March 28, 2024
Audio Features
Bernstein With a Twist
This is a weekly program with commentary on current issues.
Episode
Before I first met Keith Powell, I’d been tipped not to offer the traditional nice-to-meetcha greeting.

“You can see him trying to shake hands,” wrote Maj. Rick Peacock of Riverside’s Salvation Army. “But mostly it’s just his shoulder moving.”

Powell, 46, used to work for a framing company. Worked as a handyman, too. Did remodels. Even did some time and says he’s almost off probation. “I was living the wild life.”

But when I met Keith Powell, he was living on the brink. You couldn’t tell from his eyes, which sparkle like city lights. But he hadn’t just lost his livelihood and a few vehicles. He had lost the use of his arms. When his cell rings, someone answers it for him. He can’t bathe himself. And it’s only going to get worse because it only gets worse for people with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

I met Powell at the Salvation Army office after Maj. Peacock wrote: “I’ve been doing this type of work for 28 years and this is one of the most frustrating and pitiful cases I’ve seen.”
Episode Date: August 8, 2008
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