails from cookie customers, the normal reasons everyone has a smart-phone. Today was a beautiful day so I figured i'd take the opportunity to get in some road work On my way back home I was going at a pretty good clip and I hit a bump on the sidewalk, I went one way the chair went another and the cell phone went in another direction! as it hit the ground it crashed in a spectacular explosion of battery and buttons! So at the moment I'm cellphone-less but I'm in one piece. I'm thinking its time to offer a new flavor, blackberry :) I wouldnt be offended if some my faithful readers would like to order some cookies!

Keep on keeping on

Training, fencing and baking keep going, fencing get frustrating sometimes, training gets repetitive, and cookies sales get slow sometime, the trick at these times is to just keep going, and sometimes that is easier said then done. Last Saturday was a great practice and things are starting to lock into place, so despite the bumps, bruises, and  muscle strains the work is starting to pay off. This week the final NAC of the season is taking place and unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to Portland,  the next domestic event for me will be in Daytona Beach in October, not sure about anything international just yet, but it does give me time to get everything in place to make a great showing the next season. It seems each time I lock into a frame I'm showing signs of improvement, sometimes its slow and frustrating but the improvement is there, so I will keep drilling, keep practicing and keep working out, and doing what I can to excel in my chosen sport.

Cookie sales have there ups and downs like any business, sales are steady, but I'd be lying if I said I was happy with where sales were, of course I'd like to see cookies turn into my golden brown buttery ticket, and eventually open a brick and mortar storefront that will allow me to provide individuals with disabilities a place to work and earn a little extra pocket cash. Like the fencer I am I'll just put my head down, and keep at it one dozen at a time, one mile at a time and one practice at a time!
I always close these ramblings with a thank you to all  those who read this blog, and have supported me throughout the ups and downs of my fencing adventure and my cookie experiment. I couldn't have done any of what I have done thus far without all of you standing strongly in my corner.