We now interupt our regularly scheduled programming for a "TCO Inspirational Moment"

Turn away brutish men and gruff women who are not comfortable with the sappy expression of human emotion. Today TCO had the great privilege of observing senior citizens with total visual impairment perform karate. This after having also had the privilege of hearing Dr. James Kutsch speak on the topic of "Daring to Succeed" in a world that more often than not shuts out persons with disabilities. Dr. Kutsch, it should be noted, is a fine fellow who, despite becoming immediately blinded (and an amputee) at the age of 16 when one of his chemical experiments blew up in his hands one afternoon in his backyard, went on to excel at electrical engineering and earned two PhDs (Computer Tech. and Humanities). His speech today was about making change happen for yourself, rather than waiting for it to happen on its own. He claims that while some great changes may very well happen if you wait long enough (black president, anyone?) over all, it's important to analyze what is and isn't working now in your day to day, and how you can change those things to be workable, or in his case accessible and usable, successes. Take the risk to innovate in your own life, and you will find yourself achieving what you never before thought possible. Kutsch used his creative genius in the 1960s to figure out how to tell time on his own by taking the glass off his clock so he could feel the hands. Later on? He created radio dials that can be deciphered based on audible tone levels, then he applied tones to decipher data output on his computer through morse code, then he built his own brail printer, then he constructed the first ever talking computer, then, then, then... Rather than hold out for the already rapid evolution of modern technology to include a man with a visual impairment, or the entire collective of individuals with disabilities for that matter, Kutsch continues to step up to plate and make a grand salami look easy. Sound like an applicable theme for the life and times of the artistically ambitious? Absolutely. Go ahead, grab a tissue, you know you wanna. And here, cradle this comforting mug of Mama's hot chocolate.
Now back to your Stories.