Background  

Almost 30 years ago (1987), friends, Barbara Pike, Charlene Bozarth, and I sent out a nationwide request to polio survivors who might want to have their writings published in an anthology. Manuscripts came in, but life took over, and we were never able to create and publish the collection, as we had hoped. When I lost track of Barbara in Ohio, and Charlene, who left Michigan for New Mexico,  I protectively stored the writings for resurrection at a later date.

Well, this year is that later date! I recently rediscovered them in my files, dusted them off, and now plan to take the liberty of publishing them by way of this blog.  Some are essays. Some are poems. They are heartfelt, intimate and describe living with polio in earlier times. We can resonate with their feelings and messages.

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Chapter Two is a poem composed by Joyce Tepley way back when…

 

Paradox

Waves of grief break against the

solid rock of reason

splashing salty tears

that fill the tide pools of my soul.

Grief

the paradox of grief

as it empties it also fills

as it washes it also hones.

Tears of joy and sorrow mingle

like the currents of one ocean

with another.

There is always mixture

feelings come in pairs

the more I reach for joy

the more I move toward sadness

the more love blows clear

the more it stirs the murky ocean floor

of hate.

Time and tide wait for no man.

The unending cycle of death and rebirth

continually plays itself out.

There is no end

only transformation.

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About the Author

Joyce Ann Tepley, retired from a forty-year career as a clinical social worker, has dedicated the rest of her life to honoring those who thrive through adversity by telling their stories. Joyce had polio in 1955 at the age of 9 and walked withthe aid of braces and a cane. She also uses a wheelchair. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Texas Coalition of Individuals With Disabilities and the International Post-Polio Health Association. Tepley lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband Phil and their dog Kati.

Joyce recently wrote a book (previously reviewed on this blog) titled: Thriving Through It: How They Do It.      You can find it on Amazon:

Joyce also has a new blog, Thriver Living Community.

Check it out at:      http://thriverlivingcommunity.com/

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 Happy

Easter

time!

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Here is a list of the missing anthology authors whom I would like to contact for permission to publish their work, now, so many years later.  Since the publishing of chapter one, we have found two more authors, but have many yet to find.

If you are one, or know of one, please contact me at sunnyrollerblog@gmail.com.

Thank you!

 

Floy Schoenfelder

Lee Whipple

William Wild

Agnes Fennewald

Charlotte Snitzer

Ann Bradley

Toni Keffeler

Sofia Baltodano

Bruce Berman

Roberta Dillion Williams

Becky Lee Vance

Jean Hamm

Norene Senkbeil

Ann Goodhall

Ginger Sage

Shirley Hile Powell

Elizabeth Reeves

Doris Vanden Boogard

Donna L. Mattinson

Marie Galda

Alan M. Oberdick

Emma Blosser Hartzler

R. N. Hackney

Robert C. Huse

 

Are you out there?  

 

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