Have Pencil, Will Draw

Several months ago, my husband and I were looking through the KSL classified adds, FREE section (one of our spare time occupations...grin) and spotted an add that said they were willing to trade for boxes. My hubby frequently has loads of empty computer boxes, (since he works with computers) and was interested in seeing what they wanted to trade.

It was Weddings for Dummies. Yeah...another one of those books, grin. However, we were interested because one of our daughters had mentioned she planned on getting married in the near future and a book like this wouldn't hurt.

But -- what we discovered was the young woman who wanted to trade. She'd just gotten married and was moving out of her apartment into her new home, and needed boxes. She was more than thrilled to trade her book for our boxes, and as my daughters helped their dad unload the boxes and carry them in, she gave them a calendar that she'd illustrated.



Turns out, it was Meg Johnson, former Ms Wheelchair Utah. She illustrated these darling calendars, for the Ms Wheelchair Utah foundation. She started the whole ball rolling when she found herself in a wheelchair in 2004. Here is the story from the Ms Wheelchair Utah site:



"Meg Johnson nominated herself for MWU 2005. There was no pageant. No judges to select her as “great.” She selected herself; her motto was jokingly: “I picked me.” She bought her own crown.

She heard about the Ms. Weelchair America Pageant in 2005, when she had been paralyzed for only a year. She found that there was no Utah branch of the national pageant so she applied to go to nationals as an Independent Delegate representing Utah. She raised the $1300 application fee by writing letters to local businesses and having a yard sale. She flew herself and her mom to new York where she was the youngest contestant in age and also the newest to a wheelchair.

She had fallen off a cliff just 16 months prior to competing. In the landing, she had broken her legs, arms, collar bone, and neck...but not her spirit. Meg received the Spirit Award at the national pageant. Upon returning home, Meg and her now husband, Whit, founded and currently direct the Ms. Wheelchair Utah pageant. Meg uses her own motto, "When life gets too hard to stand, just keep on rollin'" to motivate other women in wheelchairs through this pageant, and people of all abilities, as she speaks to community groups and businesses across the western states. Her website is www.MegJohnsonSpeaks.com "

I was totally impressed and awed. To picture this young woman drawing these figures with the pencil weaved between her fingers just amazes me. As you can see, these figures have character and charm. They are far from just stick figures -- they are art.



I felt so ashamed when I saw what she was working toward and achieving with the limitations she had to deal with. When looking at those, my life is a walk in the park. She is upbeat, courageous and creative -- an inspiration to all to talk to her.

I had to share her art and creativity with you, and I hope you'll seek out her website and learn more about her. If nothing else, I encourage you to buy a calendar -- it's money well spent.

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