www.EverybodyCounts.org
SAD NEWS FOR THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
While the national disability community mourns a tremendous loss, I want to share a little bit with
our readers about the man they mostly knew as someone doing everything he could to help
us in the fight for justice in Indiana, and a system which he recognized as being fraught with fraud and corruption.
Roland Wendell Sykes fought cancer like the true warrior he was. On Monday,
March 10, at 3:45 a.m.,
he left for what he had decided to consider just some 'new adventures' he was
ready to have.
One of last things he did during his last
week was tell the nurses that they were 'fostering dependence' with beds
that you couldn't operate yourself. That was pure Roland, making changes down to
the wire.
He was a wizard, military strategist, a teacher, philosopher, fabricator, coach,
history maker, role model, story teller, bus
builder, mentor and forever friend.
A reluctant hero in the national disability rights movement, he played an
essential role, whether directly or indirectly,
in bringing about the changes that have impacted the lives of millions of citizens with disabilities throughout the country.
Roland just didn't like to talk about it too much, calling himself the 'broom sweeper,' whose job it was to clear the path for others.
He never once wanted any glory. But over the years, people kept track, and the groundswell of tribute has begun already.
(Go to www.dimenet.com and check out the memorial that will continue to grow by the day.)
For an example of Roland in action with some of us in Indianapolis, click
HERE.
To better understand the funding and corruption issues, check out our
ICOIL section and more.
During the past couple of years, he had been on what he called The Seemingly Impossible,
Never Ending Journey of Endless Adventure with Perpetual Calisthenics. We'll be telling you more about
that journey later, and more about the amazing things a coal mining teenager did with the life doctors had told him
he wasn't going to have, in the coming weeks. But for now, know that he as a magnificent man who gloried in
every day that the sun came up, found joy and purpose in every moment and wanted nothing more than
to help others learn how to do the same. By
doing that, we not only honor his memory, but accept his final lessons.
Peace, Roland. We love you.
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