[TheForge] update and explanation

[Jim Beard]

Hi Terry,

I tried emailing off list, but the email bounced right back to me...

I've lurked on the forge for a while, and read many of your posts.  I
usually don't pipe up to often though.  However I read a story in our
local newspaper, and it made me think of your efforts.  I thought you
might enjoy the story and wanted to forward the link along.

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/5680070-35/story.csp

Hope you are doing well.

On Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 6:37 AM, terry l. ridder <terrylr at blauedonau.com> wrote:
> hello;
>
> as several have pointed out, i am pretty damaged and broken.
>
> i have sat for 12+ yrs being able to do very little. part of that was
> do to the multiple accidents and resulting injuries. part of it was just
> a complete lack of financial resources. the november 26, 1996 work
> accident which resulted in a state of illinois workman's compensation
> claim meant that i was unable to receive any other help. every resource
> that is suppose to help those injuried and return to a productive life
> were not available because i was suppose to be receiving help under the
> state of illinois workman's compensation laws. the engineering
> consulting company i was working for on november 26, 1996, had workman's
> compensation insurnace in name only. that was the finding of the
> commonwealth of pennsylvania court back in 2005. that court decision was
> reached after 2.5 yrs of stays of litigation. that meant for 2.5 yrs i
> could not even get in front of a judge. the state of illinois refused to
> allow litigation while the insurance fraud was being sorted out. there
> was no medical care, no physical therapy, nothing. all savings and
> assets were used during those years to just keep the home. between
> november 26, 1996 and january 3, 2001, i had a major surgery every year
> each attempting to fix my left arm so that i would be able to use it.
> each surgery required nearly a year of physical torture to recover.
> there was many summers i spent with my left arm taped to my body to
> allow bones, nerves, muscles to heal.
>
> i have sat back for 12+ yrs now i want to do somethings. i want to have
> a purpose in life. sitting on a florida beach everyday is not the
> purpose i am looking for. in the 12+ yrs i have met many other disabled
> people who like me were just discarded by their employers and society.
> several of those that i met over the years committed suicide because of
> the resulting disabilites from work accidents, vehicle accidents, etc.
>
> given how broken and damaged i am and the amount of metal and other
> medical implants i have in me i am unable to fly in an airplane. the
> doctors strongly advise against it. as they point out i am all ready
> battling blood clots in the legs and lungs, sitting in an airplane would
> just create more deep vein thrombosis (dvts). if i want to travel my
> choices are vehicle, train, or cruise ship. i need to be able to walk or
> at least stand for several hours at a time. i want to visit more than
> just the usa and canada.
>
> with the collapse of wall street and the subsequent collapse of the
> international maritime shipping industry , ships are being sold at fire
> sale prices. lord willing and everything goes through as planned i will
> have three good ships and spent less than $1 million usd.
>
> there is no good place to put the settlement money. real estate is one
> possibility but there is only so much land i can manage. i have no
> desire to own an apartment building and be a landlord. wall street is a
> joke and just as corrupt as the state of illinois. i am not putting all
> my eggs in one basket. the settlement money is not even all in the
> single bank. it is spread out to avoid issues with bank failures and the
> fdic. i am still looking at putting some into precious metals and taking
> possession of the metals and placing them in a secure used bank vault
> that happens to be for sale.
>
> i know that i cannot help everyone out there. i know that i may only be
> able to help a few disabled people find a new purpose in their lifes. i
> will know that i at least tried to help.
>
> now concerning the ships. the current crew members have one thing in
> common, everyone has some disability in one form or another. missing
> hand, arm, foot, leg. we have all been discarded by society as being
> broken and damaged. the education of the crew is that two phds in history,
> one medical doctor, one retired naval captain, several school teachers,
> several carpenters, two machnists.  the other thing we all have in
> common is that we all want to show society that we still count we still
> have a purpose and that we should not just be discarded with the rest of
> the trash.
>
> so there it is. whether i succeed or fail has nothing to do with my
> being disabled. it will have more to do with my lack of business
> experience and knowledge. just as the crew that is coming together we
> will all have a crash course in seamanship and maritime tasks i will be
> getting on-the-job training.
>
>
> --
> terry l. ridder ><>
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