Posts Tagged ‘Invalid Corps’

CoronaVirus – So Many Parts

Tuesday, April 21st, 2020

Corona – So Many Parts

Covid 19 and CoronaVirus is the most immediate & serious thing we as a human race have dealt with at the same time. Simultaneously, we’re all a part – as in a community. Yet, we see so many all over the world trying to tear apart any form of cooperation between nations and people – apart as in separate.

It’s been hard to focus on something other than this pandemic, but there is a connection to blindness, to disability… take a listen, I got something to say!

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Audio: Sir Joe Quarterman- (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind

Women yelling…
“I got something to say” (Fades out )
“I got something to say” (Fades out)
“I got something to say” (Prolonged yell fades out)

Ice Cube, NWA: “Yo Dre!”
Dr. Dre, NWA: “What up”
Ice Cube, NWA: “I got something to say”
Dr. Dre, NWA: Scratches on turntable

Lyric from instrumental mixes in… “I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind”

Audio Sample: “You have got what appears to be a dynamite sound”

Instrumental music…

TR:

Greetings Family!

I’m hoping everyone is healthy, safe, comfortable and optimistic

I’m just trying to find the right words now. Well the right words for the opening I know are …

I’m Thomas Reid, host and producer. of this here podcast known as Reid My Mind Radio.
Bringing you compelling people impacted by all degrees of vision loss and disability.

Every now and then I share my own thoughts and experiences as a man adjusting to becoming Blind as an adult.

Finding the right words to express how I feel about all that is going on today isn’t so easy. The introspection though, can be helpful. It forces me to step back and get perspective. That search for the right words can even inspire a bit of creativity.

Audio sample: “Don’t toot your own horn honey, you’re not that good!”

TR:
I guess you can be the judge of that!

Audio sample: Woman yelling, “I got something to say” (Fades out )

Audio: reid My Mind Radio intro

Audio: Sir Joe Quarterman- (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind(continues from intro)
– Musical loop

Audio: Covid19 related News montage

– “It’s been another painful weekend in the CoronaVirus pandemic. The death toll is now more than…” (Fades out …)
– “More than 20,000 people have died from Covid and more than… ” (fading out …)”
– ” “More than 100,000 Covid cases in New York City. There’s also a serious shortage of swabs used to test for the CoronaVirus. That’s according to the city’s health department, which is now telling medical providers only test hospitalized patients.” (fading out…)
– “Perhaps because of The New York Times story, last night saying Republicans were trying to get the President to talk less every day, today’s White House briefing went on for over two hours. The president said some of the coverage is fake news. He said today flatly, everyone has the ventilators they need. He said we’re in great shape in every way.” (Fading out…)
– “Obviously, if we had right from the very beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of push back about shutting things down” – Dr. Fauci

TR:

During my intro to the last episode, I purposely kept my thoughts about Covid19 and the CoronaVirus to a minimum.

It’s not as though I didn’t have anything to say, but I like to let my thoughts form fully before getting into a rant or ramble that I may end up regretting.

Today, I hope it’s okay that I share some of these feelings and thoughts I’ve been having, all triggered by Corona!
(stutter effect on corona_

Yeh, that’s right, this Corona has me stuttering. I’m shook!
I’m in no way making light of the situation. There’s just so much about what’s happening that is so ironic.

it’s the most immediate & serious thing we as a human race have dealt with at the same time. We are all a part – as in a community.

Meanwhile, so many all over the world trying to tear apart any form of cooperation between nations and people – apart as in separate.

That got me thinking…
Audio: Music stops… echo…
If this isn’t your first time listening to this podcast, you know that I tend to think about and focus on the process of adjusting to blindness.

Part of that adjustment includes things like employment, technology, orientation and mobility and just learning how to do the practical things.

From my own experience and conversations I’ve had with others, I know a very challenging aspect of adjusting is how we view ourselves after Blindness. Our self-image. It’s why many of those newly blind don’t’ want to refer to themselves that way. blind.

When your only substantive exposure to Blind people isn’t positive, well, why would you want to be a part of that group.

So chances are you wouldn’t see yourself as part of the disabled community either. I get it, I was there too.

There’s the titles we assign to ourselves and then there’s how we’re identified by others.

Growing up, I’d often be asked, what are you Black or Puerto Rican? My self-identification doesn’t separate the two. Those with an understanding of the history feel me right here… Look up Arthur Schaumburg and you’ll see where I’m coming from.

Society has assigned me a label that often dictates how many choose to interact with me.

When I was stopped by the police, .
Ran out of neighborhoods while being called names,
Followed in stores…

I was never asked, what are you Black or Puerto Rican?

However you decide to self-identify, if your vision loss or disability is visible or recognized , society sees you as Blind. Society sees you as disabled.

I’m not here to tell you how to self-identify .

I want this podcast, at the very least to stimulate some thought around adjusting and all that comes with it.

Personally, my belief is that when you get a better understanding of the people the history, expand your understanding of what disability is and isn’t, defining yourself may be an easier process.

With all of that said, there’s a connection between blindness, disability and this pandemic. Even if you don’t see yourself as disabled, it’s worth knowing how this pandemic is impacting the community.

I’d encourage you to go check out RMMRadio alumni Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility project podcast and website for more perspective.

The pandemic’s impact on us all is different. Disability, economics, location, housing… so many factors that play into how this pandemic impacts us.

Audio: Instrumental “Quiet Storm” Mobb Deep

Audio: Covid19 related News montage

– “The Pandemic seems to be disproportionally affecting people of color”
– “African Americans have been hardest hit by the virus. Despite accounting for 14 percent of Michigan’s population they represent 41 percent of it’s Covid victims. And in Detroit where the majority Black population, more than a third of them poor it’s even more stark.”
– “There are many reasons why Black communities are disproportionately being impacted by CoronaVirus according to a range of experts I spoke to. Historic disparities between access to healthcare, education, information and government resources in Black communities compared to predominantly white communities. throughout American history there’s been great tension between Black communities and the healthcare industry. Tuskegee Syphilis experiment. Ongoing studies that show that black women particularly those who are pregnant, are less likely to be listened to by their doctors and healthcare providers.”
– “African Americans are being hit disproportionately hard. We broke down some of the reasons. Medically why do you think that is. (Second speaker-Doctor) People of color are generally more susceptible to diseases and we know that they have those pre-existing conditions; the Diabetes, the heart disease, the asthma that makes them more likely to suffer consequences because of the CoronaVirus.”
– “Can you describe the make-up of the people in your waiting room right now. (Second speaker- Doctor) We’re noticing more Black and brown and immigrant patients that are seeking care. A lot of these patients are essential workers. A lot of them are service workers.”

“The Real” Mobb Deep

TR:

Salutes to all of those men and women right now doing the work that will get us through this awful situation. I’m talking about the medical professionals, staff including technicians, receptionists, janitors, food workers and others. So many of these people have been doing this work for years and have been unseen even looked down upon. Now in the midst of a pandemic, it helps us see the value in their work.

Corona has revealed some truths about society that people have been trying to either hide or not think about.

We need each other!

We all have something to contribute.

Can I share a story?
(Well, I’m going to anyway, because it’s my podcast!)

My wife and I went to this party. this was post blindness. It wasn’t my first time attending a party Blind so I was familiar with the challenges:
Some are physical;
learning new spaces
dealing with the crowds in those space

Others are more emotional, philosophical;
Should I use my cane?
How can I meet or start and interaction with new people
Where’s the bar? (It’s a party, right!)

Although I knew the challenges, I had not yet figured out my method of dealing with them. By this time, I think I was intent on not letting avoidance be my answer.

There was nothing about the party that was overly memorable except how it felt like we were shown to a section of the space and sort of left there. We only knew a few people outside of the person who invited us. My wife and I both felt the tension.

I remember thinking about how the experience would have been so different before vision loss. Those who did know me would have called my name when we walked in, maybe we would have made eye contact during the evening, we would have been introduced to others. Instead, we didn’t feel welcomed. We were there, but not a part of that party.

Ultimately we came to the decision it was in our best interest to leave that physical space as it was crowding our emotional space.

Sitting there at the edge of this party, feeling as though we were on display, I wanted to be included. I wanted a role and not that of a bystander.

This pandemic triggered those same feelings. Chances are, it’s not just me.

Doing anything right now that doesn’t relate to Corona, just doesn’t feel right. I like other people want to be helpful. In some way.

Despite what seems like the world coming to a halt because of the virus, life is still happening. With or without this pandemic there are lots of people new to vision loss. Some of them are former nurses, doctors, EMS workers. Similar to how I felt at that party, these men and women I can imagine aren’t satisfied with being bystanders. Are there opportunities for these men and women to contribute if they so desire? Are there people with disabilities on the frontline.

This reminds me of the documentary produced by RMM Radio alumni Day Al-Mohamed, called Invalid Corps. It features the story of a virtually unrecognized troop of soldiers who served in the civil war. All were soldiers with disabilities.

Shout out to Day and let me encourage you to check out that episode.

Do I actually believe a Blind nurse or doctor can somehow be effective?

If you’re asking that question this must be your first time here! Welcome!

Am I proposing these newly Blind men and women are sent to the ER?

I’m not a doctor and I haven’t played one on TV. Even though I do have lots of experience watching medical dramas on television I don’t think I can make that determination. However, I don’t think the answer is a quick no like so many people would assume.

As people with disabilities We’re so used to being dismissed and hearing things like;
Well, it’s just not accessible…
It has to be done a certain way, we can’t just change how we do things.
Change can’t take place overnight.

Inaccessibility is somehow treated as if it’s natural.
The majority of inaccessibility is manmade. Physical access like getting into a building. Software constraints that keep many of us from either participating on the web or employment and then process restrictions that mandate how a job is performed.

And then, all of a sudden!

Audio: Gazoo (from The Flintstones)

Have you noticed all of the corporations now accommodating their employees with work from home access?
The online conferences and entertainment now available.
Everything getting done online.

If inaccessibility is manmade then maybe man can fix it,
Audio: “That’s right!” from Harry Belafonte’s “Man is Smart Woman is Smarter”

TR:

Huh!

Audio: “That’s right!” from Harry Belafonte’s “Man is Smart Woman is Smarter”

Audio: Bill Withers Lean on Me Instrumental

TR:

Right now, I guess my role in this pandemic is staying home. It’s continuing to do this podcast. In thinking about how I can do more, I sure don’t want to do less so I’ll try to do what I can. I’m going to remain optimistic and not get caught up in conspiracies, although they can be very entertaining.

Eventually, this too shall pass. I just hope we will move forward and be honest about how we got here. I’m talking about the impact of years of all the isms, racism, sexism, ableism…
the neglect, , the poverty, the gaps between the have and have nots.

None of these things are new. They’ve been here way before any of us were here. Corona just highlighted those on the margins, the party goers who have always been apart, never actually partying.

I know many people are calling for a return to normal, but that doesn’t seem like what we should be striving for.

I hope you don’t mind that I shared this with you. I just needed to put my two cents out in the world in my own way.

I have some non-Corona episodes in the lineup. I can’t promise I’ll be silent on this topic, but at least I’ll try to make it sound cool and make you smile along the way.

I hope when you listen to this podcast you feel a part of this community, my Reid My Mind Radio Family!

Last month’s episode titled Live Inspiration Porn – I Got Duped, attracted some new potential listeners to the web page over at ReidMyMind.com.

According to Google, a bunch of people in search of the term porn, were served the episode’s web page. I can only imagine the disappointment they had for google when they saw this particular episode in their results.

But wait, according to Google, several actually clicked on the page.

I don’t necessarily consider myself a good writer but I’m sort of proud of this one! I mean wow, shout out to me for what must have been a fantastically written blog post to redirect that person away from they’re original search.

I’d love to know if someone actually ended up listening to the episode based on that discovery term. And man if you actually came back… email me at ReidMyMindRadio at Gmail.com because that would be the best testimonial ever!

Don’t worry, no judgement here! Get your freak on!

If you like what you heard here today, tell a friend to check it out…

Let them know it’s available wherever they get their podcasts. Of course you can take a ride on the information super highway and get off on the ReidMyMind.com exit. That’s R to the E I D. (Audio: “D, and that’s me in the place to be” Slick Rick)

Like my last name!

Audio: Reid My Mind Outro

Peace!

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Walking the Walk with Day Al-Mohamed

Wednesday, May 8th, 2019

Day Al-Mohamed and guide dog Gamma
Today is the right day to shine the spotlight on Day Al-mohamed. We’re focusing on her creative endeavors such as writing books, short stories, comic books and scripts. now she adds Film director and Producer to her list of credits. Hear how she began writing, learned to produce a documentary on the virtually unknown disabled Civil War soldiers known as the “Invalid Corps” and provided yours truly with some early inspiration in my adjustment to Blindness process.

Plus, she shares a story and piece of American and disability history that I guarantee you haven’t heard.

Listen

Resources

Transcript

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Audio: Radio turning through different FM stations.

TR:
Rise and shine beautiful people.

Audio: Lovely Day, Bill Withers

You’re listening to WRMM better known as Reid My Mind Radio. I’m your host T.Reid.

If you just stumbled across this station while turning the dial on your virtual radio, welcome!
This is the place where you’ll find stories and profiles of compelling people impacted by blindness and disability. When I’m in the mood or have something of interest to share about my own experience I’ll serve that up to you with a bit of my sofrito if you will. My combination of spices!

Today’s episode is long overdue and that’s my bad.

But, as it turns out, it’s just the right Day to tell you a story!

Let’s go!

Audio: Reid My Mind Radio Theme Music

Day:

“I’m a big advocate for doing whatever interests you because to be honest if you have a disability , disability is going to come into it whether you want it to or not.”

TR:

That’s Day Al Mohamed. She encompasses all of those things and more. An Advocate, someone pursuing her interests and a person with a disability.

Specifically on that last point, she’s a visually impaired guide dog user.

We’ll discuss her advocacy work of course, but there’s just something I find so cool about people pursuing their passion. for Day, that’s writing.

And just as she said, disability comes up!

Some of you may be familiar with Day from her time at the American Council of the Blind. But here’s something you may not know.

Day:

I think most people don’t realize even with a last name like Al-Mohamed they assume I’m American. I don’t have an accent when I speak English or anything like that. However, I was born and raised overseas in the Middle East in Bahrain. A small island just off the coast of Saudi Arabia. It’s like 15 miles across, it’s that small. I didn’t come to the US until I was 17.
[

It’s one of those things that people are like wow you’re actually a foreigner. Then I have to reveal the small cheat that my mother is American so … And then they go wow that must have been really rough for her because she’s an American and she went to this whole conservative like Middle Eastern country. And I’m like my mom was from Missouri so she went from conservative Mid West to conservative Mid-East. It was not that big of a change.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Laughs… So did you go back to Missouri when you came back to the states?

Day:
I actually went to college there at the University of Missouri and stayed on there for law school as well. I think that’s kind of where I got my start with legislative issues and policy issues were actually there in the state.

TR:

Day was presented with An opportunity.

Following a discussion about sponsoring a bill around disability employment, a Missouri State Legislator decided:

Day:

“I should put my money where my mouth is, I should get a disabled intern. You know that’s what I should do just get a disabled intern.”

And so he just put out this call for a random disabled intern and I kind of randomly got it. When I showed up at his office he was like can you answer the phone can you talk to people. So he had no idea about the capacity of people with disabilities at all.

I think that’s kind of always stuck with me and I look for other people who kind of have that same walk the walk.

TR:

That sort of attitude can really pay off; for all involved.

Day:

And by the time I’m done he’s like “Hey I need you to write this up as an amendment for the floor Go, go, go

TR:

Ever since then, Day’s been moving.

Day:

you know when you get a job it kind of starts you down a path.
I ended up actually doing an internship at the US Senate in Ron Wyden’s office and so I ended up doing more policy work there.

Next I did law school and then I actually did some stuff with the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court
before there ever was an ICC over at the Haig in Europe. They were trying to design an build it over at the UN up in New York and so I got a chance to spend a good part of summer there working with folks who were on the commission and it was amazing .

TR:

Then Day learned that the American Council of the Blind was looking for a Director of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs. This gabe her the chance to go to D.C and work on national policy.

Throughout her career, she’s worked on a wide range of topics.

Day:

social welfare, employment, technology, education.

I actually worked on Missouri’s conceal carry.

I kind of ended up falling into doing more disability but in general I’m a big advocate for doing whatever interests you because to be honest if you have a disability , disability is going to come into it whether you want it to or not.

I was with the American Psychological Association and for them I did do disability policy but I also did racial and ethnic minorities indigenous populations, some of there international development work. It was a nice mix in broad areas and I wanted to help them get started on creating an immigration portfolio because we were seeing a lot more activities in that rhelm and I think we had something to say.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Do you have a special area that is very close to your heart?

Day:

It’s hard to say because I tend to fall in love with all sorts of different things. Which I guess in many ways means I’m a Lobbyist at heart. That word gets such a bad rap but honestly all it is is an advocate who gets paid.

You learn how Congress works and then you find people who are the experts or you find people with stories to tell and then basically you are connecting those pieces

TR:

Yes, the pieces are connecting! This advocate, is a storyteller.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

You can definiely talk that policy butI do want to get into the creative side.

I was looking on your website, DayAlMohamed.com, and you have a page that has different versions of your bio. What I thought was interesting was the policy stuff doesn’t come until the very end. The last two versions, the long version, but the other versions are really focused in on the creative endeavors, your writing. Am I reading into that too much? Is that your focus, do you really like to focus in that area?

Day:

I think part of it is (ahem!) I need to redo my website. Laughs!

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Laughs!

Day:

For anybody looking at DayAlMohamed.com I’m trying to get it to split. One is Day in Washinton which is where I cover all of my policy work and that’s where you’ll find some policy analysis and disability related stuff.
One of the things I’ve been doing , it’s almost 10 years now is writing fiction and in the last couple of years I’ve been doing more and more writing . I write fantasy and science fiction so we have books, short stories, a couple of comic book scripts, although it’s not fantasy and science fiction I recently put out a 30 minute film and I have 4 or 5 other short films as well. And so there’s been a lot more of the creative stuff.

It started out as something to do when I first came to Washington DC. My wife actually stayed back in Missouri to finish her degree and so if you’re away from your spouse for along period of time it gets kind of boring but it also gets kind of lonely so I signed up for a writing group. and started meeting with them.

I cannot laud enough the benefit of joining a group. You have other people who are striving for the same thing you’re doing. You have people who can kind of act as a sounding board for ideas, folks to critique. Having that kind of ability to have people to do that it only makes your writing better. I would say no good writing ever came out of a cave.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
So let me anticipate a question that someone would have when they hear that. Someone new adjusting to blindness would say well what about the fact that I’m blind and I’m assuming that wasn’t a blind writing group

Day:

It was not.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

How did that play. And you know, obviously this is something you’ve been doing for a long time but did that play into it in anyway?

Day:

Not as much as I thought it would. Really,..

[TR in conversation with Day:]
How did you think it would . And I’m sorry to cut you off but I want to get that…

Day:

No, no I think it’s a good one.

I think I worried that I wouldn’t be seen as a serious writer, which never happened. Or that they would question my capacity which also never happend. The group always made a point of meeting somehwere that was metro accessible. And we’re in the DC area so they were like well yeh not everybody drives and although at that time everybody else did drive they continued to make a point to only choose metro accessible areas. Even though I know that for a couple of metings it got very tough trying to find a location.

TR:

The benefits go beyond access.

Day:

There was one member who was a copy editing guru and oh my god the number of times she yelled at me about misplaced commas which you know with a screen reader is not necessarily the easiest thing to find when you put them in wrong and to go back and read to figure out where you got it. She was nice about it but she certainly still expected me to make sure I followed through on that .

That I had a strong story arc, character development. All the same kind of things. So realistically it end up with there not being any real difference blind or sighted.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Nice, nice!

TR:

It was a nice experience for Day.

Unfortunately, she did mention how some people with disabilities reported negative experiences in other writing groups. That however, shouldn’t deter you.

Day:

I would encourage anybody, if you want to write go find a group and do it. Make a point of talking to other people about their ideas or ask them about their ideas. You can also find out about how other people have built things.

Find a group that meets regularly and a lot of things are like anything else they tel you. What you put into it is what you get out of it.

TR:

Ocasionally you may find the support going beyond notes on character development or punctuation. Llike the time day was feeling less than confident about her work.

Day:

“Oh my God I’m the biggest hack on the planet. I never want to write another word again.”
And she’s like we’re going to go out and drink some wine.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
That’s cool. That’s a nice supportive group.

I think for folks who are adjusting and new to it, it’s refreshing in a sense to know that it’s ok to have that doubt in the beginning. So you still were concerned about it but you went through with it. That’s a really important thing I think for people to grasp.

Day:

I think even if it’s a recent loss and it’s kind of tough and you’re struggling it’s a good excuse to get out . It’s a good excuse to start thinking of things you can do. What does it requirewell one is reading books so you can get an idea of what is out there and the second is trying to put your own thoughts down and whether that is personal journaling that you share with no one. Essays about your own transition or putting together fiction it’s all that same process.

I find it therapeutic but at the same time I look at it more professionally.

The more you do it the more you start finding other people like you.

TR:

Specifically other people like author of The Duff, Kody Keplinger, who’s book was made into a movie. She by the way is Blind.

Day:

Recently I had an essay that was published with one of the big Science Fiction magazines and the editor is Deaf Blind. I was like hey there’s more of us out there than you know once you start looking

TR:

Yet, it’s still a pretty big challenge to find us in the pages of books, screen plays and scripts.

Day:

I think one of the reasons I like science fiction is because it tends to be more future looking. A lot of it is very political. Things people don’t want to deal with today they’ll look at in Science Fiction.

One of the biggest problems with science fiction in general though is it
does not usually portray disability. If it does it portrays it very poorly. So basically, we don’t exist in the future. I have a huge pet peeve with that.

TR:

What would you expect then from a self described Lobbyist at heart – who uses stories to help advocate for those things that she’s passionate about.

Day:

So part of me is like I want to write it. You know we’re there. Not everything gets cured. That’s not how it works, that’s not how people work.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Talk to me about any Sci-Fi films or books that reflect a positive image of disability. Are there any?

Day:

Ooh

There’s one book it’s actually book 2 in a series.

I think the first book is called The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The second book is called The Broken Kingdom. It’s by N.K. Jemisin. The protagonist is actually blind.

It’s a fantasy setting. Most of the time when you think fantasy people think like Game of Thrones. They think swords and wizards, it’s very Eurocentric

what Jemesen did is she does this in a lot of her things
she actually builds fantasy that is not. Culturally a lot of it is more African than anything else. And I love that. I love it. I’m seeing parts of the world reflected and cultures you don’t normally see reflected, that you don’t normally think of as fantasy.

I think this last year Jemesen won the Hugo Award think about it as Science Fiction’s Oscars. She won it for the third year in a row. Nobody has ever won it three times.

TR:

Day’s love of writing goes beyond genre and form.

Day:

When I started writing I actually didn’t want to write novels I wanted to do film scripts. It requires a team so I wasn’t sure I could do that as a Blind person so I kind of slid in to doing the novels and the other writing.

I had built up enough cache that I felt secure in my writing and so I actually went to a couple of local film groups. DC Film Makers and I also visited Womens Film and Video. They meet every month and they do … we’re gonna doa movie. Who wants to do different roles. It was a chance to try and experiment a little bit.

I originally came out going I’m just going to be the writer. Guess what I can do writing, no big deal. So I started meeting some other folks doing that.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Ok, so now, when you started that you said something so I think it revealed a little bit more…

(laughs)

Day:

Laughs…

]

[TR in conversation with Day:]
I’m peeling back some stuff here.

Day:

Here wwe go!

[TR in conversation with Day:]

You said that originally the intention there was to go for film.

Day:

Yes.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Ok, so when you were younger was that the thing you kind of wanted to do?

Day:

As a kid, nah, I think it was still novels that were my thing. But when I first started writing in DC and I found that writing group the first stuff I submitted to them were scripts.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Ok, I gotcha!

So when did the interest in film come into play?

Day:

I don’t know! I may have to think about that because I don’t know!

[TR in conversation with Day:]

And probably the reason that I’m asking, well number one, I’m interested.

I’m in this process now of kind of going back into events from my past sort of thing right, and then seeing where these interestsstarted and its just been interesting to me. So i ask everybody right now (laughing) I’m like do you know where your thing started from. (Fading out)

(Fading in) It’s a really cool thing because it’s like oh wait, I’m supposed to be doing this because I’ve always been interested in it. And that’s what that process kind of unveiled for me. I think it’s probably the same for a lot of people. I’m just letting you know, there’s something there. Which is great. Which means you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

Day:

I tend to like a lot of the writing so film, I like the short stories I really like doing the novella length work and I had a good time working on the two comics that I did. It was a lot of fun.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Visual, it’s comics, but you wrote it.

[
Day:

I wrote it. I was partnered with some really good artists and the nice thing is generally in comics the decisions of what the art images are supposed to be is usually left to the artist.

TR:
Quick recap.

Day decided to pursue her interest; writing. Ultimately she was interested in writing for film, but she was uncertain how she could go about that being Blind.

Then she found her “in”. It’s specific to her, but the idea is universal.

She found a bridge or a means of getting her to her destination. In this case, writing films.

There can be multiple ways to create such a bridge. Sometimes it’s having someone close to you to share in the experience.

Day:

As the fun couple thing, my wife and I usually take turns a couple of times a year. We pick out something we want to do. She picked ballroom dancing one fall so a few years ago I said I want to do a film class and I want you to do it with me because I don’t think I can do it. There’s that as a Blind person I don’t know how it would work. I’m totally secure in writing one and I’ve been meeting with these other film groups so I have an idea how it works but I don’t know if I can actually do it. Getting cameras and all these other thingngs working well , so she said sure.

We signed up for a film classwith Adel Schmidt, who’s with Docs in progress – which is a documentary organization in Silver Springs. I’m just going to call her out by name because she was awesome. She’s like yeh, I’m not sure if you can either but let’s just go with it and see if we can figure it out.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Nice!

Day:

She says you always start with the story.

It was like a 6 to 8 week class. You should have a one or two minute either short film or clip or trailer.

So you write out the narrative about what you want to say. You need to make sure it has a good narrative arc , it has rising tension and a climax. All the things you want in good writing. Then you record the whole thing.

Audibly reading the script. That helps give you the timing.

Then figuring out what images you want to slotin at what time.

So I know at 1 minute and 10 seconds where I say this I probably want an image of this. And being able to kind of almost wriggle this grid of what the film would look like.

And then you can go to either finding a way to record the film or finding images that already match that.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
So is that storyboarding?

Day:

Right, I guess you could say it kind of was storyboarding out the whole thing.

We figured out that would be a way that I could control what was happening when making the film. It’s not somebody else making it and then me going here are the images that I think and then if we did or didn’t get those what would be the next alternative. Let me see if that works Maybe I need to change the language and then slot in the images. We talked about would there be good transitions and how to do those. I’ll admit the transitions I had to rely on somebody else to figure out whether it looked really great or not. And then adding a layer of sound effects and then a layer of music on top of that. When I got done that’s what the trailer to The Invalid Corps is. And I used that for my Kickstarter video to fund making the 30 minute documentary.

At least now I know I have a way to make videos that this will work where I can say I control it. It’s mine because there was always that little bit of doubt that if I did it with somebody else oh yeh the the person who is sighted really made the film. With this one there was no question who made it.

Audio: Civil War Marching Drums…

TR:

The Civil War, is the setting for The story of the Invalid Corps.

Day:

My wife is the Archivist at the University of Maryland , University College she does all sorts of historical research and she often heard about them because there was this song and it ended up being real popular in the 1880’s but it really made fun of them. I’m like what is this Invalid Corps. So I started playing around on the internet and finding out more and a little bit more and then I’m like wait a minute, there’s a lot more to this.

Audio: The Invalid Corps (Song)

Day:

We hhear about how many amputations there were and how many injuries and how many deaths, but nobody ever stopped to ask what happened to those guys after they were injured or after they lost a limb.

TR:

Low on man power, rather than discharging injured soldiers, an all disabled regiment was created.

They did things like;

guard supply stations, trains and other property
Work in hospitals and prisons

Day:

They created 24 separate regiments.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Confederate?

Day:

Union.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Ok, good! Laughs.

Day:

They did a lot more than people give them credit
for.

It’s a pretty awesome story.

Audio: Snare drum: colonial marching…
So the year is 1684. The war has been going on for three years now. General Grant’s making his final push through Petersberg and on to Richmond to take them down at the end.

He pulls every soldier, every able bodied soldier out of the North and basically their all marching on to Richmond.

So he’s putting a lot of pressure on Robert E Lee. They can’t get out they can’t get supplies. In this kind of desperate attempt to break that siege Robert E Lee sends General Jubal Early, this Confederate General, he sends him North…”Cause as much trouble as you can”

Here’s the issue, because Grant had pulled everybody out there wasn’t really anybody to stop Early . So Early heads North through Virginia and rather than crossing at Harpers Fall he goes up and around through Maryland and then he comes down South towards DC — think of a reverse question mark.

Because there’s nobody there to stop him, he makes it all the way to Fort Stevens which is about 4 miles North of the Capital.

There’s nobody there except some clerks, some government officials, and this Invalid Corps.

You got these Invalid soldiers on the wallsof Fort Stevens and in front of the fort basically having to hold out against like 15,000 Confederate soldiers.

Until Grant suddenly realizes “Oh my God we’re about to lose the Capital! puts the entire Civs Corps on boats and sends them up river going as fast as they can to get to Washington before Early does.

These guys hold out for 24 hours until reinforcements arrive.

The thing is Abraham Lincoln was on the Ramparts of the Fort that day and they even took pot shots at him. They ended up shooting a soldier who was a few feet away from him. They could have taken down the Union or at least taken out the Presidency.

[TR in conversation with ES:]
Wow! That’s an awesome story!

Day:

I know!

History that’s kind of gotten lost and there’s some amazing things. One of the soldiers, he was assigned to the Provost Marshall’s Office, so people knew of him as a Provost Marshall soldier but He’d actually had a disability and was with the Invalid Corps and they just decided to put him there. He was one of the guys doing the detective work to figure out who assassinated Lincoln. So he helped with the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. So he’s like I know where he is. He was doing the tracking, but he was called back to Washington so if was a different unit that got the prestige of saying they caught him. Well, basically he died!

The soldiers who were supposed to guard the conspirators, all of them were Invalid Corps.

The only soldiers who were allowed to carry Lincoln’s caufinalso was that unit.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Wow!

Day:

I know!

This piece of history, basically disability history that nobody has really researched or talked about.

TR:

A significant amount of research time went into creating this documentary. It’s not as though there are books available on the topic.

According to Day, there are a couple of people currently working on writing them now.

In the meantime, the documentary is done and ready for the festival circuit.

Day:

I want to give it a year where I’m sending to festivals and trying to look for places to screen it and after that I’ll look at finding ways that people purchase it.

It has both captioning and audio description.

The film was crowd funded Shout out to all of the amazing people who helped fund that.

As a part of supporting disability creativity sort of thing, I think there are maybe one or 2 exceptions and this is out of a couple of dozen.

Every single person who has worked on that film either has a disability or is a veteran.

It’s not like I asked flat out going do you have a disability because the 2 I don’t know about I didn’t really ask.

I wanted to make that a part of the way the film was made.

TR:

I get the sense that “walking that walk” and pursuing one’s intrests, aren’t just personal practices for Day. It appears to be a message she spreads.

I want a talk about your bucket list.

Number 1 that is so cool and scary at the same time. I said Oh my gosh. I don’t know if I would want to put out my bucket list because it kind of keeps you accountable because people are going to be watching it.

Day:

Right!

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Which is a great idea. And then I saw that you challenge people to put their own bucket list . I started reading that and I was like awh damn!

Day:
It’s accountability but it also gives a picture of who you are to other people and it encourages other people to go yeh, what do I want and where do I want to go.

You’re doing this thinking where you going back and looking where you started. I think a natural out growth of that is a bucket list looking forward.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

I never really considered doing one. I never really did, that’s something I’m going to take away and start thinking about.

Two things from your bucket list I found kind of interesting.

How are you doing with the guitar? You have an electric and an acoustic now?

Day:
Yeah, I do. I still only know like 6 chords.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
That’s not bad

Day:

It’s not bad but I still need to work a little bit more on it.It’s actually one of the very few things I do that I can say is just for me and only me. And one of the only things I find relaxing. I have a hard time whinding down.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

The reason I ask you that is I got me a guitar a couple of years ago also an electric. My daughter has an acoustic and I kind of took that and started playing and now I like the acoustic better. It’s more forgiving than the electric.
Similarly I find it very relaxing. I have to get back into it because I had a little carpel tunnel…

I do want to someday be able to play with some other folks. I think that would be cool.

Day:

Right!

[TR in conversation with Day:]
That might be on my bucket list.

Day:

You know when the best time to have and use a guitar, Christmas. If I could do 5 Christmas songs. they aren’t usually that complicated. Everybody knows a Christmas song. I have a whole year to come up with 5 songs. That means I need to learn one every other month.
I could do that that’s not terrible.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

I’m gonna have to checkup see how you’re doing. Laughs

Day:

Laughs I’m gonna be in so much trouble come Christmas.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Now you have one on there number 5 and it says something about being a mentor /inspiration. I don’t think I told you that in 2006, that was my first PCB Conference.

Day:

Was it really?

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Pennsylvania Council of the Blind . That was the first time you were there.

Day:

I do not believe that man, when you rolled in with so much swagger. Come one. Seriously.

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Yeah, That’s just that New York thing!

Basically two years after losing my sight.We were a new chapter and I was one of the folks who started the chapter out here in this county. I just learned so much that week. You were a big , big part of that learning. You did a keynote at that banquet and it was all about whose in your audience.

Day:

Yeah!

[TR in conversation with Day:]
I know, I remember this. And so I really took a lot away from that.

Then later on in 2007, was my first time going to the ACB Legislative Seminar and once again there you were. You were talking about Eugenics and disability. And againI’m very new to disability at that point. So you truly opened my mind and inspired me to kind of dig deeper into what disability means and what it doesn’t mean. I think you should reconsider number 5

I think that this interview has been long overdue. You know I get a little nervous too. I look at certain people as inspiration and I usually don’t like to use the word but in this case it does apply.

Day:

Well thank you . That totally makes my night. Actually it totally makes my year. That’s kind of awesome!

[TR in conversation with Day:]
Laughs.

That’s along overdue thing I should have told you.

TR:

I truly mean that. It’s not only long over do that I share that story with her, but to also share Day’s story with the RMM Radio Family.

Thinking about it, this actually is the perfect time. This episode is a great follow up to the last; Disability Representation in Media

Day is telling stories including disability whether in the subject matter like the Invalid Corps, the inclusion of characters and of course making it all accessible.

And she’s continuing to inspire yours truly, this time not as much from a far.

Day:

So I got to ask, what are you thinking about writing?

[TR in conversation with Day]

(Breathes in deeply!) Laughs!

Day:

You hinted at it, you hinted at it! I’m not letting it go.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Wow! You know what I always wanted to do. And this would be something that’s on my bucket list. That’s why I was interested in the documentary. I love documentaries. Like I love that.

I’m really just trying to figure out what that specific topic is what that story is that I want to tell. I do love stories, period.

Day:

Well awesome. You should totally do it.

TR:

Big shout out to Day Al-Mohamed.

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Day, I truly, truly appreciate this. Thank you so much it was a pleasure speaking with you.

Day:

Well, I am so glad you invited me to be on your show. I kind of love listening to it so I’m like look, look I’m on the podcast!

[TR in conversation with Day:]

Laughs!

TR:

How cool is that?

Does that make you want to pursue that thing you always wanted to do?

You too can find a way to take you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. It may not be a direct connection, but remember, it’s not necessarily about the destination it’s all in the journey.

I hope this podcast can serve as a bridge for those adjusting to blindness and disability. Connecting this group of people with cool blind and disabled people. Exposing them to new ways of thinking about disability.

Since this conversation I’ve already been doing a lot more thinking about creating a documentary. I believe it’s something I could really do!

I’ll have to add that to my bucket list.

You can check out Day’s bucket list with over 150 items. Plus so much more about policy, writing and more.

Day:

My websites:
DayInWashington or DayAlMohamed.com
If you ran a search on Amazon you can find all my books and writings.
I still have a lot of fun on Twitter That’s my name @DayAlMohamed

TR:

Remember, if there’s a guest or a topic that you want to hear from or about let me know. Chances are if you’re interested so are others. Here’s how you can get in touch, but first, stay in the know, don’t miss a show.

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Audio: Reid My Mind Radio Outro

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