INCOMING STEVO!
I’m re-activating everything, man. Those who know me or have followed the blog even a little will know that I spent a handful of months in Cambodia on my mission last year.
Well, Mission Unaccomplished! I’m going back February 12th.
So I got through to hundreds of people, well, there are well-over 100,000 amputees in SE Asia alone. I ain’t even started yet. There’s trauma too, and lots of it; it’s palpable, and I’m going to shake that up a bit as well.
Many of the oldsters in Cambodia and, I beg to say, many of their relatives and many, too, of their descendants are what the Khmer Rouge themselves charmingly called ‘The Persons Left Over From Death’ … well I maintain that they are, in fact, ‘Persons Ignitable By Life’! And I aim to go in there, with a dry clear eye (this time) and kick a little ass. Because, if I learned anything on my last (extended) visit, it is that these people don’t need or want compassion, in a way compassion has been killing them for decades. They need a cuff upside the head, a kick in the pants: just the way you and I do when we lose the plot. We all need to take our well-being into our own hands, fend for ourselves and derive pride from what we do every day. Your up-country Cambodian amputee fisherman is no different, nor, for that matter, is your Afghan, your Somali, your Sri Lankan or you Serbo-Croat – no matter how many limbs he’s got and no matter how much free shit is being thrown at him.
So just ‘Say No’ to hand-outs and say ‘Hell Yes!’ to a firm hand-shake, a long look in the eyes and a giant gift to improve your life with exactly one itty-bitty string attached. That string, I’ll tell each amputee, is ‘YOU. You gotta do the work. It’s the ONLY WAY’.
That’s a signal change in my approach for this venture and success is already singing in my chest.
So how could you resist me? Here I come to you, on my own steam, on a bicycle. I’ve cured myself of the unspeakable daily agony that you endure. I have the solution on back of my cargo bike, which I will give you for free along with all the instruction you need. You don’t have to sign on a line; you just have to scratch 2 X’s per day on this 40 day calendar. And plus, the mirror’s yours for keeps; you can hang it in your hut once you’ve cured yourself for life of your dehumanizing pain.
I’ll be working with, among others, the laudable Khmer humanitarian org : LOM ORNG (the ex: CAMBODIAN WAR AMPUTEES REHABILITATION SOCIETY), THE CAMBODIA TRUST (bless their hearts – they do so much good work, all around the Pacific Rim), VETERAN’S INTERNATIONAL, THE HANDA FOUNDATION and, last but not at all least, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS. I’ll be headed into Laos as well, where villagers are still finding cluster bombs – the hard way – almost daily.
Another difference this time round is that I’m ‘crowdfunding’ this venture this time, at least til February 25th. Check out my campaign at:
And find it in your heart to dig a little, hit the donate button, and buy a brace of mirrors for Cambodian or Laotian amputees, who simply won’t see relief without you.
In closing – I know, I should’ve closed two paragraphs ago – remind yourselves that you are here for a reason. Phantom Limb Pain is a neuropathic syndrome and the brain is ALL the rage.
I’m not saying that the brain is the last frontier… but it’s the most obvious one. Anyone with a brain is thinking about it. Your TV shows, your books – at one point there were 3 books on neurology on the NYT list at the same time. NAT GEO just released an entire issue given over entirely to your own personal noodle.
Are you thinking right now? Or visualizing? Or envisioning? How’s your amygdala?
Mirror Therapy works. It is also a leap of faith. It is also a leap into the mind. Phantom Pain is a given, but for those who have all their limbs, it, too, is a leap into the unknown, the unimaginable.
I’m high-fiving you right now with my phantom toes. Frantically wiggling them. Can you feel it?
If you can tell me the difference between your mind and your brain and your faith and your soul… .
I’ll kiss your ass, or, at least
Come over to my place and we’ll talk about it.
Meanwhile enjoy the adventure. If you donate, it’ll be OUR venture.
Peace,s
