Since I get to pick the photo, here is one of my favourites - playing and singing "Knockin on Heaven's Door" in my sons Toronto rock band!

Who are you Stephen Pottie or Stephen Pate?

Nigel in his comment asked a few salient points about myself which deserve a decent response.

My legal name is Stephen Pate. I was born Stephen Pottie but changed it legally to my grandfathers’ Acadian name in my 40′s.

Why did I do it? My two teenage sons entering Jr. High like the idea of the Acadian name and I said why not?

Why not? Women change their last name when they get married. Why can’t a man change his name if he wants? Bob Dylan was Bob Zimmerman. Lots of people change their name.

You may call me anything but late for supper; however, it’s polite to use people’s proper name. Rude people like Tim Banks try to use names as an insult. It only shows bad breeding.

You are using disability as a defense or crutch – pun intended

Personal disability has been a fact of life for 58 years and something I live with. Here are some recent articles on the personal side of disability:

Each day is challenge with disability
Tenth anniversary of being disabled and loving it
The Lord in my Shepherd I shall not want

You have a chip on your shoulder – mad at the world, etc.

Considering Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, most of the time I am self-actualized. I like the air in this space. I dreamt of becoming self-actualized but never thought it would happen. It is truly a blessing from God.

The chip you are referring to is a life-long interest in human rights including civil rights and more recently disability rights.

Human rights can hardly be a chip on one’s shoulder unless the person expressing that thought has an interest in maintaining the status quo of inequality and inhumane treatment of his/her fellow man.

For many people, life is a struggle to survive. The law of scarce resources teaches them it is a dog eat dog world. Take your neighbor’s lunch, wife or house before he takes yours.

So our planet is dominated by selfishness. The very rich control most of the planet and most of the people are starving to death.

There is enough to go around, we can share with each other and we can be at peace. Someday.

The first thing we have to do is show respect. I respect all men and women, until they repeatedly show a lack of respect for others. The arrogance of Wade MacLauchlan in pushing the disabled off UPEI’s campus gets him my bigot award. So does the greed of young Robert Ghiz who campaigned on reform for the disabled and turned his back on the promise after the election. He gets no respect especially after filling his boots with the $540 million PNP stash.

It was my goal on retiring at 50 to serve people. Advocating on behalf of human rights and the disabled is one of my favourite things.

I hope someday everyone will have the same “chip on their shoulder.” As John Lennon said “I hope some day you will join us, and the world will live as one”

You can’t be everything  – writer, satirist, journalist, musician, etc. etc.

Why not? You can be anything you want to be, it just takes ability, a learning disposition and willingness to work hard.

People learn to write novels in their 70s. Others learn to become jazz drummers at 60 when their bodies are no longer young and supple like some teenager.

I have been blessed with a quick mind, keen interest in all things and a prodigious capacity to work. I love to work and live to work.

If the newspaper can cover politics, weather, business, sports, entertainment, satire why cannot I? Admittedly they need 30 people to do it but I have no money for the payroll. I get up at 4:30 am to keep ahead of things.

In my life, I have done many things. Here are a few: been a print and media journalist (as in paid) since 1965 or 64. Before that I was editor of my high school newspaper until the principal fired me for writing a critical editorial.  See a pattern here?

A few years ago, I broke through writer’s block and started writing songs. Some of them are funny, as in ironic satire. Some are fine love songs. Some are just the blues.

My articles have been published in newspapers, magazines and now on the Internet. The Internet is the most democratic and liberating place for writers. People who don’t like it are usually competitors like the Guardian who see the end of their business model.

Held relatively mundane jobs in shipping and receiving, transportation and distribution, duty, FST, GST and income tax. I like to read the Income Tax Act as a brain teaser. I’ve shoveled snow, cut grass, run errands, and delivered prescription drugs and newspapers.

My first employee was my older brother who needed money: I put him to work shoveling snow on my route. I became an employer in 1973 and vowed never to work as a wage slave again.

My business ventures have included elements of accounting, consulting, computers, software, sales and office cleaning – my first venture. They say I’m an excellent sales person. I won top sales awards and had the highest per capita sales in North America for Great Plains software, or so they told me. Training other sales people is a great chance to pass on what I learned.

NJN Network is my current venture with two more ideas on the back burner. It’s always a good day to start a new business.

I understand start-ups, computers, human resources, accounting, sales, marketing, finance and management. I love law and enjoy winning challenging cases.

Music is a deep love that started early. I am a street musician, bar fly, songwriter, and anything else connected with music including building my own studio.

My life has just begun and I don’t know what I will learn tomorrow.