Month: October 2018

Arrow

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

 

Arrow

Stone-tipped projectile weapons found in Africa are believed to be 71000 years old. Otzi, the oldest natural mummy was killed by an arrow.

In the 12th century, the crossbow came into existence and it changed battles and warfare considerably. It put fear into the hearts of noblemen who were always protected by heavy armor. A bolt or arrow fired from the crossbow could penetrate armor.

In the 16th century, the widespread use of gunpowder was supposed to make the bow and arrow obsolete.

Modern archers have numerous styles of bows and arrows for hunting and target shooting. If you are handicapped today and unable to use regular archery equipment, you can apply for a crossbow permit for hunting. Crossbows shoot a short Arrow called a bolt they will go through a deer or elk.

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Grandpa’s Pull-Ups

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Grandpa’s Pull-Ups

If you are like me and have arm weakness from a spinal cord injury, you may do as I do and ask your spouse or caregiver to pull up your briefs and pants several times a day. I have finally discovered a way to regain some of my independence. I can still stand up with a walker. This could also work standing in front of a wheelchair.

I have exercise pulleys on a door to keep my arm strength and motion range alive. I still have a weakness when it comes to pulling up my pants all the way. I solved the problem by poking a hole in the waistband in the back of a brief. I run a piece of 1/4 X 40-inch nylon rope through the hole, then double the rope and tie a slip knot at the end.

I stand under my exercise pulley and insert the wooden handle on one end of the rope through the double slip knot loop. Image result for ROPE knots

Image result for Arm exercise pulleys to hang on door

 

 

I then pull down on the other end of the rope which pulls the brief or pants up, slip the wooden handle back out of the double loop, pull the slip knot loose and remove the 40-inch rope from the back of the brief or pair of pants. With briefs, a hole in the waistband is no problem but with a pair of pants, you could fashion a buttonhole in the center of the back waistband to protect the material.

This is not a perfect solution but I have found that it works and gets the job done instead of bothering my wife constantly to pull my britches up. If you come to our house to visit there still is a chance that you might accidentally get mooned. With a spinal cord injury, many Simple Things become impossible and everything takes longer to do.

http://www.lelandolson.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlock It

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Bronze Heart Lock and Key Couples Necklace - Real Working Lock Pendant - Couples Jewelry - Jewelry Set

 

Weekend Writing Prompt #76 – Unlock

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

 

Unlock

I did not yet know the science of the rocket;
but I did hold the key to her locket.

It was meant to unlock her heart;
Woe is me, I never became that smart.

The cozy encounters left me to wonder,
and the chase often times later ponder.

Instead of out of this universe untold bliss,
I always settled for the French kiss.

Historic Gathering of 40- and 50-year SCI Survivors

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Since I am a spinal cord injury Survivor starting into year 55 I felt like I should put the story of these Brave SCI survivors on my blog site to share with the rest of the world. I have written a book about my 50 plus years and I will post the link to that book also and hope you find it interesting reading. Here is the link to my book.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1980400830/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

http://www.newmobility.com/2015/08/gathering-of-sci-survivors/

NaNoWRIMO

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

 

National Novel Writing Month or ‘NaNoWriMo’ is rapidly approaching, it begins on November 1st. Gabriela Pereira and Word Nerds Unite are big supporters of NaNoWriMo. A good place for writers to exchange ideas and protocols is with them.

I have written a Blog called ‘My Mixed Blog’ for the past 3 years. It has several hundred short stories now.  One story two years ago was a “who done it, a mystery,” I would like to say ‘Thriller.’ A couple of my blog readers continued to ask me what happens next? I ran this story through my mental collating process from many different angles.

I joined NaNoWriMo on November 1, of 2017. I made the decision to turn my short story into my first and possibly the last novel when gastric juices started to overflow on week two.

The 50,000 required words seemed like an impossible task for me. The end of November was rapidly approaching and I was stuck in the minuscule 40,000 range. I did not want to stand back and toss words into my word stew, just for the sake of more numbers. Consequently, I missed the deadline at the end of the month. After I finally got the required number of words in December it read like one of the best novels I had ever seen. It pumped up my ego to the stupid point, so I hurried to get it published. I used a self-publishing tool and completed the process at warp speed. Being a completely green newbie I forgot about editing, proofreading, etc. I soon learned people had trouble reading my style of writing as if it was from a planet far from Earth.

That is the reason to join NaNoWriMo and learn much from other writers.
I have to admit November 1, 2018, is rapidly approaching. I thought I had a pot full of story ideas ready to boil over on the front burner. I couldn’t even stir them down with my magic quill. It ended up there was nothing on the front burner just an empty, dead, cold pan on the back of the stove with no sign of Fire under it.

At this point, my cup does not Runneth over had my WIC is not even touching the oil. It’s not so much burn out as it fizzles out, my energy level is too low to measure.

I wish the best of luck to everyone at NaNoWriMo 2018.

http://www.lelandolson.com/