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Unfortunately, I haven't been on my blog since I came down with Covid a couple weeks ago. But now I'm ready to tackle something I never thought I would do. The people who are the closest to me think the next step for me to take is to write a children's book. And the more think about about it, now that Brie is officially my dog because of Lois' passing, I'm ready to write a book titled, The Adventures of Brie and Me. Stay tuned from the two amputees!
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It seems like that this year is off to a very good start, for I've been invited to be a guest on my first podcast. The topic is "People with disabilities, and what they can do, rather than what they can't do." The name of the podcast is CanDo Chronicles, which is run by a gentlemen named Adam Bremen. He has cerebral palsy and has spent his whole life in a wheelchair. Someone who works for him picked up my book A Leg to Stand on, and thought I would be a perfect guest . . . of course, with Brie. We're filming on January 11th, and I'll let you know when it will be aired.
Of course, Brie will be with me because she has also shown what she can do with three legs, which is amazing. Soon I will post a video of Brie running full tilt, gracefully as a dog with four legs. It's quite amazing the speed she can pick up with my coaching. She really gets into it and seems proud of herself. I know, of course, that I'm partial because I love her, but I still am in awe of her fluid motion, making running seem natural. I can't wait to share the video with everyone. Since I've had my right leg amputated below the knee, of course, there are always funny episodes or nicknames people give you. But one of my favorites happened in 2019.
One day while sitting with my friend Phil, he asked, "Do you want to have a little fun?" I replied that I did, and he told me that our mutual friend, singer Maria Muldaur was doing a bus tour back east to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Phil said, "Let's give her a call and see how it's going." Phil put his phone on speaker so I could hear the whole conversation. To my surprise, Maria said, “Oh, Tony Five Toes is with you?” I chimed in, asking how the tour was going, and she said, “It’s funny to hear from you because just last night your name came up while I was talking to Melanie.” Melanie is my favorite singer-songwriter, whom I’ve met several times. She had performed at Woodstock in 1969 and was celebrating the reunion of that great festival with Maria and other musicians of the era. Melanie said to Maria, “You know Tony in California?” Maria said that she did, and then it occurred to them that they both had signed my prosthetic leg. (The leg I wrote about in my last blog post.) Well, the fact that Maria was talking to Melanie at the reunion in New York while I was sitting on my couch in California made me feel like I was the celebrity. Phil continued his conversation with Maria while I was listening in and before they hung up, she said, “Tell Tony Five Toes goodbye.” After they hung up, I asked Phil, “What’s this Tony Five Toes?” He replied, “Well, I was afraid it might hurt your feelings, but that’s how we’ve been referring to you.” I said, “I’m okay with it, because, actually, it was pretty clever. So now that time’s gone by and I’m okay with it, they just call me Toes! (It sounds like I have a Mafia name, Tony the Toes Albano!)  When Brie and I are out, people are amazed that she and I are both missing a leg. She lost her leg as a puppy when she was dropped, and I lost my leg in a car accident. The part I never tell people, because they probably would think I was making it up, is that my grandfather, who helped raise me, was also missing a leg! He lost his leg in an elevator accident when he was 17. I never mention that because it seems unbelievable and people would think I was just fooling around, but it’s true. Brie and I are missing a leg on the right side, and so was my grandfather! I don’t know what the statistical chances are of that, but if someone has an idea, I’m all ears.
It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood here in Carmel, California, and I must admit that I am new to blogging. But I have a tech savvy assistant who assures me that I'll get the hang of posting here in no time.
One thing that's important to me in creating this blog is to hear about your own stories of traveling down life's "Bumpy Roads" and how you avoid them, and the potholes! I'm a big believer in kindness without telling everyone how good you are. Since I'm new at this, I would love to hear your input, and together we can make this crazy world a little more pleasant to live in. |
Tony AlbanoStoryteller Archives
May 2023
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