Dreams Come True
If you ask Bruce when he first started dreaming of owning a motor home he will tell you from the time he was a teenager. Fifteen years ago, Bruce received support with budgeting and started a savings account. As his savings grew, Bruce’s hopes of achieving his long time dream of owning a motor home grew as well.
Over the past year in particular, Bruce spent many hours researching the features he wanted in a motor home, tweaking and re-tweaking his thoughts. Staff worked with Bruce on setting realistic expectations and the standards the motor home would have to meet to fit Bruce’s budget, safety, and logistical requirements. It could cost no more than $8,000; it would have to pass a safety inspection; no older than the 80’s; and it would have to be close enough to home for Bruce to view and trustworthy mechanics to test.
After hearing, “Sorry, that just wouldn’t work,” several times due to cost, age or distance, Bruce persisted.
One day in the early spring of this year, Bruce came to staff and announced he had “found it!” Staff quickly read the ad: asking $7,000—check; sounded to be in excellent condition—check; 1984—check; right in Bonnyville for Bruce and staff to go have a look and a mechanic to test—check.
After looking at it and seeing the excellent condition it appeared to be in, plus the many extras thrown in, Bruce’s good friends at Fountain Tire, where Bruce had worked, came right over. They did the initial check and then the in-house safety check, all at no charge. An early birthday present, they said.
Staff gave kudos to Bruce as he did all of the research and arranged the safety checks and because of his excellent rapport with “the guys at the shop” stayed well within his budget. Did I mention Bruce put in an offer of $6,000 a whole $1,000 lower than the asking price and it was accepted, no questions asked?
Bruce’s first camping trip in his new motor home was close to home on the May long weekend. In August, Bruce, a peer, and staff took the motor home to a weekend-long Christian Rock Concert in the foothills near Morley AB: another goal and dream come true.
The dream that was sown in Bruce’s teens, watered along the way with research and the very hard task of saving when so many other things looked tempting, came to fruition at age 35 (although Bruce will tell you he looks much younger!). Bruce now knows with hard work and persistence, dreams CAN come true.
Elaine Johnston-Scott, Disability Services Practitioner
Bonnyville AB