March 24, 2025 • 25 mins
In this episode of Disability World with Norma Stanley meet Christy M. Priester, a dedicated advocate and physically challenged wheelchair user, has turned her life experiences into a mission to inspire and empower others. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1979. Having faced various forms of abuse, Christy now devotes her life to breaking cycles of harm through community programs, book writing, and advocacy.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
My name is Norma Stanley, and welcome to Disability World. Hello,
(00:36):
and welcome to another segment of Disability World where we
discuss various issues of interest and impact as it relates
to the disability community and those who care about this
vital and vast community and population of over sixty one
million people in the United States alone. I'm your host,
(00:59):
Norman Stanley, and on the show Disability World, we always
look forward to speaking with individuals, community to leaders, parents,
business owners, advocates and you know, people who and resource
providers who are all contributing to making sure that this
community has what it needs.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
And we look forward to speaking today with miss Christy Priester.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
She is a very dedicated community advocate here in the
metro Atlanta area. She's an author and a poet, and
she also is a woman with disabilities, and we're going
to talk to her about the work that she's been
doing in this community. So help me to welcome Miss
Christy Priester.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Hey, Norma, Hi Christy, how are you doing today?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I'm doing just grand and wonderful about yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you so much for taking time out of your
schedule to come and talk to us on Disability World.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I know you do so much and have.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Done so much for the disability community, but I want
you to tell our listeners and viewers a little bit
about who Christy Priester is, and you know a little
bit about your journey what led you to what you're
doing now?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Okay, Well, I am black female and I am a
disabled woman with who was in a bicycle accident back
in nineteen eighty four and that left me as a
colly chain And so I've had a number of different
(02:42):
purposes and missions since my accident, and I enjoy ring
poetry now in my retirement age, since I've retired from running,
then a childcare guy.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And I'm doing book. I'm a book author.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I like writing stories and I'm telling sharing my stories
with people about how to empower them themselves and the
power of choices, which is the time of my next book,
and how that can make a difference in everybody's life.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, so you said you're a writer and you have
a background in.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Child education and development. So you created something that has
been a big resource here in the metro Atlanta area
called the Atlanta Childcare Guide. Why did you see the
need to pull that together and compile that resource, and
how has that been working for you and for the
people who have accessed that guide.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Well, there were so many needs. It wasn't just one need.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
But there were a number of needs that needed to
happen in the childcare industry then as.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Well as still today.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
There's been some changes upgrades as we have been evolving.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
However, we're still dealing with a lot of.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
The same issues today as we did back then.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Me I said, isn't that weird how that happens?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, time would allow some changes, but I see what
you mean.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah, absolutely, But we've come a long way too when
you look at the whole history of education in early
childhood education, especially.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Back in the eighteen hundreds when.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It was totally segregated boys' school, girls' school, black schools,
and white school You know, we've come a long way
today with having diversity and actually people being more transparent
and seeing what is going on in childcare opposed to
(05:02):
what was going on in the closets and behind the
doors and when nobody.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Was looking, which is still an issue today.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
But you know, there's many daycinners now that people won't
even support without cameras in them. So they have the
opportunity to be able to see what's going on with
their children in the actual environments.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And the same thing with schools, they need to do
the same thing, losing.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Absolutely And you know, sad to say, we have different
issues like kids. You know, the schools that are being
terrorized by terrorists and young folks coming in, they're shooting
up and they didn't have them issues back in the day.
But the back core to me norma with child development
(05:55):
and childcare issues are the foundations.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
That children are growing upon.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And when you have children that are growing up in
families that they're not being fed, clothed, and they're not
getting the love and attention that they require, and they're
really you know, they they're doing that attention because they
(06:23):
didn't ask to come here, and what it transpires.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Into being is neglect and abuse. And this is.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
About children in general, not just children's disabilities.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It's chin yes, yes, And when that happens, it starts
to breath of this cycle. You know, those children children
people who are abused are usually abused by people who
have been abused. Yes, you know, so we're perpetuating the
(06:54):
same cycle and problems when we don't get to the
root of the problem, which is really given quality education
and love to our children so they can grow and
really keep moving the cycle that we're into a much
(07:15):
grander place.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And those are what are some of the resources and
information that you provided in the childcare guide.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh, my goodness, don't care guide.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It was we provide hell tieds and resources. Everything the
business was fell under what was called resource childcare Resource
and Referral Service. So the main niche of the magazine
that I published was a childcare serectory which covered the
four five colonies the cab Clayton FULLD colon net and
(07:51):
it listed the daycare centers, they're hours, their rates. It
was all put into a directory grind that actually, you know,
could allot people who are looking for childcare look at
intricate directory that had details about what the they were doing,
(08:16):
if they provided transportation, if they provided you know, after.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
School, different curriculums.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And then it went to being as extensive of having
many childcare businesses advertise.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
You know what the business was con tip on advertising.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And so also listen to family places that worked with
children's disabilities.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Everything we did lead h from health care from anybody
from the health care industry, to the government industry, to
transportation and anything you could think of that could help parents,
you know, with any type of needs that they may have.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
For my advertisers, and.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Sadly the guy had to be dissolved and we did
back up.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
We did do events.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I also did workshop trainings and helping people open up
daycare bus businesses.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
We opened up close to about over these centers throughout
the Elemtroal area. But I lost.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Track of how many in home family daycares. I still
have people come up to me today to tell me
they knew me from when I helped them open up
a family day I'm like, oh really, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Yeah, so there were family daycare is.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
When people do chuck care in their home. When people
open them daycare up like revolving.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Doors and there's a lot, but that's yeah, it's such
a big need.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
I mean that's yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
The baby where she was a family child care.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, so one minute they're opening, the next minute they're
finding a job doing something else.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
But a daycare center and a group daycare. We kept
track goals, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
We we had a top right relationship and correspondence collaborations.
We did a lot of collaborating with daycare since most
of a lot of my programs were exclusively for just daycare.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
Centers, so people you know, would walk home to some
of the programs, but some of them were just exclusive
for daycare centers because we had we used to host a.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Fun day and that was where we had close to
about twenty five to thirty daycare center son up and
I mean that was cut off because we couldn't take
any more in the facility that we were using.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But obviously it was a big, big success, and you know,
I'm sure if you decided you want to go back
and do it again, it'll still be something that's very
much needed. But I wanted to make sure we had
time to talk about your new book project that you
have coming out now. Tell us about your new project,
because it sounds like it's something that that's going to
(11:31):
be again needed by the community.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
One of the things you know that that continued to
evolve from the Atlanta childcare guy. What I did back
then was I volunteered to go to the school systems
to advocate for bicycle safety. So we had I went
to over hundreds of schools and did presentations on bicycle
(11:56):
safety teaching kids, and I mean we'd have auditorium, so being.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Four hundred kids where we would do you know, presentation
that taught them all about the rules on the road.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We talked them about bicycle maintenance and how to read
the signs and pay attention, and then the important fact
of how important it is to wear.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Helmets and safety here. So that started.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
When I was in at the Atlanta Childcare Guide and
I did a lot of collaboration with the school systems,
you know, in doing that, I.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Did the presentations.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Well, I continue to want to do them after we
downside the business, but I was in the midst and
just doing a lot of writing, so it kind of
got farther and farther away from me.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
And I'm like, I don't ever.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Want to stop doing this advocating for bicycle safety because
each year and every year, if you follow statistics, it
goes up and down.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
You know, one year we have a high rate.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Of accidents amongst children and bicyclists.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
And the next year it made the climb.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So with following the trends, the bottom line is people
are still getting injured.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
It's nearly injured.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And my injury was severe and so people are still dying,
and we can prevent that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
We can stop it through education.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Right, So my goal is this year, I said, I
want to do something different. I don't want to go
back into doing the presentations. I want to do a book.
So I told my I said, I'm gonna do my
memoir and write it for children and parents or anybody
who can be in who's interested about safety. And that's
(14:00):
what I started. Point I wrote, started writing this manuscript
about a year ago, and it's called The Power of Choices.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Empowering.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Young Young, Empowering the minds of young people something like that,
you know, But anyway, the whole normal I am so
so pleased with this book. I had the help of AI,
and AI has taught me so much as as.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
If i'd been in school again, you know, because when.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I was writing before, I was writing and editing the
old fashioned way.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
They didn't have them, you know.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So I was paying a lot of money to editors,
and yeah, we still didn't have things edited right.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
But now I got for perfection.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
But I tell you, I was one of the people
who wasn't too thrilled with AI.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
But it has been a helpful for my business too.
So I understand.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah, I am enjoying it thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Then it's where I work at my own pace, and
of course it's much faster than I am. Right. However,
you know, I've been learning how to manipulate it to
work best for me.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Right, that's what you have to do.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
So you said that this book empowering the Power of Choices,
empowering young minds.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It's not just young people, but that's what get towards right.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
It also has a journal, and you're going to be
what are you what are you empowering them about?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Okay, I'm empowering them to write out their.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Power choices because everything that's going to make a different.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
In our lives is based on the choices that we make.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
That's what I mean everything.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
So the title of.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The book, you know, is what it's actually doing, teaching
young folks and so adults too, to power their choices
and how making these choices has consequences both good and bad,
and we need to we need to actually embrace that
(16:19):
and understand that once we start making better choices. One
of my chapters is about prevention, you know, providing prevention
in your life so we can prevent a whole lot
of things from happening if we make the right choice
to prevent right, you know, take the steps in preventing.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Oh, you're using some of your own experiences, like what
happened to you when you had the box?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
About my experience.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
It's a memoir and it's awful about my bicycle journey
from when I was a kid at seven years old,
when I got my first BikeE my Grappa made for me,
and he made it from scratch. He built my first
black bike from scratch, and he taught me many lessons.
(17:12):
And I share the lessons about my grandpa and him
making that bike for me for my seventh birthday. And
then I had an accident in that bike. I was
so excited and learning how to ride ntting.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
I know, you know, this young girl comes rocking out
the house and crashed. We crashed into each other.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
But I'm not going to tell you the whole story.
One of the chapters is about that, and then another
other chapter is my sister and I Kim, the one
my sister right up under me, who we took a
track from Saint Paul, Minnesota, where we lived and I
grew up at. And I give you some history about
(17:56):
that where I grew up at our capital and church
and where I went to in our track to Minneapolis,
which is about twenty five It was twenty.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Five miles thirty miles away from where we lived and
that of my employ and itself.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And then I talk about my cousin. This was a
very sensitive, heartfelt story that was about my cousin, the
Arthur French, who at the age of fifteen was hitting
killed on a bicycle.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And so we were close.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
So I a memoir about many of the experiences I
had growing up, and it helped people to try to avoid, yes,
the situation of getting into an accident that might cause
you to have a disability if you are not more
careful with the choices that you make, especially when you're
(18:57):
on a bicycle in traffic. As people on the road,
you know, when you're driving on bicycles doing some very
dangerous looking things. Absolutely and contrary to what many people know,
may know or may not know, I was doing all
the wrong things when I was riding my bike on
(19:18):
the road when I was in my accident.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
How old are you when that happened.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I was twenty six years ago, young woman. Yes, now
I'm tell my age.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
I don't look most of me. I don't look nothing
like my age because I don't even feel my age.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I've been in the chair wheelchair now forty years, and
if they read my book, I let them add up
the math of.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
How old I am, because you can do the math.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
But it's been forty years. I've been in the chair
more years than.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
I have been walking when I was walking, right, So.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
The choices that I made, we're devastating and life lasting,
you know. So I don't want to see people have
to go through these same experiences that I've had to
go through with the hardships of being a wheelchair user.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
So you share this book the lessons that you learned.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Yes, and you know it's not a lifestyle that's easy.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
No, I can imagine.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Well, you know my daughter is a wheelchair user, so yeah,
it's you know, it can be challenging, absolutely absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
So so what.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Are you your next step? Because we're all gonna have
to time just go so fast. I'll tell you it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
It does.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Okay, So where can people get your book? And what's
the next thing you're going to be doing?
Speaker 1 (20:54):
If you tell us that day, because it's still I
still have quite a bit to do because it's not
just the book. I am selling a program which is
going to be an evictant to actually teach people about
the wheels on the road, all types of safety issues,
(21:16):
not just the wheelchair I mean the bicycle issues.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
But I'm doing a whole program on safety. So the
next defin on that par me we can.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Get information as to way to buy the book. Okay,
but right.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Now you can.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
You can pre order the book to go fund me,
and you can also email me and I can get
you on a pre you know, to order the books
before you as a preliminary email. It's Atlanta Childcare at
aol dot com. So I'm still in the middle of
(21:57):
marketing being and getting everything together for the sales of
the book, but I'm looking at having this ready really
to hit the road by May.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Yet, So until then, we could do the.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Pre sales and people can contact me through my email
and they can go to I have a gofund me
page set up if they want to support the mission
of what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Okay, so you don't have a landing page or something
like that yet that that they can go and.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
I haven't posted it yet though.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Okay, the best thing.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Go to my email, yeah, to get more information. And
I need help. I can use some volunteers, anybody out
there that want to, you know, help.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Get this thing rolling faster.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Our offer opening the door. The door is open. It's
been open, so I can get some stuff done. Me
and I are just two entities. Yeah, you know, it
still takes a lot more leg work to get this
stuff done.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I know, I know, but we wish you must success
with that book and all your books of poetry and
all the literary works that you've put out. And thank
you again for being a part of our show today
on Disability World.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
And please go out and reach out.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
To Christy to get more information on her book, especially
if you have young children who love riding bikes and
may not be paying attention to the safety of that
procedure as much as they should. So that's something that
you don't want to, you know, take for granted. Safety first,
So definitely reach out to Christy and support her.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
With her book.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And again, thank you Christy for being a part of
Disability World. And when the book comes out and you
got some events and things, I know you have so
many things coming up. Oh yeah, talk about some of
those things. Okay, okay, thank you again. Thank you Norma Well,
(24:01):
thank you again for Christy Priester for being a part
of Disability World today and sharing that information that she
shared about bicycle safety in her new book coming out,
Empowering Young The Power of Choices, Empowering Young Minds, because
that's such a big need. Because people are so distracted today,
(24:23):
they're not paying attention.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You want to make sure that people are especting young people.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Of paying attention not only to safety on the road
when they're on their bicycles, but the power of their
individual choices, because that's where it takes our lives journeys.
So we want to make sure we are very aware
of the choices that we make.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
So thank you for being a part of Disability World today.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
We have some great shows coming up in future segments
and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
You'd be blessed. Until next time, don't
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
My name is Norma Stanley, and welcome to Disability World. Hello,
(00:36):
and welcome to another segment of Disability World where we
discuss various issues of interest and impact as it relates
to the disability community and those who care about this
vital and vast community and population of over sixty one
million people in the United States alone. I'm your host,
(00:59):
Norman Stanley, and on the show Disability World, we always
look forward to speaking with individuals, community to leaders, parents,
business owners, advocates and you know, people who and resource
providers who are all contributing to making sure that this
community has what it needs.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
And we look forward to speaking today with miss Christy Priester.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
She is a very dedicated community advocate here in the
metro Atlanta area. She's an author and a poet, and
she also is a woman with disabilities, and we're going
to talk to her about the work that she's been
doing in this community. So help me to welcome Miss
Christy Priester.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Hey, Norma, Hi Christy, how are you doing today?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I'm doing just grand and wonderful about yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Thank you so much for taking time out of your
schedule to come and talk to us on Disability World.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I know you do so much and have.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Done so much for the disability community, but I want
you to tell our listeners and viewers a little bit
about who Christy Priester is, and you know a little
bit about your journey what led you to what you're
doing now?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Okay, Well, I am black female and I am a
disabled woman with who was in a bicycle accident back
in nineteen eighty four and that left me as a
colly chain And so I've had a number of different
(02:42):
purposes and missions since my accident, and I enjoy ring
poetry now in my retirement age, since I've retired from running,
then a childcare guy.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And I'm doing book. I'm a book author.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I like writing stories and I'm telling sharing my stories
with people about how to empower them themselves and the
power of choices, which is the time of my next book,
and how that can make a difference in everybody's life.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, so you said you're a writer and you have
a background in.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Child education and development. So you created something that has
been a big resource here in the metro Atlanta area
called the Atlanta Childcare Guide. Why did you see the
need to pull that together and compile that resource, and
how has that been working for you and for the
people who have accessed that guide.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Well, there were so many needs. It wasn't just one need.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
But there were a number of needs that needed to
happen in the childcare industry then as.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Well as still today.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
There's been some changes upgrades as we have been evolving.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
However, we're still dealing with a lot of.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
The same issues today as we did back then.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
Me I said, isn't that weird how that happens?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, time would allow some changes, but I see what
you mean.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah, absolutely, But we've come a long way too when
you look at the whole history of education in early
childhood education, especially.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Back in the eighteen hundreds when.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It was totally segregated boys' school, girls' school, black schools,
and white school You know, we've come a long way
today with having diversity and actually people being more transparent
and seeing what is going on in childcare opposed to
(05:02):
what was going on in the closets and behind the
doors and when nobody.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Was looking, which is still an issue today.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
But you know, there's many daycinners now that people won't
even support without cameras in them. So they have the
opportunity to be able to see what's going on with
their children in the actual environments.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And the same thing with schools, they need to do
the same thing, losing.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Absolutely And you know, sad to say, we have different
issues like kids. You know, the schools that are being
terrorized by terrorists and young folks coming in, they're shooting
up and they didn't have them issues back in the day.
But the back core to me norma with child development
(05:55):
and childcare issues are the foundations.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
That children are growing upon.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And when you have children that are growing up in
families that they're not being fed, clothed, and they're not
getting the love and attention that they require, and they're
really you know, they they're doing that attention because they
(06:23):
didn't ask to come here, and what it transpires.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Into being is neglect and abuse. And this is.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
About children in general, not just children's disabilities.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It's chin yes, yes, And when that happens, it starts
to breath of this cycle. You know, those children children
people who are abused are usually abused by people who
have been abused. Yes, you know, so we're perpetuating the
(06:54):
same cycle and problems when we don't get to the
root of the problem, which is really given quality education
and love to our children so they can grow and
really keep moving the cycle that we're into a much
(07:15):
grander place.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And those are what are some of the resources and
information that you provided in the childcare guide.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh, my goodness, don't care guide.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It was we provide hell tieds and resources. Everything the
business was fell under what was called resource childcare Resource
and Referral Service. So the main niche of the magazine
that I published was a childcare serectory which covered the
four five colonies the cab Clayton FULLD colon net and
(07:51):
it listed the daycare centers, they're hours, their rates. It
was all put into a directory grind that actually, you know,
could allot people who are looking for childcare look at
intricate directory that had details about what the they were doing,
(08:16):
if they provided transportation, if they provided you know, after.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
School, different curriculums.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And then it went to being as extensive of having
many childcare businesses advertise.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
You know what the business was con tip on advertising.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And so also listen to family places that worked with
children's disabilities.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Everything we did lead h from health care from anybody
from the health care industry, to the government industry, to
transportation and anything you could think of that could help parents,
you know, with any type of needs that they may have.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
For my advertisers, and.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Sadly the guy had to be dissolved and we did
back up.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
We did do events.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I also did workshop trainings and helping people open up
daycare bus businesses.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
We opened up close to about over these centers throughout
the Elemtroal area. But I lost.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Track of how many in home family daycares. I still
have people come up to me today to tell me
they knew me from when I helped them open up
a family day I'm like, oh really, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Yeah, so there were family daycare is.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
When people do chuck care in their home. When people
open them daycare up like revolving.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Doors and there's a lot, but that's yeah, it's such
a big need.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
I mean that's yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
The baby where she was a family child care.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, so one minute they're opening, the next minute they're
finding a job doing something else.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
But a daycare center and a group daycare. We kept
track goals, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
We we had a top right relationship and correspondence collaborations.
We did a lot of collaborating with daycare since most
of a lot of my programs were exclusively for just daycare.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
Centers, so people you know, would walk home to some
of the programs, but some of them were just exclusive
for daycare centers because we had we used to host a.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Fun day and that was where we had close to
about twenty five to thirty daycare center son up and
I mean that was cut off because we couldn't take
any more in the facility that we were using.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But obviously it was a big, big success, and you know,
I'm sure if you decided you want to go back
and do it again, it'll still be something that's very
much needed. But I wanted to make sure we had
time to talk about your new book project that you
have coming out now. Tell us about your new project,
because it sounds like it's something that that's going to
(11:31):
be again needed by the community.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
One of the things you know that that continued to
evolve from the Atlanta childcare guy. What I did back
then was I volunteered to go to the school systems
to advocate for bicycle safety. So we had I went
to over hundreds of schools and did presentations on bicycle
(11:56):
safety teaching kids, and I mean we'd have auditorium, so being.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Four hundred kids where we would do you know, presentation
that taught them all about the rules on the road.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
We talked them about bicycle maintenance and how to read
the signs and pay attention, and then the important fact
of how important it is to wear.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Helmets and safety here. So that started.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
When I was in at the Atlanta Childcare Guide and
I did a lot of collaboration with the school systems,
you know, in doing that, I.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Did the presentations.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Well, I continue to want to do them after we
downside the business, but I was in the midst and
just doing a lot of writing, so it kind of
got farther and farther away from me.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
And I'm like, I don't ever.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Want to stop doing this advocating for bicycle safety because
each year and every year, if you follow statistics, it
goes up and down.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
You know, one year we have a high rate.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Of accidents amongst children and bicyclists.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
And the next year it made the climb.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So with following the trends, the bottom line is people
are still getting injured.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
It's nearly injured.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And my injury was severe and so people are still dying,
and we can prevent that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
We can stop it through education.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Right, So my goal is this year, I said, I
want to do something different. I don't want to go
back into doing the presentations. I want to do a book.
So I told my I said, I'm gonna do my
memoir and write it for children and parents or anybody
who can be in who's interested about safety. And that's
(14:00):
what I started. Point I wrote, started writing this manuscript
about a year ago, and it's called The Power of Choices.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Empowering.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Young Young, Empowering the minds of young people something like that,
you know, But anyway, the whole normal I am so
so pleased with this book. I had the help of AI,
and AI has taught me so much as as.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
If i'd been in school again, you know, because when.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I was writing before, I was writing and editing the
old fashioned way.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
They didn't have them, you know.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So I was paying a lot of money to editors,
and yeah, we still didn't have things edited right.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
But now I got for perfection.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
But I tell you, I was one of the people
who wasn't too thrilled with AI.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
But it has been a helpful for my business too.
So I understand.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah, I am enjoying it thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Then it's where I work at my own pace, and
of course it's much faster than I am. Right. However,
you know, I've been learning how to manipulate it to
work best for me.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Right, that's what you have to do.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
So you said that this book empowering the Power of Choices,
empowering young minds.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
It's not just young people, but that's what get towards right.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
It also has a journal, and you're going to be
what are you what are you empowering them about?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Okay, I'm empowering them to write out their.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Power choices because everything that's going to make a different.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
In our lives is based on the choices that we make.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
That's what I mean everything.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
So the title of.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The book, you know, is what it's actually doing, teaching
young folks and so adults too, to power their choices
and how making these choices has consequences both good and bad,
and we need to we need to actually embrace that
(16:19):
and understand that once we start making better choices. One
of my chapters is about prevention, you know, providing prevention
in your life so we can prevent a whole lot
of things from happening if we make the right choice
to prevent right, you know, take the steps in preventing.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Oh, you're using some of your own experiences, like what
happened to you when you had the box?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
About my experience.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
It's a memoir and it's awful about my bicycle journey
from when I was a kid at seven years old,
when I got my first BikeE my Grappa made for me,
and he made it from scratch. He built my first
black bike from scratch, and he taught me many lessons.
(17:12):
And I share the lessons about my grandpa and him
making that bike for me for my seventh birthday. And
then I had an accident in that bike. I was
so excited and learning how to ride ntting.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
I know, you know, this young girl comes rocking out
the house and crashed. We crashed into each other.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
But I'm not going to tell you the whole story.
One of the chapters is about that, and then another
other chapter is my sister and I Kim, the one
my sister right up under me, who we took a
track from Saint Paul, Minnesota, where we lived and I
grew up at. And I give you some history about
(17:56):
that where I grew up at our capital and church
and where I went to in our track to Minneapolis,
which is about twenty five It was twenty.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Five miles thirty miles away from where we lived and
that of my employ and itself.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And then I talk about my cousin. This was a
very sensitive, heartfelt story that was about my cousin, the
Arthur French, who at the age of fifteen was hitting
killed on a bicycle.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And so we were close.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
So I a memoir about many of the experiences I
had growing up, and it helped people to try to avoid, yes,
the situation of getting into an accident that might cause
you to have a disability if you are not more
careful with the choices that you make, especially when you're
(18:57):
on a bicycle in traffic. As people on the road,
you know, when you're driving on bicycles doing some very
dangerous looking things. Absolutely and contrary to what many people know,
may know or may not know, I was doing all
the wrong things when I was riding my bike on
(19:18):
the road when I was in my accident.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
How old are you when that happened.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I was twenty six years ago, young woman. Yes, now
I'm tell my age.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
I don't look most of me. I don't look nothing
like my age because I don't even feel my age.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I've been in the chair wheelchair now forty years, and
if they read my book, I let them add up
the math of.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
How old I am, because you can do the math.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
But it's been forty years. I've been in the chair
more years than.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
I have been walking when I was walking, right, So.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
The choices that I made, we're devastating and life lasting,
you know. So I don't want to see people have
to go through these same experiences that I've had to
go through with the hardships of being a wheelchair user.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
So you share this book the lessons that you learned.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Yes, and you know it's not a lifestyle that's easy.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
No, I can imagine.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Well, you know my daughter is a wheelchair user, so yeah,
it's you know, it can be challenging, absolutely absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
So so what.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Are you your next step? Because we're all gonna have
to time just go so fast. I'll tell you it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
It does.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Okay, So where can people get your book? And what's
the next thing you're going to be doing?
Speaker 1 (20:54):
If you tell us that day, because it's still I
still have quite a bit to do because it's not
just the book. I am selling a program which is
going to be an evictant to actually teach people about
the wheels on the road, all types of safety issues,
(21:16):
not just the wheelchair I mean the bicycle issues.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
But I'm doing a whole program on safety. So the
next defin on that par me we can.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Get information as to way to buy the book. Okay,
but right.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Now you can.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
You can pre order the book to go fund me,
and you can also email me and I can get
you on a pre you know, to order the books
before you as a preliminary email. It's Atlanta Childcare at
aol dot com. So I'm still in the middle of
(21:57):
marketing being and getting everything together for the sales of
the book, but I'm looking at having this ready really
to hit the road by May.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Yet, So until then, we could do the.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Pre sales and people can contact me through my email
and they can go to I have a gofund me
page set up if they want to support the mission
of what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Okay, so you don't have a landing page or something
like that yet that that they can go and.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
I haven't posted it yet though.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Okay, the best thing.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Go to my email, yeah, to get more information. And
I need help. I can use some volunteers, anybody out
there that want to, you know, help.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Get this thing rolling faster.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Our offer opening the door. The door is open. It's
been open, so I can get some stuff done. Me
and I are just two entities. Yeah, you know, it
still takes a lot more leg work to get this
stuff done.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I know, I know, but we wish you must success
with that book and all your books of poetry and
all the literary works that you've put out. And thank
you again for being a part of our show today
on Disability World.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
And please go out and reach out.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
To Christy to get more information on her book, especially
if you have young children who love riding bikes and
may not be paying attention to the safety of that
procedure as much as they should. So that's something that
you don't want to, you know, take for granted. Safety first,
So definitely reach out to Christy and support her.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
With her book.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And again, thank you Christy for being a part of
Disability World. And when the book comes out and you
got some events and things, I know you have so
many things coming up. Oh yeah, talk about some of
those things. Okay, okay, thank you again. Thank you Norma Well,
(24:01):
thank you again for Christy Priester for being a part
of Disability World today and sharing that information that she
shared about bicycle safety in her new book coming out,
Empowering Young The Power of Choices, Empowering Young Minds, because
that's such a big need. Because people are so distracted today,
(24:23):
they're not paying attention.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You want to make sure that people are especting young people.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Of paying attention not only to safety on the road
when they're on their bicycles, but the power of their
individual choices, because that's where it takes our lives journeys.
So we want to make sure we are very aware
of the choices that we make.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
So thank you for being a part of Disability World today.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
We have some great shows coming up in future segments
and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
You'd be blessed. Until next time, don't
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