IN YOUR OWN WORDS Words from our vendors on their life and times, what they’re thinking and feelings, for their neighbors to know and share. RAELENE JOHNSON DENVER VOICE VENDOR Marching into the Not-SoNew Year AS I STARTED THIS YEAR, I had medical problems. Some of them got resolved, like the situation with my finger. I had surgery in January, the stitches came out in February, and my finger is a lot straighter. (I only had to threaten to chop my finger off for a year before it was fixed.) I have one more medical issue that I have to get resolved. I don’t know when that will happen, cuz I can’t get the test needed to find out what’s going on, but that’s a work in progress. This month, March, it is officially two years since my last chemo treatment for breast cancer, and I was recently told that I have no cancer in my body at all now. I still have to get my yearly scans, but I’ve been doing that for years anyway, so I’m grateful that I’m recovering from the chemo. Because of this new medical issue, my body lacks energy, which is stopping me from eating. (Pray for me for that one, please!) Things are looking a lot brighter for me this year, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year will bring. Next month starts the farmer’s market, and I can’t wait because this year I plan on going to at least three, maybe four different markets, because it will be the first time in two years I’ll have energy to be able to work that much. I’m now working on getting my puppy, Luna Rose, to know all of her commands because this summer, I will register her for training for her to become a therapeutic dog, so I can bring her into hospitals and nursing homes to help patients not be so depressed by having a lovely little dog there to say hello to them while they’re in the hospital. In October, when she turns 1 year old, I will get her trained for the next year to be comfortable around things like hospital equipment, loud noises, and hospital beds. When she is two years old in 2027, I will be able to get her registered as a therapeutic dog. I’m excited about working with my puppy. Everybody gravitates to her when we go into stores, they’ll ask if they can pet her and I’m like, “Yes, you can.” I want her to be as friendly as possible. I have big hopes for the future and am excited to get over the last couple of years, which were very hard physically, mentally, and emotionally for me. I also want to thank all of our readers who are interested in our vendor stories, and for giving us the opportunity to earn a living by vending the VOICE. For many of us, without the VOICE, we may not have that opportunity. I wish everybody reading this a very blessed rest of the year. What it Takes to be a Hustler MY INTERPRETATION of a hustler is a person who is a go-getter, not a quitter. Throughout these trying times, I have learned to create ALBERT BLAND DENVER VOICE VENDOR opportunities for myself in order to keep myself stable and productive. Coming up as an energetic kid in Detroit, I would walk through my neighborhood and rake my neighbors’ leaves to earn a few dollars. I had a paper route and worked many jobs throughout my life, but that just wasn’t enough for me — especially growing up wanting the finest things in life without making moral sacrifices. So, things took a turn in my life to where I started hustling in the streets … always falling short of any goals on my agenda. Forty-five years later, I’ve come to realize that getting rich with no agenda wasn’t in the equation, so I had to do some soul searching and figure out what I would have to do to have a decent life without falling short on anything that I do, so I had to go with my hustling instincts as a kid an apply it to my daily livelihood. Now, I run my own business and sell street papers, any other legitimate opportunities that come my way. That’s one thing I give myself credit for: I always hustle. In closing, being a hustler is neither bad nor good; it just all depends on how you hustle. From my experience, when I have hustled with no agenda, it always led me to some type of shortcoming. And now that I hustle for the right reasons, I’m always in good company and having no worries about the simple things in life. 12 SECTION
13 Publizr Home