Posts Tagged ‘Roberto Sastre’

Internet-Find

Friday, May 10th, 2013

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My friend and author Roberto Sastre (see older blogpost), has discoverd in the Facebook group from New Zealand:

“You’ve got my Car Park, want my Disability too?”

a post about a trend-setting disabled parking place sign with the text of the director of a towing company who got tired of all the silly excuses of the disabled parking place occupiers…

Brilliant… please read below what the group admin and the director of the towing company have to tell ;-)

We just received an email from the Director of New Zealand Towing Ltd based in Royal Oak. He has come up with this sign because he was tired of all the silly excuses so listed the 3 most common ones.

He said he was a huge supporter of our page & has even gone out & purchased digital cameras each for all of his Tow Trucks so that they can take photos of cars parked illegally in Mobility Parking Spaces & send them to our page!

He then told us the 6 rules he goes by before towing a person parked in a Mobility Parking Space, they are as follows…..

“1. No pass its towed – charged full price

2. Forgot to display and are abusive – charged full price.

3. Forgot to display and are polite – charged half price (Personal agreement with CCS Royal Oak staff who are just great people)

4. Have good reason why it not displayed – returned FREE OF CHARGE (Again a Personal agreement with CCS Royal oak staff)

Example: Hands crippled with arthritis and 87 year old lady could not open her purse because she forgot to renew her medication which is what she was doing when we towed it away – I paid for taxi to our yard gave her a cup of tea opened her medication bottle so she could be pain free and once she was ok she left at no cost one happy lady. (Yes Towies have hearts….well I do)

5. Expired pass by more than 3 months its towed even if displayed and CCS called to check if new pass issued if they have valid pass but displayed wrong one its a free return but expired pass cut up. If not renewed and just parking on expired pass – charged full price and pass turned in to confetti (I would love to charge double on these rat bags who only had a temp pass but still use 1-5 year old expired pass)

last rule but its more common sense “If vehicle has wheel chair lift access we don’t touch it even if no pass displayed”

Source: Facebook-Group “You’ve got my Car Park, want my Disability too?”

Wheeler book tip part I

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

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One of the reasons why I was at the book fair 2012 in the beautiful Frankfurt was to meet again my friend and author Roberto Sastre in person.

Many fellow wheelers keep a diary already in the hospital after their accident. Writing as is known is medicine as well. So did my friend who wrote down his experiences from the start (as skilled IT guy of course in an internet blog).

This blog has been so successful that he was forced a little to publish it as a book.

His writing style is unique. He manages with his easy cynical style to describe the beginning as wheeler rookie so that articulations like ehhh, ouch, ahaaaaaaaaaaa are totally normal while reading.

The book may not be so suitable to read in a train.

Everybody who liked the movie “The Intouchables” gets his money’s worth with Sastre. The book is called

Rolling Thunder,

(ISBN/EAN: 9783845006550) you have to read it, a little bit like:

” Everything you always wanted to know about spinal cord injury but were afraid to ask”

 

His next literary act is a crime story,

Bender’s 1st case “Blackout”

(ISBN/EAN: 978-3-8450-0962-9) which is set in Frankfurt. An excellent book!!!

Private investigator Bender is of course a wheelchair using ex-commissar, with a van type “A-team” and an a little bit modified electric wheelchair with the name Elsbeth.

His own vehicle is a bit customized as well.

The book starts with the sentence: This book is made-up from the beginning to the end…

I don’t believe this, I even have the suspicion that he has hacked my computer, stolen my latest research results of most innovative wheelchair reconstruction and published them in his book. ;-)

Extract from this novel:

As already said, you can build a lot into such an electric wheelchair.
In Rehab I have met Steffen.
He is totally nuts, has the weirdest ideas, and I and my electric wheelchair always have to suffer. With the result that my batteries are constantly empty.

Until Steffen had the idea with the fuel cell. Had almost cost me my wheelchair.
Because my bottom sustained a slight fire damage I let the hospital check it first…

“Now you’ve got a micro turbine.
There is a new bearing material. Special ceramics. Doesn’t need greasing, nor cooling. Is whistling a bit, but I’ll still carry that off.

From naught to fifty in 2.6 seconds. A bottle of camping gas every 4 weeks.
And I built in a small surprise for you.”

I can recommend those two books out of my deepest conviction, there is so much info inside, and even in a splendid packaging!!!

Translator BL