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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Georgia--History, Local
People with disabilities--History
People with disabilities--Services for
Georgia Disability Archive
Description
An account of the resource
Our Stories, Our Lives is a collection of stories gathered by the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) to preserve and document a more complete history of the disability experience, specifically that of people with print disabilities who are living in Georgia. This is an oral history project that works to both preserve and document the varying experiences of those with print disabilities through the stories of people who have lived/are living with a print disability, including visual impairment, physical impairment, blindness, or an organic reading disability such as dyslexia.<br /><br />All interviews in this collection have been indexed in OHMS.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Oral histories
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RBRL451GLASS
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Georgia
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
OHMS Object
Contains the OHMS link to the XML file within the OHMS viewer.
https://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL451GLASS-003/ohms
OHMS Object Text
Contains OHMS index and/or transcript and is what makes the contents of the OHMS object searchable.
5.3 Interview with Rita Harris, July 12, 2018 RBRL451GLASS-003 RBRL451GLASS Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Rita Harris Stephanie Irvin oral history 1:|11(9)|22(9)|35(3)|46(3)|57(4)|69(8)|80(6)|91(7)|101(9)|114(7)|125(9)|136(8)|149(1)|159(15)|173(7)|185(17)|199(2)|209(4)|221(10)|229(11)|241(16)|252(14)|263(4)|273(10)|284(11)|296(5)|309(7) 0 Kaltura video < ; iframe id=" ; kaltura_player" ; src=" ; https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/1727411/sp/172741100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/26879422/partner_id/1727411?iframeembed=true& ; playerId=kaltura_player& ; entry_id=1_ge7fqrhy& ; flashvars[localizationCode]=en& ; amp ; flashvars[leadWithHTML5]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false& ; amp ; flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder& ; amp ; flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true& ; amp ; & ; wid=1_qg9l1dpv" ; width=" ; 400" ; height=" ; 285" ; allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozAllowFullScreen allow=" ; autoplay * ; fullscreen * ; encrypted-media *" ; frameborder=" ; 0" ; title=" ; Kaltura Player" ; > ; < ; /iframe> ; English 21 Becoming visually impaired as an adult Hi. I'm Rita Harris and I will be telling you my story. Jones describes the impact of becoming visually impaired as an adult due to Retinitis Pigmentosa--a genetic disorder that damages the retina. She talks about becoming withdrawn and depressed because she could not longer do the things she loved like working, driving, and shopping. career ; dependent ; diagnosis ; family ; God ; Good Hope, Georgia ; independent ; ophthalmologists ; outgoing ; Religion ; retina specialist 17 261 Vocational rehabilitation services Well, a person--a friend of mine--referred me to vocational rehabilitation services, and I was assigned a mobility trainer that came to my home three days a week. Jones describes working with a mobility trainer to learn how to use a cane. She talks about the importance of regaining her independence by learning how to navigate by herself. Jones discusses her experience with the Leader Dogs for the Blind program where she continued learning mobility skills. cane skills ; Dr. Linn ; independence ; mental compass direction ; mobility orientation ; night walking ; Rochester Hills, Michigan ; visually impaired 17 Leader Dogs for the Blind https://www.leaderdog.org/ 734 Guide Dog At the end of the week, he asked me if I had considered becoming a guide dog handler. Jones describes her experience training to use a guide dog and the positive impact her dog, Madden, has had on her life. She talks about the importance of compatibility between a guide dog and owner, emphasizing that her dog had to be able to adapt to new situations, handle loud noises, and be stubborn. She describes how having a guide dog gave her the freedom to travel and go on adventures. Africa ; Atlanta Motor Speedway ; bucket list ; bungee jumping ; canes ; confidence ; danger warnings ; Hawaii ; horseback riding ; independence ; Italy ; kayaking ; Labrador Retriever ; mission trip ; mobility training ; Naples, Florida ; Orlando, Florida ; Paris, France ; Richard Petty driving experience ; school for the blind ; tandem bike riding ; Universal Studios ; Venice ; zip-lining 17 1304 Leadership and community involvement I am Vice President of Madison's Lions Club. I am on the ADA committee at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, as well. Jones describes telling her life story in the poem " ; Journey to light" ; which was featured along with her picture at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. She describes starting Living Life Team, Inc., a support group for the blind and visually impaired. 501c3 organization ; ADA committee at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport ; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ; Madison Lion's Club ; Montessori school ; Morgan County Library ; motivational speaking ; overcoming obstacles 17 www.livinglifeteam.net Living Life Team, Inc. IRVIN: Hello. My name is Stephanie Irvin and I' ; m going to have a conversation with Rita Harris for Our Stories, Our Lives: an Oral History Project with the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services. It is July twelfth, and this is being recorded at the Morgan County Library. HARRIS: Hi. I' ; m Rita Harris and I will be telling you my story. I was born and raised in a small town in Good Hope, Georgia. And even from childhood all the way up through teenage adolescence through adult, I have always been very, very outgoing. I consider myself as an adrenaline junkie. The only thing I fear is the fear of God. Nothing. I don' ; t have fear of anything else. And I' ; m saying that to lead up to me being visually impaired. The year of 2002 is when I became visually impaired. Let me back up a little. From 1997 up until 2002, I notice difficulty in my vision and I had gone to three different ophthalmologists and I was misdiagnosed all three times. And when there was a very significant decrease in my vision, I went to a retina specialist, and that' ; s when I was correctly diagnosed with RP, which is known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. This was in 2002. Well, from there my life changed drastically. I went from being this total outgoing social person full of adrenaline to being socially withdrawn. And I went through anger, depression, and it was a very, very hard transition from me. I would not go on any social outings or would not accept any invitations. I would always make up excuses to why I couldn' ; t go, because in all honesty, I felt very ashamed of myself. I felt like I wasn' ; t whole. It wasn' ; t me. And for a long time, I tried to hide it. It was like that. You know, you smile on the outside and you cry as you' ; re dying on the inside. No one knew but my immediate family, which include my husband and my children. While I was in despair for such a long time, and like I said, I was just very, very angry. I was in denial. At first, I was in denial, because I didn' ; t want to give up the things that I loved doing, which was working--I work in the school system assisting children with disabilities. I loved shopping and I loved driving. I would drive to Timbuktu if I had to get somewhere. Reading poetry, dancing, are all things that I once loved to do, and it all had to come to a halt. I had to stop. So I went from being this totally independent outgoing person to being very dependent. I couldn' ; t--If I was out in a restaurant, I couldn' ; t even go to the ladies room without someone assisting me. So that took a very, very hard toll on me in my life and where I was in the way I was thinking. And a lot of people didn' ; t understand what I was going through, so that made it worse. I felt like I was in this alone, like I was on an island all by myself, and basically I was giving up. I was giving up on life. It got to a point to where I didn' ; t want to live any longer. But I, you know--And after just, you know, being in that self-pity party and self-pity party, I always say your true personality always prevails, because I knew that is not me. That' ; s not how God wanted me to live. So I prayed and I prayed and I asked God to help me get out of that situation. Well, a person--a friend of mine--referred me to vocational rehabilitation services, and I was assigned a mobility trainer that came to my home three days a week. And he gave me a cane. I had no cane training, no daily living skills training prior to this. So he gave me issued me a cane and he would train me inside and outside of my home. And once I mastered that, we would leave home and go downtown and work on intersection crossing, going into department stores working on independent shopping. And I did really good, because when I saw the difference that it would make in my life, then those light bulbs started going off in my head again. " ; Yes! I can do this! I can get back to the way I used to be!" ; So I was completely on a mission, and for the ones that know me, they know when I set my mind to going on a mission, I do not let anything stop me or get in the way. I do not take no for an answer. So I was I was headed forward. After about three months of training, he told me--said " ; You have done exceptionally well" ; and asked me if I had heard of Leader Dog for the Blind, which is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. And I had not. Well, he recommended for me to get connected with the Leader Dog for the Blind. So I said sure. In order to get connected with Leader Dog, I would have to display a certain level of mobility skills and using a white cane, because this was in an accelerated orientation and mobility training week long class that Leader Dog was offering. So we continued to work on it. He had to actually video me--doing intersection crossings, going in and out of businesses using my cane, going up and down flights of stairs, crossing four way stop signs--to prove that I had a certain level of cane skills. Well it was submitted, the application was submitted as well as the video, and I was accepted. So I flew to Rochester Hills, Michigan, for a week. And you have to go alone. No one can go with you. And that was my first time--I had flown many times, but that was my first time flying solo since becoming visually impaired, let alone staying in a strange place for a whole week without someone familiar being there with me. There at Leader Dog, there were six of us in a class, and each one of us had our one-on-one instructor. My instructor was Dr. Linn. He was awesome. He was a veteran. He--and I didn' ; t realize this at the time, but you' ; re with them spending so many hours that week with them, they' ; re doing more than just teaching you mobility orientation--mobility skills. They' ; re actually observing you, and they' ; re recording your every move, how you walk, the strides that you take, how fast you walk, the way you think. They' ; re analyzing your thought process, the way you think mentally, the way you are physically, your personality, your character. And I didn' ; t know this at the time, but going on through the week long class, he saw my potential. He saw that I could be stubborn. I could be very adamant. And he pushed me to the limit. He introduced skills and techniques to me that I didn' ; t even know existed and I didn' ; t even know I had it in me to do it. We would go downtown Rochester Hills, Michigan, to a headquarters building, a place I' ; d never gone before, and we would walk like three or four different blocks. And learning--He' ; d tell me the name of the streets. And also, back up, he taught me compass direction which is, at any--when you' ; re walking anywhere, using your mental compass direction--north, south, east and west--at any given time when you' ; re walking, you should be able to stop and point back into the direction of where you started from. And I learned mental compass directions. So one day we was walking and we had gone about four different blocks. And he said, " ; Okay your job is to take us back to where we started from." ; And I said " ; Okay! I can do that." ; So I pointed back using my mental compass direction. He said " ; Wait a minute, you have to take us back a different route in which we came." ; And I couldn' ; t believe he was asking me to do that. I had to do it. So I gathered my thoughts and I was able to do it using my mental compass direction and all the techniques that he had taught me to learn. He also introduced night walking, was something I had never done before because it is totally different walking at night. Keeping in mind, I should have mentioned this earlier, that I am not completely blind. I' ; m visually impaired. I' ; m legally blind. I am totally blind in my left eye and I only have less than 13 percent left in my right eye. So I have a little bit of vision. I can see shapes. I can' ; t tell colors. I can' ; t see details when I' ; m looking at a person. I can' ; t see what their face looks like. So I go by shapes and feel and sounds. But night vision is totally different because that less than thirteen percent that I have in the daytime is completely dark at night and I can' ; t see anything. So that was really challenging for me to learn to walk and go from point A to point B independently, without someone assisting me, was challenging. But I mastered that as well. We also went to malls that was like three or four different stories, floors, and he told us to drop an anchor, meaning when you enter into a large place that have multiple floors, you listen for a specific sound that you can use to know that that' ; s where you entered in, so you listen for that sound when you' ; re trying to get back to the point to go out. He would give an assignment. For instance, I had to find Nordstrom, which was on the fourth floor, and I had to do this alone. I was able to ask someone for directions, but they was not able to guide me or lead me. I learned to do that, which also I learned to be an advocate for myself, meaning asking for help when you need help, but not allowing someone to take your hand and guide you or pull you because you have to be in control of yourself at all times. They just need to verbally give you directions, and then you take it from there. That was completely new to me, as well. So I mastered that. At the end of the week, he asked me if I had considered becoming a guide dog handler. And I told him no I had not. I never owned a dog. I didn' ; t know much about dogs, to be honest. And he said, " ; Well, you have done so well with this. You would be an excellent candidate for a guide dog handler." ; I said no, I don' ; t think so. No way, no how, I won' ; t do that. But he ignored me because, again, he saw my potential. The last day of class he arranged for a guide dog trainer to come in and bring a dog, and for me to work with the dog. Well I had one day to see the difference, and immediately I fell in love with it, because I realized that a guide dog will let you know when there' ; s a moving vehicle coming, or won' ; t allow you to bump into something or fall into a hole or step off of a curb. But a cane can' ; t tell you those things. The cane totally depends on the technique that you' ; re using. But a guide dog, you can you can move more faster, which that is how I live my life: in the fast lane, because I do a lot of traveling as well. So I fell in love with it, and when I had to go back the following day, I went to the airport and all, he asked me then " ; Would you like to get a guide dog?" ; I said absolutely. Normally it takes six months to a year to be accepted into the guide dog program, but when I returned home I got a call two days later saying that I had been highly recommended and they had a program set up in Naples, Florida, within the next two weeks, and would I' ; d be willing to go? And by this time, my adrenaline is going again! I' ; m going back to my old self! You know, it' ; s only poppin' ; now! I said sure. So two weeks later I flew to Naples, Florida, to train for my guide dog. And it was amazing, because you don' ; t know. It' ; s almost like carrying a child, and you' ; re giving birth and you don' ; t have the ultrasound to know the gender of the baby. It' ; s a total surprise when the baby gets here. Because they don' ; t tell you the breed of the dog, the color, the dog' ; s name or the gender. They don' ; t tell you anything. That first day--the first two days, you are in class, orientation class, where they are talking verbally, explaining everything to you. The second day, we went to our hotel rooms, and the trainer came in with our dogs. And it' ; s one on one, because you' ; re in your individual room with your trainer. And that' ; s how you meet your dog. And when I--My dog' ; s name is Madden, and when I saw him--he' ; s a chocolate lab. He was three years old at the time--He was two years old at the time. I' ; ve had him for three years, so he' ; s five years old now. And I honestly--I don' ; t know who was more nervous, me or the dog, because this was new to him. He was going to be leaving the trainer whom he had known for the past year going with me, a new owner, and to a whole different new environment. And I didn' ; t know anything about dogs, so this was just totally new to me. And I always tell people when they ask me that when we met and the trainer left out the room and Madden sat on the floor and he held his head to the side and looked at me, and I sat down on the floor in front of him and held my head to the side and looked at him. And I said, " ; Oh boy, you don' ; t know what to do with me and I don' ; t know what to do with you, but by the grace of God we' ; re going to make it through this thing." ; But we did. We worked vigorously eight hours a day together training. We would walk at least four or five miles per day in training. He was trained, but I had to be trained. I had to learn all the basic commands--stay, calm, forward, left, right. Had to learn his pace of walking. He had to learn to adapt to my pace of walking. But one of the good things is I learned one of the reasons why they observe you so closely is because when you' ; re matched up with the guide dog, they match the dog perfectly to fit the client and their lifestyle. For instance, I' ; m always on the go, always on the move, so I' ; m moving fast. My days could be very unpredictable, so I have to have a dog that can adapt to a change at any time. And there' ; s no telling what I' ; m around. He has to be able to handle loud noises, ' ; cause I' ; m very adventurous, and I have a personality. I have a very strong-willed personality, very adamant, and so I have to have a dog the same way, and vice versa. Because with my dog, he has a strong-willed personality. Someone who is easygoing and laidback, he will just completely take advantage of him. Just like a child will. They learn what they can get away with. So he has to have someone that can really handle him as well as me as well. Because, for one thing, if he senses danger--for instance, if we' ; re walking and there' ; s something he senses of danger, then he is so adamant he will just put on breaks. And with me being strong-willed, then I would say come on boy, let' ; s go. We gotta go. Let' ; s go. But with him being the same temperament as me, he wouldn' ; t budge. And I learned that he' ; s letting me know that there' ; s something unsafe for me and that' ; s why he refuses to go forward. So it kind of works--You know, it' ; s a twofold situation. But he is awesome. We go everywhere now together. Because of him, I have gained my confidence back, my self-esteem, which leads to that independence. And I have to give my guide dog, Madden, a lot of that credit. Because of him, my life has totally turned around. I thought it was good before I started losing my vision, but my life is actually absolutely wonderful now. It' ; s better than ever. I have a new life. I' ; m involved in so many things because of my newfound confidence and independence. I am--I have a bucket list, and I have been chipping away at that bucket list and I' ; m almost to the end of it. I have gone--Since I got Madden, I have gone to Italy. I' ; ve always wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I did that. The gondola boat ride in Venice. Going to Hawaii. I' ; ve always wanted to fly over an active volcano. I told you, I am adventurous. I did that. Let' ; s see. I' ; ve gone horseback--I do horseback riding. I' ; m trying to name them all. Kayaking, tandem bike riding, and this is all since I' ; ve lost most of my vision. I' ; m trying to think of anything else I' ; m leaving out. Bungee jumping, ziplining. Madden and I actually went to Orlando, Florida, alone, because we travel solo a lot. And I had gone to Universal Studios before, you know, with my family when I had sight. But I just wanted to do something challenging, so I went to Orlando, Florida, alone--just Madden and I--and we went to Universal Studios, just the two of us. By ourselves. And it was so much fun, but I really--We wrote rides together, and the ones that he couldn' ; t ride, they will accommodate and they had the kennel cages brought up right there and had someone to watch him. But he was able to ride with me the King Kong ride. He was able to ride Earthquake--I mean, he rode a lot of rides with me. That' ; s why I had to have a dog that can handle adventure and noises. I' ; ve gone to Atlanta Motor Speedway and did the Richard Petty driving experience where I got in a racecar and had a racecar driver to drive me. I' ; ve done that. Oh gosh, what else? There' ; s so much. I feel like I' ; m leaving some things out. I travel all over. I am looking forward this month to going to Africa. Madden won' ; t be able to go with me, but because of my independence I' ; m able to do it. I will be going to Africa to do mission work, and I will also be going to visit the school for the Blind as well. I am Vice President of Madison' ; s Lions Club. I am on the ADA committee at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, as well. And Madden and I just completed a project with Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, where I told my story and I was creative with it because, by the way, I do poetry as well. And I wrote my journey. It' ; s called Journey to Light, my story of my time being vision impaired. I put it in poetry, and it was chosen, so Madden and I will be on a display, a twenty four foot wall on the international concourse F at the Atlanta airport where there' ; s pictures of us and graphic art, designs of Madden and I, and the poem. And it will also be printed in Braille form as well. So that' ; s exciting. I do motivational speaking. I go into classrooms and do presentations on the visually impaired, because my main thing is encouraging, encouraging, encouraging, because no matter what your obstacles are, you can overcome those obstacles. You have to believe in yourself, where I--My motto is you reach for the stars. You don' ; t allow your disability to handicap you. And you don' ; t have to have a disability to reach for the stars. You can do anything you set your mind to. You just have to be dedicated and determined. And you also have to have that mind of persevering. And you can do anything you set your mind to. Because I look at myself where I started as to where I am now, and I just thank God for my mindset, my willingness, and my confidence and gaining that independence back. And that' ; s what I try to instill in everyone. Only entertain positive, because positive would take you far. Negative would take you nowhere. It will keep you in that hole, in that place of darkness, whether you' ; re sighted or visually impaired. Now I' ; m trying to think if there' ; s anything else I' ; m leaving out--the most important thing! Through my whole ordeal of difficult transitioning from becoming independent to dependent, God placed it in my spirit to start--I had a vision to start an organization. The organization is called Living Life Team Incorporated. We are 501c3 organization, and it is an organization that supports the blind and visually impaired, because I felt as though I was alone, I was ashamed, and I want to help others go through that transition with less difficulty, so they feel like that there are others that understand. I' ; m not in this thing alone. So that' ; s what I did with Living Life Team. It has been in existence since 2016. Now we have grown tremendously. We have a great group. We have a board of directors and I have about a total of 15 blind and vision impaired individuals that come every month. We meet on the second Thursday mornings every month at the Morgan County Library. I bring in different resource speakers, different activities, sports. We go on trips. We go on field outings as well. We have wonderful social gatherings. We do open topic discussions. We do goal-setting, so anyone who is having difficulty or dealing with some things, then we come together collaborative as a group to help that person work through what it is that they' ; re going--what their struggles are. And we really become one family. You know, when one' ; s going through something we all do. So we try to come together and help. We have a great, great group. But Living Life Team is a wonderful organization. I practically eat, sleep, and breathe it. It is my baby. Everything I do, I' ; m representing Living Life Team. No matter what I' ; m doing. When I go to Africa, I' ; m going to a school for the blind and I' ; m going to be representing Living Life Team as well. That' ; s Living Life Team. Is there anything else I' ; m leaving out? I hope I' ; m not leaving anything out. There' ; s so much going on in my life right now. I do motivational speaking. I also had an opportunity on last month to go to a Montessori school and talk to the students as well on being visually impaired and overcoming challenges as well, so that was that was really interesting. We have a web site, which is www.livinglifeteam.net, as well as a Facebook page, which is Living Life Team as well. Thank you. IRVIN: Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me, Rita. You' ; re a very interesting person. You have a good day. HARRIS: Thank you. Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule. video 0 RBRL451GLASS-003.xml RBRL451GLASS-003.xml http://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL451GLASS/findingaid
Location
The location of the interview
Madison, Georgia
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
28 minutes
Repository
Name of repository the interview is from
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Rita Harris, July 12, 2018
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RBRL451GLASS-003
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rita Harris
Stephanie Irvin
Format
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video
oral histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
People with disabilities--Education
People with visual disabilities
Self-help groups
African Americans with disabilities
African Americans--History
Description
An account of the resource
Rita Harris was born in Good Hope, Georgia. She worked in the school system assisting children with disabilities before she became visually impaired due to retinitis pigmentosa. Harris describes adjusting to life as a visually impaired person. A self-professed "adrenaline junkie", she has travelled extensively and gone bungee jumping and ziplining. Harris also talks about starting a support group, Living Life Team, for people who are visually impaired or blind.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-07-12
Rights
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http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Georgia
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
moving image
OHMS
-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) Oral History Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Georgia--History, Local
People with disabilities--History
People with disabilities--Services for
Georgia Disability Archive
Description
An account of the resource
Our Stories, Our Lives is a collection of stories gathered by the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) to preserve and document a more complete history of the disability experience, specifically that of people with print disabilities who are living in Georgia. This is an oral history project that works to both preserve and document the varying experiences of those with print disabilities through the stories of people who have lived/are living with a print disability, including visual impairment, physical impairment, blindness, or an organic reading disability such as dyslexia.<br /><br />All interviews in this collection have been indexed in OHMS.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Oral histories
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RBRL451GLASS
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Georgia
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
OHMS Object
Contains the OHMS link to the XML file within the OHMS viewer.
https://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL451GLASS-010/ohms
OHMS Object Text
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5.3 Interview with Candace Rogers, December 04, 2018 RBRL451GLASS-010 RBRL451GLASS Our Stories, Our Lives: Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services Oral History Project Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Thank you to the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services for recording and donating the interviews in this project. Candace Rogers Georgina Lewis oral history 1:|11(15)|23(8)|43(7)|62(2)|72(13)|84(6)|104(3)|123(15)|134(1)|151(2)|169(2)|188(17)|205(12)|219(14)|233(13)|245(16)|256(15)|267(4)|279(12)|292(9)|312(17)|324(7)|334(5)|345(2)|356(6)|376(4)|401(13)|413(11)|425(4) 0 Kaltura video < ; iframe id=" ; kaltura_player" ; src=" ; https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/1727411/sp/172741100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/26879422/partner_id/1727411?iframeembed=true& ; playerId=kaltura_player& ; entry_id=1_myv0156f& ; flashvars[localizationCode]=en& ; amp ; flashvars[leadWithHTML5]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left& ; amp ; flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical& ; amp ; flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false& ; amp ; flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true& ; amp ; flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder& ; amp ; flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true& ; amp ; & ; wid=1_g2es1xrd" ; width=" ; 400" ; height=" ; 285" ; allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozAllowFullScreen allow=" ; autoplay * ; fullscreen * ; encrypted-media *" ; frameborder=" ; 0" ; title=" ; Kaltura Player" ; > ; < ; /iframe> ; English 29 Multiple sclerosis My story is what's brought me to this situation approximately fourteen years ago. I knew something was wrong with my body. Rogers describes having problems with her body and seeing multiple doctors before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the nervous system. She talks about the dismissive nature of many of her doctors and her phobia of needles. Atlanta, Georgia ; Augusta, Georgia ; BellSouth ; hospitals ; injections ; spinal fluid 17 392 Receiving disability benefits I was looking, feeling normal then, and she asked me if I was on disability. Rogers describes her fight to receive Social Security disability benefits. She talks about hiring a lawyer after her initial claim was rejected. She discusses winning the case in two months and collecting disability benefits. back pay ; disability attorney ; lawsuit ; pride 17 592 Finding a house So--and with me getting disability, you know, that was like another label over me. And I thought about getting another apartment. Rogers describes her search for a house after renting apartments for years. She talks about how she eventually found a house she liked and bought it. 1993 ; church ; disability benefits ; God ; homeowner ; mortgage ; realtor ; religion ; son 17 915 Mobility problems and loss of vision But during these twelve, thirteen years, my M.S. progressed. Rogers describes her worsening multiple sclerosis symptoms, mentioning problems with her mobility and vision. She talks about how having to use a walker and to stop driving. bus ; car ; God ; pride ; religion ; Richmond County, Georgia ; visually impaired 17 1108 Remaining optimistic And so a lot with this illness is pride. Having to get over, having to let go of pride. Rogers describes having sympathy for other people whose MS is worse than hers. She talks about how her uncle encouraged her to remain grateful and optimistic. She mentions forming a group called called the M.S. Brothers and Sisters of the CSRA which supports people with MS. driving ; God ; Multiple sclerosis (MS) ; pride ; Religion 17 1385 Benefits of disability But I try my best to do whatever I can for people going through. And when I find out something, I don't keep it a secret like a lot of people do. Rogers describes the importance of sharing information about benefits for people with disabilities. She talks about all the services she is able to receive for free, and she provides an anecdote about how she mistakenly thought the free ticket policy at the movie theater under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was for her and not her caregiver. heating and air unit ; legally blind ; ramp ; roof ; scooter ; shower rails ; social security 17 English LEWIS: Hello. My name is Georgina Lewis, and I' ; m going to have a conversation with Candace Rogers for " ; Our Stories, Our Lives," ; an oral history project with the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services. It is December 4, 2018, and this is being recorded at Diamond Lakes Bridge in Augusta, Georgia. So what is your story? ROGERS: My story is what' ; s brought me to this situation approximately fourteen years ago. I knew something was wrong with my body. And I went twice, here in Augusta, to two different doctors, and they said they didn' ; t see anything ; it must be mental like I' ; m going crazy or something because I tell them I feel this and this, but they didn' ; t do tests to try to figure out why I' ; m feeling like that. So I' ; m like " ; Oh well," ; and I transferred my job, BellSouth, to Atlanta. I' ; m loving Atlanta. That' ; s where I wanted to be. And so I' ; m working at BellSouth, started doing comedy, and doing both of those. And then, all of a sudden at work--you know, I talk on the phone to business customers--and I reached up for something and my arm just felt numb. And I said, " ; That' ; s weird. How does my arm fall asleep during the middle of the day" ; , you know? So I didn' ; t pay it too much attention. Then I had to reach my arm up again to get something out of a cabinet, and it felt like a ton of bricks fell on my head. And so, you know, I' ; m thinking well, I' ; m going to take a Tylenol on my break, you know, and that will take care of this. And then, all of a sudden, I' ; m talking to a customer, and my speech changed. Instead of how I' ; m talking now, it was mumbled and jumbled. I was like (babbling) and I could hear the customer saying, " ; Excuse me? I don' ; t understand." ; I' ; m like, " ; I don' ; t understand either," ; you know? And so I called my supervisor over there, and she came, and me trying to explain what was going on to her, she could tell something was wrong. So they took me to the emergency room, and he actually did some tests, but he told me I would have to go to another doctor to have a lumbar puncture--I hate needles ; I knew that was a needle in your back. So I rescheduled it like four times because I didn' ; t want to have it done but, when I finally went, the doctor had no bedside manners. He was rude as I don' ; t know what, so that makes it worse, you know? And I was like crying, you know, because it hurt so bad and he said, " ; Don' ; t you have a child?" ; I said, " ; Yeah." ; He said, " ; You have a epidural?" ; I said, " ; Yes." ; He said, " ; Well it' ; s the same thing." ; I said, " ; No it' ; s not." ; Number one, I was already in pain when I' ; m in labor, so that was nothing. I wanted that help. I' ; m not in pain now. You' ; re causing me pain. So we went round and round about that, and then he said to my doctor that, in my spinal fluid, it was M.S., that I have multiple sclerosis. And now telling you how I hate needles, OK, so when I went to the doctor he told me, " ; Yes it' ; s MS, and we have three types of injections you can choose from." ; I said, " ; We can count that out because I don' ; t want any injections. What else do you have? Like a pill or something I could take?" ; And pills weren' ; t out then. And so I took the first one--I had to give myself a shot every other day, and it felt like every day because I hated it so much. I just hate needles ; I have a needle phobia. And so that was my life, you know, and I didn' ; t know about M.S., I didn' ; t know where it was going to lead me, what was going to happen, and so I decided to move back to Augusta to where I have family. And so my mom and dad live here--they don' ; t live together, but they lived here, and so somebody could help my son if I need some help, you know? And I learned a lot about multiple sclerosis and what it can do--it doesn' ; t have to, but what it can do. So I found--I mean I was fine for years. Nothing was different. I felt normal, you know, but I knew I had this. And so I was doing the same things I used to do. I moved back and everything and it was just hard because I had this like over my head, you know? I' ; m Candace, but MS is right there, too. And I lived--we lived with my mom for like a year, a little bit over a year because--I' ; m kind of backtracking--but I had the best M.S. doctor here. So I would enjoy talking with her and she would tell me all the ins and outs. And she cared more than other neurologists because her sister had M.S., so she had her heart in it ; she was wanting to find out what can we do about it, you know? And so I went and talked to her about this fear of needles and stuff, and she would try to help me through it but I still--I hated it. I blame it on my dad because he was military so wherever we went, I had to get a bunch of shots. You know, I had no choice that no, I' ; m not taking them. I had to take them, you know. So I just have a phobia of needles. And so talking to the doctor, and then when I--I' ; m going back and forth, I' ; m sorry, but I--you know, I talk to everybody where ever I am. My mom says I never see a stranger because I talk to everybody. And so I went to an appointment, and I went and sat down. There' ; s this lady, and we' ; re talking. And she said, " ; So you have M.S., too?" ; I said, " ; Oh, yeah, that' ; s what they tell me," ; you know. And she said, " ; You look pretty good." ; I said, " ; Well, thank you. You know, you too." ; I was looking, feeling normal then, and she asked me if I was on disability. And I don' ; t know why that hit me so hard because I hadn' ; t even thought about disability because I was driving, walking, everything, just living life. And somehow I felt like the devil spoke for me. I said, " ; Do I look like I need some disability?" ; You know? And she said, " ; Wow." ; She said, " ; Wow, that' ; s too much pride. You know that pride is a sin." ; I said, " ; Really?" ; She said, " ; Have you worked?" ; I said, " ; Yes, since I was fifteen." ; She said, " ; You paid into this." ; She said, " ; You don' ; t want your money?" ; And it was like a slap in the face. I mean she didn' ; t slap me, but I felt like that. That was my money, and I do have a disability. So I feel like sometimes that helps. You need to hear something like that. So the next day, I went and applied for disability. I wouldn' ; t have done it if I hadn' ; t talked to her. I wasn' ; t even thinking " ; disability." ; And so I went and applied. Four months later I got a letter telling me no, I' ; m not qualified for disability. And I had heard they do that all the time, you know unless they see me and I' ; m crippled, I' ; m in a wheelchair or something, you know. So I had to think to myself I don' ; t know a lot about disability. I mean I' ; ve been on the debate team and stuff like that ; I like to do that. I can' ; t do this fight. I don' ; t know enough to be in this fight. So I was flipping through the yellow pages and like an attorney just popped up for disability and he was right above--his office was right above the social security office. I was like, " ; Wow!" ; So I called and hired him, and two months later I had it. So it took me about six months, where some people it takes years and years, you know? And they say, " ; I don' ; t want to give the attorney my money. That' ; s my money. I' ; ll just wait and get it." ; To me, my story was they get 25 percent of your back pay. You can' ; t miss what you don' ; t have, to me. So it didn' ; t matter to me. You know, he got 25 percent of my back pay which was like maybe $4,000 or $5,000. I' ; m OK with that, because he helped me get disability for the rest of my life. That' ; s the way I feel. You know I know that check is coming every month. If I have to pay him 25 percent to get it started, I felt Oh well. It' ; s funny because they said that was so good I got it in two months. My mom said, " ; Candace, I' ; m sure you' ; re getting on his nerves," ; because if I had a question, I called him. If they sent me a paper, I called him. Whatever I didn' ; t know, I called him. She said, " ; Well, you just keep calling him." ; " ; Mom, I hired him. He' ; s my employee. He works for me. He gets paid when I get paid." ; So I didn' ; t feel like there was anything wrong about calling him all the time. If he got on my nerves and he got it in two months to be done with me, thank you. It worked. So--and with me getting disability, you know, that was like another label over me. And I thought about getting another apartment. And I thought even more I said I' ; ve had different apartments here in Augusta and Atlanta. Maybe I was getting ready to get a house in Atlanta but, after all this, I moved out--I mean I fell out of that but I said why not get the house, something that I will own? Because an apartment, I' ; m renting it. I' ; m paying their bills. I' ; m paying their mortgage, you know? Why not pay my own mortgage? And I would talk to people and say, " ; This is what I' ; m interested in." ; " ; Oh girl, you' ; re not going to be able to get a house on disability." ; I was like, " ; What do you mean?" ; " ; Because you' ; re on disability." ; I said, " ; I think if I had a job, that would be harder because a job they can lay me off, fire me, whatever, and my money is gone. But disability, that' ; s coming every month. They know that' ; s a guarantee. As long as I' ; m living I' ; m getting that check every month." ; And so I talked to my father and one of his friends was a realtor. So we got together and she started showing me houses and things like that and I' ; m thinking I want a brand new house, you know because I want this and this and this in it. And my mom told me, " ; Candace, what you need to think of, you' ; ll probably never get everything you want in a house unless you have it built from the ground up." ; And I didn' ; t have the money to do all that. So I made a list of what I wanted and what I was OK not having. And so then, when I looked at brand new houses, I was like hmm. And she said, " ; Well maybe I' ; ll show you some other houses, you know?" ; I said, " ; You mean some used houses?" ; She said, " ; It' ; s not like a used car, Candace. They' ; re previously owned houses." ; I said " ; OK, same thing." ; So I went and looked at a couple of used houses. And, the one I' ; m in now, it was for me. I walked in. I knew I wanted grapes. I like grapes in the kitchen. It already had a grape border. A nice grape border in the kitchen. I wanted the chair rail, or whatever that chair rail, but the different colors up to a certain point and in the living room it had that already and I like both of the colors. I went in the hallway bathroom, it had a window up top. You know, the only people that could see through it is people that are on your roof or flying or something like that. And I like that. And I was like, " ; Oh God, but how old is this house?" ; She said--she checked--she said, " ; It was built in 1993." ; I said, " ; Wow." ; She said, " ; What do you mean?" ; I said, " ; That was the year the best thing in my life came to me: My son was born in ' ; 93." ; I said, " ; Okay. This is it. I want this house." ; And so she started on the paper and I went to church. You know people say you pray to God ; you don' ; t worry about it. When you pray you give it to him. You have to leave it there because you gave it to him. If you worry again, you took it back because you don' ; t have faith that he' ; s going to do what he' ; s going to do. And so this time I went to church with my mom and my son, and I went to altar call. And I went down to the altar, and I prayed. You know, I said " ; God if this is a house for me and my son, then it will be. If not, I know you have something bigger and better for us so I' ; m not going to worry. You got it." ; And I just got a good feeling. I didn' ; t think--I never thought I wasn' ; t getting the house. You know people would say, " ; You talk like you already got the house." ; I said, " ; I' ; m just waiting on the key." ; You know, that was my answer. And when I went to closing, the people who owned the house and the closing attorney, you know, we were all in the room, and their family and the attorney said, " ; People are not usually this happy, you know? They' ; re stressed, you know, about doing this." ; I was like, " ; It' ; s been done. You just want me to sign a thousand papers, that' ; s all." ; And it felt so good because I have heard that all my life. You know, you give it over to God, you just let it go. And that' ; s hard. That is hard. For the first time in my life I did it with the house. I' ; ve been in that house almost thirteen years, you know? And I' ; m happy about that. I' ; m extremely happy. I' ; m not paying nobody rent. I' ; m paying mortgage for my house. And I love when people ask me, " ; Are you a homeowner?" ; At first I was like, Am I a homeowner?--because I don' ; t own it ; it' ; s not paid for yet. But I' ; m paying the mortgage on it and so now I just say, " ; Yeah. Yeah. I have a home and it' ; s in my name." ; And I say that so I feel good about that. But during these twelve, thirteen years, my M.S. progressed. My walk started giving me problems, and I ended up having to get a walker which I never thought I would have to do, but my mom' ; s boyfriend, man friend, he had one that he didn' ; t use anymore, so he just brought it to the house and told me that was for me. And so I had a hard time with that, but I realized it helped more than it hurt, so I started using that. And then it continued to progress. I was going to work one day. I was driving, and I got to a traffic light that I have been like every day, you know, and I couldn' ; t tell if it was red, yellow, or green. And I prayed for somebody to come blow the horn telling me to go or something but nobody did. And so I just talked to god. I said, " ; God I have to be to work in like twenty minutes, you know, can you please take the wheel you know, and get me there safe and sound?" ; And then I just pulled out and turned and got on the expressway and made it to work. And when I got in to my job and the room that I work in I just got on my knees and talked to him and said, " ; I' ; m sorry for taking my vision for granted." ; You know, I just thought that was something I would always have. And so I drove a little bit more, but then I realized it' ; s not fair to the people that can see driving for me to be driving and having trouble. So I just told myself I' ; m not going to do it anymore because, if I drive--because I have a car--I had a truck and what if you hit somebody and you killed them? That' ; s like a drunk driver, you know? And I always talk about that. And so I chose myself to stop driving. Nobody told me I couldn' ; t drive anymore. I just told myself that I would not be able to live if I hurt somebody because I was still driving and I know I shouldn' ; t. So I stopped driving and that was so hard, you know, because whew, very humbling having to ask everybody for a ride here, a ride there--very humbling. And then somebody told me, " ; Well now, there' ; s a bus that will come to your house and pick you up and take you wherever you need to go." ; I was like, " ; What do I look like riding this little bus?" ; You know what I' ; m saying? So I had to let me pride go because that was something to help me. So I signed up to ride the bus, and I' ; ve been riding the bus for years now. And I appreciate they come straight to my house, pick me up, and take me straight to work or to the doctor, anywhere I need to go, you know in Richmond County area. And so a lot with this illness is pride. Having to get over, having to let go of pride. Not being able to drive? Oh my God! Not seeing like I used to see? Humbling. Humbling! But I thank God I' ; m doing better with it now. And I felt like I' ; m doing better with it now. It' ; s just a struggle. You know, you just have to get up and go, and take every day as a day--a new day. And so I speak sometimes at the M.S.--some of the M.S. function is to tell people how to stay positive and just keep looking for another day. And one thing I say--and I offended somebody one time and I didn' ; t mean to offend anybody--because with M.S., we' ; re all different ; we all have different problems ; you know? And I said the main thing that helped me is that, " ; OK, Candace, you' ; re going through all this, but I promise you somebody has it worse and would love to take your space. So you need to get over it and just keep on going." ; And the person said, " ; Are you talking about me?" ; I said, " ; I don' ; t even know your situation. I' ; m sorry. I' ; m just saying that I know if you watch the news, you see people that have it a lot worse than you. Everybody thinks whatever they' ; re going through is the worst. Somebody got it worse. Somebody got it worse." ; And I' ; m happy I talked to my uncle. Gosh, about four or five years ago we had a family reunion in Mississippi--deep, hot July in Mississippi! And heat can cause me to have a relapse if I get overheated, you know? And so my uncle, he came up he said, " ; Candace, how you doing?" ; And I said, " ; Today is a bad day." ; And he like jumped on me: He said, " ; I don' ; t ever want to hear you say that!" ; I said, " ; Excuse me?" ; He said, " ; The fact that God woke you up, you' ; re already on top of things. A lot of people didn' ; t wake up this morning." ; He said, " ; What I want you to say, and promise me you' ; ll say this--" ; I said, " ; What is it?" ; He said, " ; Say ' ; It' ; s a good day!' ; Maybe not as good as yesterday, but it' ; s still good." ; And so now that' ; s what I do and I pass it on to other people, you know? You may be going through something, but it' ; s still good because God woke you up. You watch TV and watch the news--everybody didn' ; t wake up. So if you' ; re above ground you just take it from there, you know? And so at first I didn' ; t think--I said yeah, " ; Okay, okay." ; But I took it in, and I believe it. The fact I wake up and I' ; m able to get out of bed myself, that is a blessing. A lot of people can' ; t do that. You know and I think about this one lady. I formed a group called the M.S. Brothers and Sisters of the CSRA, and she' ; s one of the sisters. And she always grabs my heart because she has it so much worse. And I think about her and I' ; m like, " ; How dare I complain?" ; She' ; s bedridden. You know, she has to have people do everything for her from MS. That could be me, you know? She has--this was so hard for me: She has to have somebody bathe her, and I just couldn' ; t imagine somebody having to bathe me. She has to have somebody feed her like she' ; s a baby, pretty much. You know and she--it' ; s just whew. I' ; m like, " ; I could be there." ; So since I' ; m not, I need to do better and appreciate it more because who knows, tomorrow that could be me you know? So, but my heart just goes out to her and hate when--I wouldn' ; t say I " ; hate," ; but I don' ; t like the fact that I' ; m not driving because when I was driving, I would go and see her often and just sit and talk with her, and I' ; m not able to do that now and I hear things that she' ; s going through and I hate that I' ; m not there to talk to her and stuff like before. But I try my best to do whatever I can for people going through. And when I find out something, I don' ; t keep it a secret like a lot of people do. It' ; s like crazy because when you get your award letter for disability saying okay yeah, you got disability ; you got approved. They should have a letter with that telling you all the things you can do that are out there for you, but that would be too right, I guess. So the only way you find out is to know somebody that knows something. But when I find out, I' ; m so happy to pass it on. I said I' ; m not going to keep this secret ; that' ; s not fair at all. And I' ; ve been blessed with so many things because I' ; m disabled. Disability don' ; t tell me that. Social security doesn' ; t tell me that. I have a brand new roof that I got for free. A brand new heating and air unit I got for free. I have a ramp built on my porch and some shower rails put in for free. Social security wouldn' ; t tell me about it. And so if I know anybody, I see anybody that is disabled and think that they may be in need, I' ; m so happy to tell them because I feel like I' ; m paying it forward. Some people, it' ; s crazy to me--they act like they' ; re scared to tell somebody like they' ; re going to come and take whatever you got back, which makes no sense, you know? But just don' ; t like to pass it on. And I feel so happy from that. Like somebody told me about three years ago that with me being disabled, I thought he said I get into the movies free. But my guy, my mister, he was with me, he takes me--I' ; m so blessed--he takes me to all my meetings and appointments and stuff. And he said " ; No, Candace, that' ; s not what they said." ; I said, " ; Well, what did he say then?" ; He said that whoever takes you to the movies, like your caregiver, they get in free. I said but the caregiver' ; s not disabled. I don' ; t understand. He said because you are disabled and we' ; re taking time to take you to the movies and stuff so that' ; s like a treat to us that we get in free. I was like " ; Whatever. You don' ; t even know. You didn' ; t hear it. You didn' ; t hear it." ; And so we went out ; we was going to a movie. We had been before and I just said, " ; All you have to is say ' ; ADA' ; and you only buy one ticket. There' ; s two of you, just pay for one ticket." ; And so we went out to eat and then we knew we were going to the movies and we had a little debate about it. He said, " ; Yeah let me go ahead and go to the movies for free." ; I said, " ; It' ; s not--you' ; re not free. It' ; s good for you because you don' ; t have to pay for my ticket." ; He said, " ; I don' ; t pay for my ticket, Candace." ; I said " ; No, no." ; So I thought I' ; m going to show him. We got to the movies, so I went up and asked the lady. I said, " ; Could you please straighten out this debate? OK, I' ; m disabled. OK, I come and I use the ADA and I get in free, right?" ; And she says, " ; No. No ma' ; am. Your person who brings you gets in free." ; I said, " ; Okay can I talk to somebody else then, because you' ; re not working with me. You as a woman, we' ; re not eye-to-eye." ; He' ; s like, " ; See, I told you." ; I said, " ; Whatever. First of all, what you should tell me is ' ; thank you' ; because if I wasn' ; t disabled and didn' ; t know about the ADA, you' ; d buy two tickets. So you' ; re welcome!" ; [laughing] I said, " ; I don' ; t ask to go in and spend all the money on this expensive candy and stuff, you know? I have stuff in my purse that I can snack on and stuff so you' ; re welcome. How about that?" ; He said, " ; But you know what the lady said." ; I said, " ; I don' ; t even know what you' ; re talking about, but you' ; re welcome. [laughing] You only paid for one ticket instead of two." ; So it' ; s crazy because I look, it' ; s like a blessing in a way because I get things I wouldn' ; t get if I wasn' ; t disabled. So I try to just be--just have to deal with it and go with it, you know? And I got a scooter, you know that I drive. It' ; s kind of like the ones in Walmart and Lowes and stuff at the grocery stores that people sit in that can' ; t walk as well, but I have one of my own and it' ; s better. It looks so much better. It moves so much better than those, and I didn' ; t have to pay for it. And the good thing I was thinking, " ; Oh God, I got to buy a lift to sit it on to attach it to his car if I need to take it anywhere." ; But when they came and brought it to the house, they showed us you take it apart in four pieces ; it can fit in your trunk. And then when you get where you need to go, you take it out and snap, snap, snap, and you put it back together. And I call it my Escalade because my next car--I' ; d already said my next car was going to be an Escalade. And since I don' ; t drive anymore, that' ; s my Escalade. And I get it and drive it, and I just love it. So that' ; s my life with multiple sclerosis and being legally blind and all the good that has brought me. I don' ; t think about the bad things it' ; s brought me anymore ; it' ; s brought me a lot of good. And like I said, as far as the doctor told me I was legally blind, I still don' ; t understand that. And he started laughing at me because I asked him, " ; Well, who' ; s illegally blind?" ; He said, " ; What? There' ; s nobody that' ; s ' ; illegally' ; blind, Ms. Rogers." ; I said, " ; Well I don' ; t believe that because I see how a lot of people drive, and they cause all these accidents and stuff. They' ; re illegal. See, I don' ; t get tickets. I' ; m legal." ; LEWIS: Thank you. Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule. video 0 RBRL451GLASS-010.xml RBRL451GLASS-010.xml http://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL451GLASS/findingaid
Location
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Augusta, Georgia
Duration
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30 minutes
Repository
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Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
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Interview with Candace Rogers, December 04, 2018
Identifier
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RBRL451GLASS-010
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Candace Rogers
Georgina Lewis
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audio
oral histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Blindness
Social security
Self-help groups
Description
An account of the resource
Candace Rogers was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) which caused her to become legally blind and have issues with mobility. Rogers describes fighting for disability benefits, purchasing a house, and encouraging others people who have MS.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-12-04
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
sound
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Georgia
OHMS