Reflection: Discrimination

I am tired of talking about discrimination.  We go around and around about it. 

Basically I get very mad when it happens and I  try my best to not do it and to keep others from doing it as well.  I have been doing this for years to the point where I will hit my dad and brother (who are much less aware of the injustice of discrimination than I am) on the arm every time they make a comment that I do not think is appropriate and it has become an on running joke.

I just keep on wanting to say "so what? who cares?" when people bring up the issue of race, relingion, sexual orientation, etc. as a negative.  What does it matter if you work with someone who stops working a few times a day and prays?  Are they asking you to pray with them? Are they impeading on your ability to do your job because of their religion? 

Where I do get annoyed is when others try to push their beleifs on to me, missionaries in particular.  What right do they have to go tell others that what they have been doing for generations is wrong? They have no proof other then a book that was written WAY after the stories in it were and has been censored and edited for generations.  Hello, there are other books that are much older and people have been following them for much much longer.

As for the rest if it makes the people happy then let them be, why should anyone think they are better than anyone else?

One of those days.....

Why is it that I seam to reach my braking point with everything at the same time?  Today was one of those days were it seamed like I was getting fed up with everything at once, the stupid tv/dvr on deck, the new dvd player not seeming to be able to hook up with it, same issues with people over and over again, etc.  Why I ask you why?
I keep catching myself thinking of taking a vacation and going away.  I have not had a real vacation in about 3 years.  I think of going to the beach.......

Post-it: Mountains without Handrails by J.L. Sax

Parks as they Ought to be

• People who were active when they were young ordinarily continue to be as active as they can when they get older, and those who are reluctant to leave thier card range widely across age groups.
• Management committed to contemplative recreation should be just that, whether for the young and handy or the old and infirm.
• Places that are accessible to people that do not deprive natural qualities can be shown for all.
• National Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in FL
• Everglades National Park FL
• Lodging in remote places can cause issues for those who do not want to camp
• Mount LeConte Lodge in the Smokies
• Willingness to trade quantity for quality of experience
• limited number of back county permits
• rationed overnight access to places like Point Reyes or Ano Nuevo
• people wait years for a big game permit
• Many natural seashore lines are cut up by private development, preventing isolation that has traditional allowed parks to create their own ambiance.
• New closer-to-home parks provide an opportunity to show the urbanite what it means to be without distractions.
• Avoiding conditioned responses that get in the way of freshness of experience.
• Amenities interfering with interacting with natural setting.

At the Core of All this Wilderness and Luxury

• Public attention began to be focused more sharply on wilderness in years leading up to the Wilderness Act of 1964

Conclusion

• The parks are public institutions which belong to everyone, not just the wilderness hikers.

Wordle

Reflection: The Elderly

One time about 10 years ago I was hanging out with my boyfriend and I got a call from my mom.  She was upset, crying and just a little buzzed.  When I asked her what was wrong she replied "in 20 years I'm going to be in my 60's!"  Now I was in my late teen's the time and the idea of her being so upset about something that will happen for which she has no control over was just a bit funny.  But being the good daughter I replied "but you are not 60 now" and she said "no, but I will be."  You can imagine how the rest of the conversation went.


From the time I was 16 I had worked with wide range of ages.  I love the seniors who came to my pool because they had the best stories.  As time went on and I saw 3 of my 4 grandparents die one of which spent 10 years in a nursing home, I got to see how it effected myself and the people around me.


When it was time to take my grandfather back to the home after being out for a family event I was always one of the ones who went with him.  I found it was harder on others then it was on him, he had a form of dementia and pretty much went with whatever you told him.  We normally stuck with "you are going on a business trip."


I would like to say that I feel like I am comfortable with the idea of aging but when I saw a few lines on my face that had not been there before I did panic.  So instead of saying that I am ok with aging I will say I am ok with others aging if I did not know what they were like before.     

Post it: Quality of Life & Identity: The Benefits of a Community-Bases Therapeutic Rec & Adaptive Sports Program by Zabriskie, Lundberg and Groff

• Community-based therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports programs represent a commitment to the continuum approach and bridging the gap between the treatment services provide in health care facilities and the leisure skills, resources and relationships that help facilitate a high quality of life.
• Unhealthy Lives and Health Disparities
• People with disabilities report being "somewhat" or "very far" behind peers without disabilities in 8 areas
• education
• employment
  
• income
• health care 
• transportation
• entertainment/socializing
• political representation 
• life satisfaction
• People with disabilities are
• more isolated from their communities
  
• equality informed about actives as those without disabilities
• not encouraged to participate for the following reasons
• lack of time reported by those without disabilities
  
• lack of encouragement to participate
  
• People with disabilities who keep active
• are better adjusted and more satisfied with life
• report having fewer days of pain, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, improved vitality
  
• substantively increased life expectancy
• Adaptive Sport and Quality of Life
• program fostered feelings of "normalcy"
• social network
• emotional support for families
• increased sports knowledge and skills
• stoical support of peers
• fun and enjoyable
• Adaptive Sports and Quality of Family Life
• Adaptive Sports and Athletic Identity
• individuals who are highly committed to a particular self construct are likely to consider this construct to be highly salient
• National Ability Center
• community-bases adaptive sport and recreation programs offer avenues for the healthy development of both identify and quality of life
• treatment based needs and goals of participants
• purpose and research questions
• relationship between participation in a community-bases therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports programs and quality of life
• is there a relationship between participation in a community-based therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports programs
• method
• studied 2 groups
• alpine skiing
• horseback riding
• Influence on Quality of Life
• program participants reported a overall increase on quality of health, life, family social life
• participants reported participation in more programs for longer periods of time then they initially thought
  
• Athletic Identity

Questions
How do you feel that organizations like National Ability Center have changed since their inception?
Do you feel that the findings would have been the same for other sports?