60/20 Tour: Johnny Cash, A Blind Cruiser and a Staff-Only Ride

October 6, 2019

NC State Veterans Home and Scottish Pines

Anyone reading these blogs knows my affinity for the vet homes along the way,  and a stop at the North Carolina State Veterans Home is no exception.  Sally Davis, friend and karaoke diva, and her staff welcome us with open arms. I’ve been going to this community for over a decade, so it was fun to go there and not have to sell them anything!  We get some good party songs up and running,  and got a cruise going with Jerry, Steven and Paige from Activities.  It was a great cruise. Jerry cranked out “A Boy Named Sue” and had the Johnny Cash vibe going.  Steven in the back seat was our first openly blind person to go cruising. He provided both perspectives on both music and the realities of a life without sight (and zero bitterness) since he was 40.

We spent the afternoon cranking things out with the staff at Century Care Scottish Pines.  Jim Schmidlin was THE first NC customer for iN2L. He’s become a good friend of mine over the years.  Jim, his wife Kim,  Dr. Annette Webster and Margaret Dickerson joined in.  I was able to get a glimpse at why the Schmidlin marriage is so successful – Jim just does whatever Kim tells him to!  Another life lesson learned! It was fun to have a staff-only cruise. We even cranked out some James Taylor songs with Kim inserting her lyrics!