[TheForge] moving on

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

comments intermixed below.

On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 schade at acegroup.cc wrote:

>
> I don't know anything about the places listed so
> maybe I shouldn't even reply. But if I remember
> right you live in Northern Illinois which is close 
> to Northern Illinois University and also DeKalb
> Tech College. If money is an issue you can save
> bundles by going to a school that you can drive
> to and stay living in your current home. Most
> places have some kind of services for people with
> disabilities like car service etc.
>
yes, still in northern illinois. northern illinois
university is roughly 6 miles from me. no, there is
no public transportation in the rural areas. i have
no handicapped equipped vehicle. even a used handicapped
equipped vehicle is in the mid to low $30,000.00 usd.

transvac, the semi-quasi county bus service for handicapped
and the elderly, used to go to the grocery store or shopping
in general.

medvac, the same semi-quasi county bus service for handicapped
and the elderly, used to go to medical appointments also
charges the obscene amount of $0.50 usd per mile.

college with student housing temporarily solves the issue
of transportation.

>
> But beyond all that I think you may be getting a
> little long in the tooth to go to college and make
> it pay off for you. There must be places in the 
> Rockford area where people with disabilities can
> work and start making money right now. If you work
> for the two years it might take to update your 
> education you might be money ahead to just go to
> work. Even a relatively low wage job.
>

this is most definitely true. age and disability
discrimination happens everyday. been there done
that. i printed out just part of my job search
for the 1996 legal nightmare , that was 18,000
pages.

rockford, is roughly 39 miles from me.
i have applied for several jobs and they
all find a reason to not hire the old guys.

i am too young to collect social security retirement.
i do not enough current quarters of work to qualify
for social security disability. the total household
income prevents social security supplemental income.

whether i make any money by going back to college
is at this point really does not matter. i need to
do something other than sit here waiting to die.

the accident of 6 aug 2007, the head-on-collision,
the mounting medical bills, and new legal nightmare
have torn the family apart. there is nothing left of
the family. there is nothing left to keep me here.

>
> If you do go back to school there will still be
> the reluctance of employers to hire a 50+ year
> old guy in an entry level position. May be
> against the law but it happens every day.
>

my choices for college are pretty basic.

get a masters in enigeering so that i can teach
in the state of illinois secondary schools (high
school) without all the education courses.

take all the education courses so i can get a teaching
certificate so that i can teach in the state of illinois
public schools.

go to culinary school and do something
totally different.

i am seriously leaning toward culinary school.

having an engineer degree sure has not helped me in
the past 12 yrs. in the past 12 yrs i have been able
to work roughly a total combined time of two years.
7 years of that time was spent recoverying for 6
surgeries to the left shoulder, arm, and elbow. since
6 aug 2007, i have had countless surgeries on my legs.
i cannot even walk without a walker or assistance. i
can only use a walker to go short distances. i spend
most of my time in a wheelchair. recovery from the
6 aug 2007 accident may take another 12 months.

i need to get on with living instead of sitting here
waiting to die.

>
> Good luck.
>
> Bob
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>