Greetings,
Fellow travelers,
And welcome back to another episode of the podcast.
This time,
I'm going to start out the podcast,
Ask Those Who Listen.
If you wouldn't mind giving me a little rating or a review,
Wherever you listen to the pod,
I would be ever so grateful.
Usually I put this ask in in the outro,
But this time I thought,
You know what,
I'm going to grab the bull by the horns and just start out with that ask,
And so there you are.
I want to let you know that I was a little nervous about interviewing Hollis Pierce when we matched up on my podcast platform that I use sometimes to get guests for the show.
He's quite accomplished and is someone who is changing the dialogue and the conversation around disability,
And he's a huge,
Huge,
Massive advocate for those with disabilities as well.
Not only does Hollis have both an undergraduate and graduate degree in history from Carleton University,
He's also a podcaster and public speaker.
He's won honors and accolades like the Ottawa Celebration of People Award in 2008,
And then more recently,
In 2024,
He earned the Meritorious Service Medal Award.
He's also a chronically physically disabled man with congenital muscular dystrophy,
And you know what?
He's someone we need in the world because he's moving,
He's shaking,
He's rabble rousing,
And you know how I love me a good rabble rouser.
So without further ado,
I really can't wait for you to meet Hollis and hear a really fabulous conversation.
For instance,
One day I was sitting in a park,
And I was just sitting there,
And a lot of people watching.
It's one of my favorite things to do.
And I was sitting there so long,
And there's this homeless guy washing his clothes in the fountain.
And after a while,
He stood up and he started walking towards me.
And I was like,
I was wondering what I was going to be doing,
How to react.
And I'm like,
I was wondering,
Okay,
Am I going to have to run?
Or am I going to have to be ready to physically try to knock him over or get hurt?
Well,
I don't really like,
You know,
You're saying you don't like the term disabled.
I don't like the term normal.
There is no normal.
And I find that differently able is a bit too,
I don't know,
I just like disabled.
I don't feel,
I feel that my disability has been a major part of my life,
But it's not a negative thing.
It's it's definitely taken me down roads that have been more difficult.
Like,
For instance,
Right now,
I live in a hospital because of my complex needs as an adult.
But,
You know,
I in many ways,
Living in a hospital has allowed me to do so many things.
Like I started a podcast,
I am public speaking now,
And I am oddly more independent than I ever have been.
Like normally people with ventilators that are on ventilators are not allowed off of the unit on their own.
And my doctor said,
You know,
Is this frustrating to you?
Like,
Do you are you used to more independence?
And I said,
Yeah,
Yeah,
A lot more.
And he said,
OK,
Well,
And I signed a waiver form saying,
OK,
If I die on my on my like my own trips outside of the hospital,
I'm not going to sue for liability.
And and so,
You know,
I've just been a bit more adventurous in this new stage of my life.
And I found my I always joke about this with my mom,
Because my mom at first was so nervous about having me on my ventilator going downtown,
Going around.
And I always joke with her that if something if my vent pops out,
I'll just go up to a homeless guy and ask him to put it back in for me.
And she was terrified about that idea.
But,
You know,
Honestly,
I've found that homeless people are very nice to me.
And I think it's I think it's like some sort of familiarity that they feel like they they sense vulnerability in me that they are also feeling.
And so they can relate to me.
Like,
For instance,
One day I was sitting in a park and I was just just sitting there and a lot of people watching.
It's one of my favorite things to do.
And I was sitting there so long,
You know,
There's this homeless guy washing his clothes in the fountain.
And after a while,
He stood up and he started walking towards me.
And I was like,
I was wondering what I was going to be doing,
How to react.
And I was wondering,
OK,
Am I going to have to run or am I going to have to like be ready to physically like,
I don't know,
Like try to knock him over or get hurt or anyways.
And he started pointing towards my hand and part of me thought,
Oh,
Is he pointing at my ring?
And and then he came up to me and he said,
I just you've been sitting here a long time,
So I just wanted to be sure you're not out of batteries or something like that.
And so he was legitimately worried about me.
And,
Um,
You know,
I'm like,
Oh,
I'm fine,
Man,
Don't worry.
And I know this is a tangent that I don't know how I got onto this,
But I didn't actually answer your question.
That's fine.
But no,
I think disability is not a negative thing.
I hope you all enjoyed meeting Hollis and really understanding what kind of a fierce and funny human being he is and how he's quite literally changing the world around him.
I was so grateful when he said yes to being on the show.
And it did take a while for us to find a time that worked.
But as they say,
Patience is a virtue.
And Hollis was absolutely worth the wait.
I want to thank each and every one of you who listens.
And you know what?
I'm going to trick you again and say,
Please consider giving me a rating or writing a little review.
Those ratings and reviews help other people find this little labor of love of mine.
Thank you for listening.
And here's my one request.
Be like Hollis.
Be a rabble rouser.
I mean,
Hollis is out there just changing the world and not accepting things the way they are,
You know,
Not accepting the way the world has been built for abled people in many cases.
And he's not shutting up,
You know,
He's like,
Hey,
This is wrong.
This needs to be fixed.
And if you don't fix it,
I might just make your life a little more challenging.
And so Hollis is out there being brave and being intrepid and being unstoppable and just helping a whole lot of other people that he doesn't even know just by the actions that he's taking today,
Tomorrow,
Even next week.
And so I really urge you all to be like Hollis and don't accept the status quo and know that you have a voice and you have power,
Too.
And you can advocate for those who don't have a voice.
So that's the takeaway.
Be a rabble rouser,
Advocate for those who don't have a voice and never take no for an answer.
