For most of my life there have been people that have tried to convince me that what I wanted to do wasn’t possible but I am my fathers daughter and if there was ever anything we needed or wanted my dad usually figured out how to do it without having  to spend any money.

When my brother Ron was in Germany in the Army, I’ll never forget the cassette tape he sent home for us to hear for Christmas. We were all so excited and we gathered around the tape player which just refused to play it because the belt was broke. My dad grabbed the belt and went out to the milk house where he kept “stuff.” The kind of stuff that other people would think was junk but dad kept just for such occasions. It didn’t take long before dad came back with a thin strip off an old bike tire inner tube and it fit just perfect. Ron’s voice was music to our ears and it was made possible by creative motivation to get something  done without having any money or time to get it elsewhere.

After Dad retired he heard that everyone got hot tub Jacuzzi’s and put them outside on their decks to use at night under the stars.  Dad was in his 70’s by this time and was still as frugal as he always had been so with the concept of how it was supposed to work he set out to “re-purpose” his STUFF!

So with an old drinking tank and heater rod where the cows use to come and drink from in the winter, and a retired boat motor sheltered by chicken wire, dad fashioned a dandy hot tub that stayed warm,  rotated the water around and left all of us in wonder of the ingenuity that he demonstrated, once again, by making something useful out of what others would have felt was “junk.”

My point is this; If you don’t believe that there is a way to overcome your present situation you will never enjoy what could have been.  You won’t see the miracle if you don’t ask for it or aren’t there to receive it because you already walked away in your presumption of defeat.  Today is the day when things will change…if you choose to believe it is possible.  Linda Larson Schlitz 10/7/2015

So I asked President Obama to either join us in person or send someone to represent his office to talk about  the need for mental health & substance abuse reform and what Washington is doing to address things like disabilities, substance abuse, educational failure and services to assist those with these issues. You have to think outside the box of negativity and take a risk to try something most people wouldn’t try. What do I have to lose by asking?