June 8, 2022

Solidarity. Grace. Peace. Hi everybody. We’re behind you guys.

Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

I wanted to wish you all a happy fathers day because I didn’t want to miss it. I might miss you next week. I’m gonna dedicate this blog to ME, because I’m a father. I miss my kid because I don’t see her that often. But I think about her all the time. My friend here who’s typing this also had a great dad. I had a great dad. He was very cool. A great dad and a great artist. He was truly an artist’s artist. All of my values as an artist I got from him.

You should check out his website: donnice.com

You know, a good painting has a soul. So whenever I miss my dad, I look at one of his paintings. I mean, the guy put a lot of work into each painting he did. He wasn’t like some artists that just crank out the work to pay the bills. I mean, my dad really thought about each brush stroke. It was cool to watch.

On another note, it’s been quite. I’ve been getting on the track with my walker. It’s tough. It’s hard hard work. But it’s worth it. It’s paying off. Whenthey said all this recovery would take a long time, I didn’t think you could count in decades. If I got my injury when I was 70, it would have been game-over. You just gotta keep at it. Don’t give up. I mean, there are times, I haven’t really thought about giving up, but it has crossed my mind. It’s tough work. So, I have private therapy I do, and I have my other therapy I do. So I have therapy three days a week. The rest of the days I spend on photography. You gotta keep your hands active.

Hey, I want to share with you guys I learned a while ago, and it pertains to being an artist. Now, I may be going off on a tangent here, but I thought I’d give you a word of advice. Whether you’re a water colorist, or photographer, or whatever, you always gotta keep your overhead low. I mean, I just have my cameras and lenses, and my hands in my pocket when I got on the plane. Everything else was rented. You never know what’s around the corner, and you don’t want to get stuck with a huge bill to pay, like a studio or equipment. Basically, keep your overhead low. Be ready to ride out the rough times, because if you’re freelance, you’re definitely going to have some rough times.

That’s about it for this week. Love and miss you guys.

Love, B. Nice

June 1, 2022

Hi everybody. I forgot to say Happy Memorial Day. Above is a photo I did in Santa Barbara before I got injured. Anyway, Happy belated Memorial Day.

So, check this out. Remember a few blogs ago I said something like, “Someone’s gonna get hurt if they don’t increase the wage for home healthcare.” Well, someone did get hurt. And guess who it was? … Me!

You see, my health aide fell asleep in the back of my car. He fell asleep because he’s overworked. He has to take three jobs just to make ends meet. As a result I got a fractured ankle because my chair wasn’t locked in and my wheelchair belt wasn’t on. I ended up under the dashboard, and fractured my ankle. Now, I’m not blaming the agency that my health aide worked for, nor am I blaming my health aide. The guy was just tired. I mean, he has to work three jobs just to make ends meet. Now, the state did increase the wage for home healthcare aides, but by only a small amount. Enough just to knock any candidates out of potential state benefits. Crazy. It’s almost an insult. It really makes me mad because people like the patient (me) suffer. What's it gonna take? The death of a few people before they take on home healthcare? Check out this article that a regional paper did. It’s only regional, but maybe someone national will pick it up and run with it. There needs to be an investigative reporter from either the New York Times or 60 minutes. We have to put fire under the ass of these politicians. If you’re a politician, I would take this issue and run with it. It kind of pisses me off.

I’ll include a photo of the article. It was in the May 23 issue of the Journal News.

On another note: I’ve been speaking with our town mayor. She’s going to build housing for people like my home healthcare aides and other workers. Pretty cool. Who would think I’d be an activist.

On another, other note. I got on the track for the first time since 1986. It was weird. I got on the track and just wanted to take off running. I made it 20 yards. Pretty cool. But man, was I tired.

That’s it for this week. Love and miss you all. This is B. Nice signing off.

B. Nice

May 26, 2022

Oh man! My track buddies and I used to go to stripper bars. That was in the 70’s. Now I go to gardens with family friends. I guess that’s called growing up. The gardens I went to are pretty cool. They’re called Stonecrop in Cold Spring, NY. Netflix did a documentary on them. I just thought of something. What about strippers in gardens? That would be controversial. My friend here said that’s probably been done, and it probably has. Shock value always sells. Right?

I’ve been switching up my therapists. It’s always good to do that it seems. You never want to get comfortable with one therapist. You gotta push it or you don’t make progress. For example, I’m going to get on the track with one of my therapists and a walker. It’s hard to believe that in the 70’s I ran close to a 4 minute mile. Now I can barely make 20 yards on a walker. Amazing. But at least I can make 20 yards. Right? The other cool thing was I worked with a health aide I haven’t seen in like 6 years. She said I’m doing remarkably well.. That’s always encouraging. It makes me happy because I work hard every day and have been for 10 years. Remember, never give up.

I’m probably gonna cut it short because I can’t remember what I was gonna talk about. Speaking of forgetting, the one bonus of having a brain injury is every movie is new - even if you’ve seen it before. One thing I did want to tell you guys is that my dad’s storage facility is gonna be included in a big art tour starting July 22. The tour is going to include galleries, studios, storage facilities, etc. If you’re an artist, it will be inspiring to see. Check out my dad’s website: donnice.com for more information.

Love and miss you guys. Don’t forget to check out my website about the past. In the beginning is a spread about how I see now. You always gotta do what you love and I love photography.

This is B. NIce signing off. Love, B. Nice

March 30, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

Pitty Party of One or Viva Revolution! You see, I can’t decide whether or not to pity myself or to start a revolution. You see, I’m tired of my health aides not waking up at night and me pissing the bed. I’m tired of my aides falling asleep in my car and for forgetting to strap me in and getting in a car accident and fracturing my ankle. I’m tired of my health aides giving me the wrong medicine. I’m tired of my health aides letting my dog run down through a busy road. You see, all this really isn’t their fault. They’re all just tired. I mean they have to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Then the problem is me, the patient, I’m at risk. You should see them when they get done with the end of their shift. They’re exhausted and they have to drive home. Being tired like that and driving is equivalent to drunk driving. You see, if they got paid a decent wage, they wouldn’t have to take two different jobs and put me at risk. I’m getting tired of it. Someone’s gonna get hurt one day, mark my words.

You see, I can speak out, right? But there’s many people out there that have heath aides who can’t speak out. That’s why I want to start a revolution. I did a documentary. I’m going to blanket the social media and as many news channels as I can. I’m also gonna get in touch with politicians. This is gonna be my mission. I’m fed up with it. And, like I said before, it’s not the health aides fault. It’s the fact that they get such low pay that they have to take other jobs. And then the other problem is that because the pay is so low, no one wants to do this job of healthcare. Listen, all of you that are healthy and are reading this, if you got sick, you would want someone to take care of you, a professional. And believe me, you don’t want to go to a nursing home right away. I mean, eventually, you might have to, but for now you want to stay out of those places as long as possible.

Anyway, I just wanted to get all that off my chest. I am venting a little, but I am tired of it, and frankly I’m tired of being tired. When I get like this, I always think of the past. See my blog about the past.

Thank you guys. Love and miss you. Thanks for listening to this, and when you see my documentary, please share it with everyone you can think of. Let’s start a revolution.

Love, B. Nice

P.S. Look, everyone’s gonna get old - so take note of this. If not for you, then for someone you love.

https://vimeo.com/672974438

March 23, 2022

Hey guys welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

Here’s what I presently sent out to my local paper. If anyone else can help, that would be appreciated. Get in touch with me. I can’t do much given my condition. Thanks again. Love and miss you guys.

Love, B. Nice

Dear Editor,

My name is Brian Nice, AKA the guy in the wheelchair. I’ve been a member of this community on and off again since 1969. I was wondering if you could please extend this plea for help to your readers. I am limited in what I can do because of my condition. In fact, my childhood friend from Garrison grade school is writing this for me. I know our community is small but mighty. Maybe someone out there could help me get my word out to the press and eventually to the President. I’ll enclose a link of a documentary I did. It’s a rough edit, as it’s what the editor, Adam Hall, sent to me. The film of the documentary was shot by Bryan Coppede.

https://vimeo.com/672974438

Maybe you could put this on your website. I’m open to doing an interview with you, if you like. I believe the whole situation I’ve covered is newsworthy and timely. Who knows where this rabbit warren will lead.

Many thanks,

Brian Nice

845-265-2705