Author Archives: Uncle Donkeys Tales

Oh goodness, next weekend is going to be crazy…

I wanted to start off by apologizing, it’s been a little while since I posted last. I’ve just been busy dealing with life and my daughter started volleyball again for the fourth year in a row. She’s killing it!

Next weekend, we are celebrating my daughters 15th birthday. I can’t believe that she’s only three years away from becoming an adult! My baby girl isn’t a baby anymore. I told her she can invite four friends over Friday night after school for a sleepover. Told her I’d do pizza that night for her and her friends. Then the following night, I made some birthday invitations for her and I told her she can have a total of six friends over for a sleepover Saturday night, I will get a cake and we will do a barbecue and then following the barbecue we will take the fire pit out front to the driveway where she likes to do it, and we will all do s’mores and sit around the fire pit with her favorite playlist going on the stereo. Her mother is going to come over and help me with cooking the food.

The birthday invitations I designed on a photo that she took of a lily from my phone at the beginning of June 2024

My daughter wanted a volleyball rebounder net for her to practice on and it’s supposed to show up the day before her birthday. So if everything goes well I can have it set up and ready by the time she shows up from school with her friends Friday night. Anyhow, I love doing stuff like this for my kiddos! I have really just fell in love with being a dad! My kids are my world!

I’m hoping I have another post done in a couple days and I get back on track for those of you following along and interested in what I have to say and update you on. Thank you all for everything and remember, be thankful for everything you have, remember life can always be worse, and if #donkeydidit… You can too!

I got very lucky! It’s so important that you take the positive things from all the negative things that happen.

I broke my neck 11 years ago and I’ve been cruising around in a power a wheelchair for 11 years so I know what I’m doing. In the last 2 days I fell out of my chair onto the concrete face first and saw Stars. I am so very very thankful my 500 lb power wheelchair did not come over on top of me because it would have killed me! My right hand started swelling up pretty bad so I went and had some X-rays done. It is definitely broken and I may even need surgery on it. However, at the end of the day, I’ll take five broken hands over being in the ICU and possibly dead, had my 500 lb power wheelchair landed on top of me. Always remember it could always be worse, and the most important thing I did was stopped to take the time and thank the great Lord or the universe or whoever hire power is there for keeping me safe and only allowing me to injure my hand and nothing worse. Thank you thank you thank you Lord! Always remember be humble be grateful show gratitude and never get lost and being greedy, if one day you come across money, is never worth it. Always try to do one thing today to make somebody smile and do one thing today to make tomorrow better!

Remember… If donkeydidit, you can too!

We are very lucky

What do you love about where you live?

We live in a very safe nice well maintained neighborhood where all the neighbors look out for each other and nobody speaks your kids are safe on bikes with no concern of being hit by cars no robberies no break-ins and we are no more than a two minute drive from the nearest grocery store a 10 minute walk to the elementary school middle school and high school and the gas station is about a minute and a half Drive. We are also substantially located within Boise did everything cool and all the doctors appointments and everything are no more than a 10 to 15 minute drive away.

A couple things

What motivates you?

My children for sure, and going out of my way to help somebody else even if it means putting myself last. It’s extremely motivating to me because I feel like a good person and I know I helped make somebody else’s day easier even if it’s just a little bit easier.

At the end of the day all I have is my word.

As a quadriplegic I can’t turn a wrench I can’t pick up a heavy object to help somebody but what I can do is tell somebody I will do something and I make damn sure that no matter how long it takes, if I gave them my word I would make something happen I don’t give up until that happens. My word is my reputation and I do not tell somebody I will do something and not follow through.

There is one thing that comes before my children.

If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago if there was anything that came first in my life and what was it? I would have told you my children hands down no matter what. But then I realized, you can’t put your children first, you can’t be a good parent, you can’t be responsible, you can’t do anything if you can’t hold yourself accountable. If you can’t hold yourself accountable how are you going to do anything else? Think about that. I’m constantly talking and preaching to people within my life and even people I’ve just met that say they are having a hard time, telling them, I am always honest I’m not afraid to tell the truth and admit when I’m wrong or when I mess up. I also do not pretend like I know something if I do not, if I don’t know I tell you I don’t know. It’s all about being accountable and holding yourself accountable.

I’m 35 years old and no I’ve never been a drug addict or anything crazy like that, I smoked a lot of weed when I was younger like a lot younger before kids, I used to drink lots of alcohol, and I even got mixed up in a couple other drugs here and there throughout High School. That being said though I moved out of home when I was 15 years old and I’ve been on my own ever since. I’ve always been able to catch myself and realize I am better than this and I’ll never be better than this if I don’t hold myself accountable right here right now and walk away.

I saved my home! Thank you universe, I am blessed!

To those of you that have been following along, you will be happy to know that things worked out and I was able to come up with a solution to my problems. At this point we do not have to sell my home any longer in order to pay for my cares as a quadriplegic. THIS IS BIG! This means that my children get to stay in the exact school system they started kindergarten in. The school system all of their friends are currently in with them. This means that the only home they’ve ever known, the home they’ve grown up in gets to stay in the family. This means that all the little marks on the wall showing how tall they were each and every year growing up get to stay on the wall and in their life for them to look back at and remember. This means they get to walk to all three of their schools and never ride a bus. It’s not about me, it’s about them and what’s best for them. It’s also means that when I pass, we should financially be in a much better spot that my home will not be sold or Taken and they will have the option to live in or sell and split the proceeds. I can’t believe it actually happened but I am so grateful so lucky and so blessed! I am so so very relieved! I guess good things do happen to good people. I know I’m a good person I couldn’t figure out why everything had to be hard but it’s the universe just keeping me in line and keeping me smart. Making sure I don’t take things for granted and making damn sure I remember to be thankful. Letting me know that it can take away everything I have just as quick as it gave it to me if I don’t watch out.

Being proud and feeling grateful

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

I’m constantly forced to feel proud because people are always telling me I am such a good parent. They do it without me even asking I don’t even have to ask I know. On top of that I enjoy sitting back and observing my children even sometimes for just 15 or 20 minutes just being completely astonished at how far they’ve come and how grown up they are. Also, I’m 35 years old and I had a 3-hour conversation with a 63 year old woman the other day all about how she cannot believe how smart I am. Telling me it’s not very often that she comes across people smarter than her and stuff like that. Then she proceeded to tell me that she just cannot believe that everyday she works with me she gets to learn that I know one more other thing that she didn’t know I knew the day before and she just cannot believe all of the smart factual things that are up inside my brain. And she said what makes it even crazier is that I’m half her age.

I broke my neck when I was 23 years old. That means between 18 years old and 23 years old I only got to be an adult for 5 years with the ability to walk. June 28th 2024 was 11 years since I broke my neck. I’ve been in a wheelchair almost exactly half as long as I was on two feet. I feel so grateful so thankful and so blessed, because I have been able to do so many things I would have never had even time to do because I probably would have been working my butt off to provide for my children and family. The car accident that broke my neck that the rest of my family thankfully walked away from that’s really been more of a blessing than anything. I really really really want to become a motivational speaker and if anybody has any tips and tricks on how I could get started I really want to get to it. I have lots of really good advice for all different walks of life. I’ve lived a pretty crazy life some of the stories I could tell are just shocking. On top of that to have gone through all of it and still come out on top. Raising good children, not being depressed, to never have tried or wanted to commit suicide. Literally living the best life I can live in doing it on my own. I think I could help a lot of people. So if you have any tips ideas tricks thoughts or how I could get started please let me know. And remember that if donkeydidit… You can too!

What a Donkey did for work before the accident…

Before I broke my neck, when I was 15… My first real job was in construction as a concrete Mason. After that I briefly did asphalt, paving parking lots and such. It was such a hard physical dirty job. I hated it. Then I did landscape work and sprinkler tech for a while. After that when I was 16, that’s when I started hanging drywall. I did that for quite a while and made good money doing it. Then the recession hit back in 2007-2008. By then I was in a relationship with my ex-wife and Suddenly work stopped.

I remember it being so hard to find a job and fighting back and forth with my ex about it. I looked everywhere and I put in tons of applications but nobody would hire me for some reason. I finally landed a job at McDonald’s and boy was it better than nothing.

Shortly after I started working at McDonald’s I met a guy that was what I would call a professional scrapper LOL. You hired me to help him and I did that as a second job.

By now I’m about 20-21 years old with two kids and one on the way. That’s when I met a guy that did foreclosed property cleanups. He was swamped and work and had operations in several States. I very soon started working for him and things were swell.

I know how to do everything from car engines to Comercial construction and almost everything in between. That means plumbing, framing, sprinkler installation, fencing and much more.

After doing foreclosed property cleanups for almost 3 years, I still had not received a pay raise. So with the expectation of taking on more responsibility added to taking on a type of management position, I requested a pay raise for the final time and did not receive it. So I found another job working as an semi mechanic or diesel mechanic apprentice and instantly quit doing foreclosed property cleanups.

I loved this job! I’ve never loved a job more! I always love working on cars and this was the same thing just on a much larger scale. On top of that it was a 9 to 5 shift, it wasn’t nearly as physical demanding, and I didn’t have nearly as much liability on my shoulders. Unfortunately approximately 6 months after I started this job was when the accident happened.

What have you done for work?

Never forget… If donkeydidit… You can too!

Uncle Donkey almost drowned

About 4 years after the car accident, I purchased a track chair. If you don’t know what that is it’s a power wheelchair with tracks all day like an army tank instead of tires. I was out cruising it at my local wildlife sanctuary. I was going down a hill when suddenly it broke.

It suddenly turned sharp left and went shooting down a hill. At the bottom of the hill was a pond and I went straight into it. It has a full racing seat belt harness and you’re completely strapped in. All I could picture it was water over my head and bubbles going in front of my face.

Thankfully it stopped just inside the pond where the water level was up to my chest. The person I was with did not know what to do and started screaming for help. I remained calm and remember we had just passed a guy walking with his son. I told her to go get him.

To keep down and unstrapped me out of the chair and carried me all the way up to the top of the hill and laid me on the trail. I contacted my ex-wife and she had to bring my regular chair to come pick me up. The fire department had to come get my chair out of the pond and I had to pay for a tow truck to take it home.

I ended up having the track chair fixed but just a short couple of months later it broke again. Thankfully this time I was just in my driveway. I have not got it fixed since and I do not trust driving it anymore unfortunately.

I

was extremely lucky if the fact that my head did not go underwater.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget… If donkeydidit… You can too!

How Uncle donkey manages his finances and how you can learn from my mistakes.

I get paid monthly, not bi-weekly or weekly. I feel like it’s much easier to manage your finances without completely living from paycheck to paycheck when you’re being paid weekly or r bi-weekly. When you get paid monthly it’s much more difficult to make that money stretch.

First of all just so you can understand and follow along. I have a trust that pays  for any Necessities I need that are not covered by Medicaid or Medicare. For instance… My daytime caregivers are covered by Medicaid and Medicare. However they will not cover my nighttime caregivers. That being said just my nighttime caregivers alone costs over $50,000 that’s before the trust pays the payroll company to manage payroll and before any kind of overtime. Not to mention the trust pays for much more than just that. For myself though and my kids of course, I get disability benefits to help me get through each month that pay all my other bills. Even if I didn’t have any bills   my Social Security pays me just over $1,500 a month. That being said even if I wanted to start putting my own money into the trust the amount I would be able to pay is practically meaningless because I can only afford to put in such a little amount compared to what The Trusted is paying for. It doesn’t even come close to fixing the problems.

How I’ve been able to manage my social security income and make it last month to month is by using autopay to pay my bills or just straight up paying them early. Either way, I have it set up so that within 5 days after I get paid, all of my financial responsibilities have been taken care of and I know that the money I have left is not accounted for and can be used for other things. Such as trying to pay down my debt as quick as possible because I am trying to start an IT company with my sister-in-law and if we’re going to get a business loan my credit needs to be a little bit better. Your bills stack up quick when you only make $1,500 a month and your washer and dryer go out or for example your children need to go clothes shopping because we’re starting a new season and they’re growing. I tell you one thing it adds up quick. I’ve had to fall back on credit cards to keep my head above water and over the last six seven years it just keeps getting deeper and deeper. Right now I’m trying to be super frugal and every extra dollar I have is going towards that debt. It’s very important to me that I set up this IT company with my sister-in-law and hopes to create an income as well. Anyhow back on topic, the idea is that you pay your bills as soon as your check hits so that you know your responsibilities are taken care of and the water is not going to get shut off or the electricity. Now that you know your priorities are taking care of, for now you can kick back and relax. The most important piece of advice I can give you is if you have children you have to leave a cushion of cash to make sure that if they need something they have it. I am currently breaking that rule because I just had to take out a loan to get a brand new washer and dryer. I would have settled for a used set but I can’t be worrying about paying to fix them all the time or something, I had to know they were reliable and I could depend on them to work. As a single father you simply just don’t have time for nonsense. That being said though I would never spend my last dollars on anything if it meant my child had to miss out on something they need or a activity they love enjoying but cannot do often. I don’t make a single decision ever without stopping to think about how it will affect them first. Let’s face it, they get A’s and B’s, they take good care of their dad, and they do their chores when they are asked… They deserve to go let loose at the trampoline park once in awhile. I am not afraid to go without something to put a smile on their face. I firmly believe your kids are an exception and you should never be afraid to spend money on your child within reason. In other words they don’t need $100 pairs of shoes or top of the line clothing brands. And if you have a habit like cigarettes or drinking, they should not have to go without so that you can support your habit.

Anytime, and I mean anytime, you get any sort of extra cash, put it towards your debt or towards your savings for your next power bill water bill or credit card debt. If you only work one job today find a secondary job and live off the first jobs income and pretend like you never even work that second job. Put all the income from your second job in an envelope… One day you’ll look in it and you’ll have 10 grand saved up and be super super stoked. Anyhow let me know what you think about my thoughts on financial responsibilities. If you do it my way, well, at least everything’s paid and you don’t have to stress of being behind.

If you’re young and just starting out or you simply just don’t have any debt, You can prevent ever getting into debt simply by putting $100 out of every paycheck into an envelope. Tell yourself you may want this but you don’t need it. Make yourself go without things you don’t absolutely need. Live like you’re broke and put everything away. Before you know it you’ll have a few thousand dollars saved up and all your bills will be paid.

What you didn’t know about gas mileage…

Your vehicle is designed to get it’s best gas mileage at 55mph. At just 65mph you lose 8% fuel efficiency and at 80mph you lose a woping 28%. This means that if your vehicle is supposed to get 28mpg highway (at 55mph) and you have a 20 gallon tank, you should get about 560 miles to one tank if you’re doing 55 miles an hour. If you’re traveling at 80 mph you go from 560 miles to that one tank all the way down to 404 miles or about 20mpg.

Take it to the next level and then you lose about 2% fuel efficiency for every 100 lb you are hauling. So if you have four adults that weigh on average 150 lb each or 600 lb total, you lose an additional 12% or a total of 40% fuel efficiency at 80mph. This means that with four adults at 80 mph you go from getting 560 miles to one 20 gallon tank, to only 336 miles or just under 17mpg. So you lose a whopping 11mpg at 80mph.

I hope you can find this useful and it helps you better understand how to maximize the potential of the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.

Remember, if donkeydidit… You can too! #donkeydidit

My kiddos are such angels

I have the best kids in the world, they are so honest so upfront so open about everything. They don’t mind helping Dad here and there and they treat others with respect. My mom always told me I hope you have kids that or half as bad as you

Guess what, they are way more self behaved than I ever was as a child at their age. I don’t know how or why but I got lucky

Some more facts about Uncle donkey

I had a pretty rough childhood and I moved out at age 15 and lived on my own ever since. When I was 23 years old was when I broke my neck so I barely even got to live as an adult and experience things that most adults can. It wasn’t a very good environment and I knew I needed to get out of there now before I spiraled out of control. I was starting to experiment with drugs and I knew that life was not for me so I moved as far away from all of it as I could and never looked back. We were pretty poor and I always had to wear hand-me-down clothes for my brother. I got made fun of a lot of in school or bullied if you will I just needed an escape and thank God I did because who knows where I’d be if I wasn’t able to get away from that life. I’ve come a very long way and there’s no money in the world that would entice me to use any type of drug again. I’ve never had any felony charges or anything like that thank God. I was able to recognize my problems and correct them

Offloading every 2 hours at least

As a quadriplegic your caregiver is supposed to come in every 2 hours and rotate you throughout the night. I’ve got a really good mattress still I don’t need to do it every 2 hours I push it a little bit. But if you’re trying to avoid stores or heal a sore you need to stick to that 2-hour regimen otherwise your pressure ulcer will just get worse and worse. When you’re in your wheelchair you need to tilt it back and forth at least about once every hour if you’re wanting to prevent pressure sores. High protein content Foods also really help prevent pressure ulcers. I had a Stage 5 pressure ulcer last summer and put myself on bed rest I was able to completely heal it with no surgery no infection nothing