April 12, 2023

Hi you guys. Welcome to my blog where I talk about my present. I presently have some house guests here, and they’re helping me big time! Like my friend in front of me here, who’s typing for me. I need all the help I can get from friends.

It’s pretty cool because one of the people visiting is an interior designer. He changes things up big time. It’s amazing how the energy changes in a space when you move things around. Then it got me thinking, Man, someone like me really needs something like that. I mean, I don’t move around much, so my world is 3 or 4 feet around me. When someone creates something nice, something new to look at, it really makes a difference in your world. I mean, if you’re a normal person, you’d probably walk right by what’s been changed. Does any of this make sense?

Anyway, I just thought I’d share that with you. It’s important to have an aesthetically pleasing environment around you.

On another note, physical therapy has been very strange. I seem to have developed a list to the right. I’m always leaning to the right. It’s very bizarre because on my first brain operation I would lean to the left. Maybe God’s trying to tell me I should have been a Nascar driver. You know what really helps is if you have a mirror in front of you, you can self-correct. What I think is normal is definitely not normal. I list so much to the right I have to force myself to the left. You don’t self correct and it’s brutal. And then I have to try and walk like that. Have you ever tried to pat the top of your head and rub your stomach? That’s what it’s like. Anyway, we gotta soldier on, right?

I’m going back to hang out with my friends. Love and miss you all. Love, B. Nice

March 22, 2023

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

I was reviewing the mini documentary I just finished. Julia B. who was the filmmaker that did it, she did a great job. I basically wanted to do the documentary because I wanted to show everyone that even if you’re messed up like this, you can still give back, you know, do something cool and creative. What I didn’t mention in the mini documentary was the fact that I’ve realized that my whole life has gotten me ready for what I’m going through. For example, my running career taught me how to be patient and deal with pain. My photography career taught me how to automatically keep one eye closed and look at the world through one eye (remember, my eyes work independently and are cross-eyed). My two marriages have taught me never to ever ever trust another woman again. But, on a more serious note, I’ve done a lot in my life. Just look at my blog about the past. I’ve done a lot so I don’t mind being like this, the way I am. Let’s just call it a forced retirement. In a way, it’s kind of cool. On a creative level, it’s made my life more interesting. I definitely see the world in a new way. And I try to express it in my photography, in my art.

There’s one other thing I’d like to talk to you guys about. Now, if you’re like me, and you have a traumatic brain injury, you should have a good therapist to talk to. It’s amazing. I was never supplied with a therapist. I mean, come on. I have a brain injury. My brain’s been damaged. It should be a no-brainer (excuse the pun), that I should have a therapist. I finally got one, but I did it myself. There’s also a local politician who’s helping me in finding a therapist that will be covered by my insurance. I just find it amazing that a person with a traumatic brain injury has to do this himself, not all by myself, but people like friends and relatives have been helping me. I mean I can only talk to my dog so much. And the main reason I need the therapist is that my dog is talking back (just kidding).

The last thing I’d like to say is, if you’re like me, don’t give up. You’re gonna have good days and bad days. I mean, the other day I had such a hard time trying to walk with the walker, but the following week I did great. So I can often be discouraging and the next week encouraging. It’s up and down, and there’s really no explanation. Just keep going forward.

I’ll talk to you guys next week. Love and miss you.

B. Nice

March 8, 2023

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

So check this out. I had a senator, Senator Rob Rolison (https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/rob-rolison), and the mayor of Cold Spring at my house (https://www.forgeaheadwithfoley.com). It was very cool. Not many people can say they had a senator and a mayor at their house.

I really am pushing for five things and these guys could possibly help.

1. Better pay for home healthcare aides.

2. Better transportation for people like me (in the wheelchair). I get descent transport from the county, but it’s all volunteer workers so it’s erratic.

3. I’m trying to get the sidewalks in good shape. They’re full of potholes and frost heaves. It’s like trying to navigate Tora Bora.

4. I’m trying to get reduced cost housing for home healthcare aides, first responders, firemen, etc.

5. And the last thing is we gotta get mental health a mandatory thing for people like me. I mean, I had a brain injury. Of course I should get mental health. It should be mandatory whether you think you need it or not. Maybe that could go along with the Traumatic Brain Injury waiver I’m on. It’s part of Medicaid. Maybe they can make it mandatory. Then I can stop talking to my dog, and he can stop talking back to me.

Man, it’s been brutal trying to walk. I’ve been at it for a long time, maybe 13 years or so. Some days are good, some not so good. I just want to reiterate, if you’re in my position you just gotta stay with it and work through it. It’s painful sometimes, but you just gotta stay with it and push through it.

I just want to share one other thing with you, and this came to me after talking with my cousin. It really pays to stay in shape. Man, I’ll tell you, if I wasn’t in shape, there’s no way I would have made it through all this. So, I guess I’m promoting healthy living. Loving yourself enough to take care of your body, inside and out. If you take care of your body, your body is gonna take care of you.

OK, that’s all the profound statements I have for this week. I’m gonna go back to talking to my dog. Don’t forget to check out my blog from the past. I think next week I’ll do a blog about the past, a blog about being naked in a pool, high class hookers from Dallas, and a drug lord. In Mexico, of course.

Talk to you guys next week. Love and miss you guys. Love, B. Nice

March 1, 2023

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

I’ve been reading what I wrote about last week on my blog. I just want to convey that my assistants made my life so much easier. I want in no way to imply that they contributed to my current condition. They were amazing actually. I wouldn’t even have to ask for something. It was as if they read my mind. For example, if I needed a certain lens, it was in my hands before I even asked for it.

One assistant in particular stands above everyone else. The guy actually saved my life. You see, on August 18, 2009, I was on a commercial shoot in NYC. That’s when I had my first brain bleed. After I called the shoot, the assistant managed to get me back to my hotel. He called his mother who was a doctor in Mexico City. She said to get me right to the ER. He managed to get me to the ER and I just made it. So, you see, the guy saved my life. The last time I spoke to him, I said, “You saved my life, I’ll buy you a beer.”

I want to tell one other assistant story. I mean, I’ve got many, but this one stands out as being kind of funny. I arrived on location on a photo shoot. I walked up to the location van and my assistant came out and he was angry. I said, “What’s wrong?” He said, “I can’t believe you’re shooting a plus size model catalog.” I said, “What’s wrong with that?” He said, “They ate all the food! There’s nothing for breakfast.” It was pretty funny. He said, “I’m going to the deli to get something. Do you want something?” I said, “No I’m good.” Well, I got in the van, and he was right, there was nothing left. The bagel basket was empty. There was a silver platter with limp lettuce and a few orange wedges half eaten. The girls ate everything. Hey, they were happy at least. And that’s what counts on a fashion shoot. You have to have happy models.

Oh man! What an epic journey. I’m not talking about my general journey I’m on right now, but I’m talking about going down to the local store to get a bottle of wine for some guests tonight. Now, if you’re normal, you would just hop in the car, go to the store to get a bottle of wine and come home. I have to make sure my power chair is charged up, make sure I have all the proper items in my backpack. I have to prep a lot of things, then I have to make the journey down to the store. The sidewalks are in really bad condition, so I have to navigate each pothole and find the path of least resistance. If I tip over, it’s a disaster. So, I go extra slow. Now, getting there is one thing, but getting back, oh man! I’m exhausted by the time I get 3/4 of the way home. Concentrating when you’re in a condition like mine is tough. It really wipes you out. It’s hard to explain. It’s kind of like trying to explain surfing to someone who doesn’t surf. It’s kind of like trying to explain an experience. Anyway, it’s exhausting by the time I get home. Any kind of thing that requires concentration seems to be very difficult. Maybe they’re right, ignorance is bliss.

Bottom line is You gotta keep at doing things, even if they’re challenging. It’s the only way you’re gonna advance yourself. Besides, getting out feels good. It’s nice to get out of the house.

That’s it for this week. Love and miss you guys. Don’t forget to check out my blog about the past.

Love, B. Nice

January 25, 2023

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

I’m gonna dedicate this blog to ME, because it was my birthday the other day! It made me realize that as you get older, you celebrate your birthday less and you become more self-reflective. In other words, I thought about things I’ve done, where I’ve gone, people I’ve met, etc. My birthday got me thinking about my condition. You see, I don’t consider myself handicapped. I consider myself severely injured. I’ve had many injuries as an athlete. Some you get over quick, some it takes a long time. This injury I have is a Mother ______ er of an injury. It’s just taking a long time to get over. You have to work hard to get results. You get out of it what you put into it. You can’t give up. You gotta keep at it, if you want to get better - and I want to get better. I’m tired of being in this stupid wheelchair.

On another note, I was talking to my nephew the other day. He asked me what my favorite birthday was. Now, my second wife did some pretty cool trips on my birthday, but hands down, the best birthday I had was with my first wife. We were living on North Bondi Beach in Australia, Sydney, Australia. On the afternoon of one of my birthdays, she blindfolded me, lead me down the stairs, put me in our car, drove to a bay, I could hear the sailboats. We walked down a dock. I thought we were gonna get on a boat, but we got on a seaplane. The seaplane flew half an hour north, I could feel the sun on my left shoulder. We landed and taxied to a dock where we were docked. We walked to what I thought was a house, but as I got inside, I could hear it was a restaurant. We sat down at our table and she took the blindfold off. The restaurant was cool. It was all candlelit, white linen, silverware, all the windows were open to a beautiful bay. There were no other structures. No roads, no power lines. The restaurant was in the middle of a state park. there was nothing but Eucalyptus trees straight down to the water. The setting was beautiful, like something out of a dream. Anyway, we had a great early dinner then flew back to Rose Bay at sunset. It was a cool birthday present.

Sydney is a great place. I highly recommend you go. We went there for our six week honeymoon. It turned into a 10 year stay. Then we moved to Paris, and the honeymoon was over. ha ha ha. Paris is cool too. They’re both completely different.

Love and miss you guys. Talk to you soon.

Love, B. Nice