Made to Deceive

Throughout history, people have tried to deceive each other in various forms. In the Bible, we read that measurements and weights were slightly adjusted to favor the person selling. They could give out less product, but still charge for the full amount.

As the centuries and technology have progressed, so have the ways thieves try to steal and deceive. Phone calls from legitimate sounding companies say you owe them money, but careful observance notices discrepancies. Is they are missed, the victim may be out hundreds or thousands of dollars. This week, I was not the victim of money theft, but misrepresentation of a different kind.

Every week, I get emails from Google reporting on my websites of any errors in their search capabilities. Most of the issues result themselves, so I often ignore the messages. However, one email was different than the rest and concerned my own work site. The message said that might merchant pages were set up incorrectly and needed to be resolved. This would normally sound helpful, but I don't sell anything on my site or have merchant pages. Clicking one of the links on what was supposedly my page brought me to a Chinese website that meant to be selling some products. Investigating further, my actual website was nothing but blank white pages. Even with proper security software, strong passwords, and updated plugins, I had been hacked.

I was also unable to login and access my site to make any edits. For the next hour and a half, I spoke with a customer service person from my site's web host to get the site restored. He did most of my site, but I was still unable to login. My time to sit had long ago expired, so I reluctantly had to quit and solve the issue later.

Tuesday through Friday were very busy days filled with meetings, biking, and my first trip to the fair. However, I managed to squeeze in another phone call and regain access to the site. Even with this accomplishment, major parts were still missing or not working. I also had to clear out 13 people who had added themselves as administrators. In an attempt to recover everything, I reverted to a backup from a few months ago. This resulted in my new login information being removed and I found out how to get myself logged in through a "unique" method.

Unfortunately, the backup ended up returning to blank pages and parts not wanting to function. With very limited upright time, it is difficult to make progress on something I have thankfully not had to deal with before. Monday will be another phone call and hoping everything returns to normal.

As Scripture, the heart is desperately wicked and prone to evil. My caregiver wondered why I wasn't mad on the phone and having heated exchanges. I explained such behavior does nothing and the person I'm talking to is trying to help. However, I do pray that whoever does these types of activities comes to Jesus for forgiveness and repents from such actions. I will see what surprises come up this week.

Zoo Event Day

Living the quad life, I am very familiar with adjusting plans and adapting as things change. This week was an example of unexpected situations, thankfulness, and learning to pay better attention.

For about six years, I have been trying to go to the zoo in Des Moines. I didn't have a particular reason or goal, it was just something I haven't done since around 2000 and it sounded like a fun, local, getaway. Inevitably, I would have a date planned, and something would come up. Either the weather wasn't conducive for me, a more urgent item took importance, health issues, etc. This year, the sticky note on my calendar moved several times.

Finally, this past Tuesday, August 4, looked to be the day it would happen. For several days ahead, the weather was forecast to be partly cloudy, mild temps, and my caregiver Sara and I were doing well enough for health. Two days prior, I first heard about possible thunderstorms and thought it would be delayed again. Tuesday morning still said partly sunny skies with rain in the late afternoon. Therefore, we decided to go and pulled out of the driveway with the sun shining through the clouds.

Less than ten miles after leaving home, it started to rain, and continued with varying intensity for the next 30 miles. As we came close to the exit we needed, rain kept falling and Sara and I tried to decide what to do. Just before the turn off, the precipitation stopped and we decided to find a parking spot and evaluate the situation.

Arriving at the zoo, we found a packed parking lot. The main lot was completely full and the alternate lot looked equally filled. Another van with a wheelchair ramp was ahead of us and we both circled the lot like animals ready to pounce on anything available. We finally saw one regular spot open, but it was sandwiched between two other vehicles. With no other choice, Sara partially parked in the spot, let me out, then parked the rest of the way. I was glad to see the small zoo so popular, but it was not what I expected.

Navigating through the parking lot and sidewalks, I noticed a couple other wheelchair users rolling around. By the looks of them, I guessed a local care facility was also having a zoo day for their residents. As I neared the main entrance, a zoo employee yelled "Sir!" I wasn't completely sure she meant me, but as I continued, she came closer to me and said, "Sir, the event entrance is this way," pointing her hand. I briefly guessed she meant something with the other people I saw, and I answered, "What event?" The lady looked confused, but said we were headed in the right direction. I am used to being a lone wolf and didn't want to join in on a party I hadn't been invited to.

For the next 3.5 hours, Sara and I toured the grounds and saw the African exhibit, Australian area, and all the other animals and attractions available. Everywhere we turned though, we kept noticing more wheelchair users. It was nice to not be the only one, but it still felt strange. I overheard one caregiver looking lady talking to her client saying a few COC groups must have come. The Christian Opportunity Center is a central Iowa organization that serves people with various intellectual disabilities. This made some sense, but I also saw some children that I knew were too young to be COC clients.

The main challenge of the day was finding dry seats for Sara to use. I made sure to stop several times to give her a break and to fully tilt my chair and adjust my pressure. The wheeling crowd seemed to decrease after lunch, but we left before 2:00 and went home satisfied that we did everything and thankful it worked out.

Wednesday morning, I briefly checked Facebook and saw a news item from the previous day. About a dozen disability service organizations had organized a Disability Pride day at the zoo and over 1,000 persons with disabilities had attended. This explained the large number of fellow wheelchair users, no parking, and why the zoo staff was trying to direct me. If I had taken her advice, I would have found a few friends who were also there, but I never saw.

Sometimes, watching local news more be beneficial. However, I didn't miss out on anything and enjoyed the day. One friend said he was there twice as long as we were, which would not have worked for my caregiver's schedule. I don't have plans to return any time soon, but if I do, I may watch more media than just weather guesses. 

Witnessing to Telemarketers and Spammers

I am old enough to remember the days before caller ID and unwanted phone calls. When the phone rang, it was a friend, relative, or someone you actually wanted to talk with. When I went to college and had my own phone in the dorm, that's when I remember changes beginning.

On occasion, I would get a call from a guy that would try to flirt with my nurses, but hung up as soon as he know I could hear. The college said caller ID was available on campus, so I got a special box that hooked up to your phone and might display who was calling. It didn't work well, but the odd calls stopped coming. After college, for the few months I had my own apartment, I received a call from someone looking to get money for some police program. I hung up while being transferred to the money handler and didn't answer the next call.

Now, it's almost a dread to answer the phone as it's rarely an actual person you want to converse with. It may be an automated call trying to get information or sign up for something. Since I still use a land line, some people say getting rid of it would help. However, my main daytime caregiver only uses her cell phone and has the same problem.

Sometimes, if the caller is an actual human that speaks English fairly well, I'll have fun with them. I'll say something along the lines of, "I don't know you, are you a good person?" They'll hesitate, but often say yes. Then I continue with the Ten Commandments, "Let's put it to the test, the 9th commandment is do not give false witness, or don't lie. Have you ever told a lie, or will you in this call? Revelation says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire." By this point, most people stammer and hang up. If they continue to stay on, so do I.

"The 8th command is do not steal. The value doesn't matter, anything breaks the command. Have you stolen anything or will try to in this conversation?" I think I've only had one continue all the way through, but I conclude that all have sinned, but we can have forgiveness through Christ alone, not by works. The person returns to their script and I catch them quickly in a lie of some sort and they hang up.

Recently, I have also been getting emails to help promote my book, but with a small fee. I give the same response and never hear back from most, but a few continue to converse and try to continue with their script.

Even living the quad life and not getting out much allows for witnessing opportunities. I never know where the conversation will lead, but I at least plant a seed. The next call may make them consider their profession more, and that an alternative may be better.