by Linda Olson | Aug 26, 2018 | Courageous Stories, Linda Olson
It’s that time again. Mid-August. Long, hot, muggy days. And this year, unrelenting smoky skies. August holds a day that turned my life upside-down. Thirty seconds late in the month—the small amount of time it took for both legs and one arm to be severed from my body....
by Linda Olson | Jul 10, 2018 | Linda Olson, Travel
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS For several days now, I’ve been looking at the welcome picture on Cristen and Jim’s Outside Is the Best Side homepage. I suspect the feet in that photo are getting a well-deserved rest after hiking, climbing, or biking into a breath-taking expanse of...
by Linda Olson | Jun 10, 2018 | Linda Olson, Travel
Almighty Father of Airport Security, As I approach my upcoming flight, I humbly beseech you treat me as you would any other law-abiding passenger. You’ll recognize me as the middle-aged, one-arm woman in a wheelchair. I always have a big smile on my face when I arrive...
by Linda Olson | Apr 22, 2018 | Exercise, Linda Olson
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has a love/hate relationship with exercise. You know—“the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit.” When I lost both legs above my knees at age twenty-nine, I was hell-bent on wanting to walk again. I...
by Linda Olson | Mar 21, 2018 | Linda Olson, Travel
The car is packed, the tank full of gas. We’ve got music and “The Everything Store” on Audible to listen to. I run through my mental check list as Dave starts the engine…Cell phones, charging cord, auxiliary cord, water, lunch, handicapped placard,...
by Linda Olson | Feb 15, 2018 | Travel
Still, quiet and serene. We gaze across the vivid blue Swanport River Estuary toward Great Oyster Bay in Tasmania. A gentle breeze ripples the sparkling water as billowy, white clouds crown the distant mountain range of the Freycinet Peninsula and National Park....
by Linda Olson | Jan 24, 2018 | One Hand Writing
Thirty-eight years ago, I climbed 768 steps to the top of the tallest church in the world, Ulm Minster. The view was exhilarating. Twenty-four hours later, I awoke within the stark white walls of an intensive care unit in Salzburg, Austria. Both my legs and my right...
by Linda Olson | Jan 23, 2018 | One Hand Writing
It’s that time again. I look right and left. Then—up and down the aisles of the produce section at my gigantic, neighborhood supermarket. Aiming my wheelchair toward the lettuce bins, I time my sprint to avoid the periodic misting which is supposed to keep the veggies...
