Lynne: Reclaiming Life after The Orient State Institute

Lynne survived things most people cannot imagine.

In this episode of Never Fade Away, Lynne shares her firsthand memories of living with an undiagnosed developmental disability inside the infamous Orient State Institute, where residents were identified by numbers instead of names, forced into labor, and denied dignity and family connection.

But this is not only a story about institutionalization. It’s also a story about resilience, music, art, independence, and self-determination.

After living through childhood bullying, devastating car accidents, and abuse she endured after leaving Orient, Lynne shares her steps on the journey toward building a life of her own. Today, she lives independently, sings in a choir, creates art, does her own laundry, and proudly advocates for people with disabilities to be treated with respect.

Produced with LADD, this episode is a powerful oral history about endurance, dignity, and finding joy after unimaginable hardship.

Transcript

LynneLynnee (00:01)
My dad didn't get along with my mom's mother. She told me I'd be afe or I'll be sent away at Orient Orient's awful. They don't call you by your name. They don't call you anything. They call you a number.

Kate (00:15)
What do they call you?

so strong. Why do think people say that about you?

Lynne (00:23)
Just

because a person has a disability doesn't make them dumb. Because people with disabilities, want to be respected and treated just like anybody else.

Hey, hey, I've got a story for you Right here today and some history too Never fade away Listen to what I say, story's here to stay Never fade away Never fade away

Kate (01:00)
This is Never Fade Away.

an oral history project centering untold stories by and about people with developmental disabilities in Ohio. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the storytellers and not necessarily endorsed or representative of the producers. I am your NeuroSpicy host, Kate Siahan-Rigg, and this podcast is brought to you by LAD, a Cincinnati-based organization grounded in the belief that all people have ability and value.

LAD empowers adults with developmental disabilities to live and connect. Here are some of their stories.

Lynne (01:38)
work.

Never fade away, listen what I say, story's here to stay Never fade away

Kate (01:55)
On this

episode, I'm talking to Lynne, who is a longtime resident of Ladd and who was actually sent to the Orient State Institute by her family when she was a little girl. The Orient State Institute began in 1898 as the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Idiotic and Imbecile Youth. It was later known as the Columbus State School and finally the Orient State Institute.

Now a lot of families in the 50s, 60s, and 70s were encouraged by their doctors to put their kids with disabilities into institutional settings and quote unquote focus on the rest of the family. So a lot of people with a lot of different kinds of disability were housed at Orient together and the care was, well, let's say substandard at best and actually quite abusive at worst.

In the 70s, there were a bunch of reports starting to emerge about the terrible conditions suffered by people living there. People were shackled to beds, there were filthy linens, there were unhygienic living conditions, and there were multiple cover-ups when people came to inspect it, like they would just show them one little tiny part of the institution. Later on, the facility was upgraded and remodeled to be an intake facility for state prisons. So you can imagine, they upgraded it.

to make it good enough to be a prison. I actually want to take a moment to give a content warning and to let anyone who's listening to this episode know that Lynne talks very candidly about physical and sexual abuse and trauma as she shares recollections of life in and out of an institutional setting. We decided to include her interview unedited for the most part because this is an oral history project.

And part of our reason for being here is to give voice to people whose voices were long ignored or unheard. I am very happy to report that Lynne's story does have a very happy ending. And it's actually a testament to resilience and the power of positive restorative community. So here we go. Let's listen to Lynne's story.

Well, Lynne, I'm so happy that you agreed to talk to us today. And we can pretty much talk about anything you want, but why don't you tell me a little bit about your story and your family's story.

Lynne (04:28)
Well, my dad was in the Navy. My dad is in the Navy. Yeah. And I was born in Chicago, Illinois. And with my sisters, we had been in a tall building. don't remember the street we were on. And my mother...

We went to college, she'll school. got dancing lessons. So we got to dance. We did a dance, the good ship lollipop. And Shirley Shirley temple used to dance too. Then we did a ballet. mother made our costumes.

Kate (05:15)
So it was you and two other sisters?

Lynne (05:17)
I have a sister named Diana, Susan, Bobby, and Joan. My mother actually had another baby child. My mother had that baby died when her name was Gina Elizabeth. She was born with an open stomach. She couldn't get well. She died.

Kate (05:23)
of big family of siblings.

So in the line of kids, where are you? Are you first or middle or? You're the first, okay.

Lynne (05:45)
Yeah, I was the first born. Yeah,

after I was born, my sister Diana was born in Chicago, Illinois. And then Diana was born.

Kate (05:58)
So you girls were all at the same school dancing, is that right?

Lynne (06:01)
Yeah. I got two mothers and have you ever heard of Columbus? When I was at home sometimes with my disability, had a hard time sometimes getting along with my aunt, my sisters or something. My grandma, my mom's mother, my dad, my dad didn't get along with my mom's mother. they told me, they said,

that she told me I'd behave or I'll be sent away at Orion. Well, it happened. went to Orion.

Kate (06:36)
So they actually threatened you,

but she threatened you before it even happened. Like she used it as a thing to behave, huh?

Lynne (06:45)
Yeah, well I was putting it out after being living with my family for a long time and everything.

Kate (06:54)
Do you remember, so let's go back a little bit. Like you were born in Chicago and then I know you, can you tell me you had two car accidents, right? Can you tell me about that?

Lynne (07:06)
was after when I moved in to and Cincinnati and stuff.

Kate (07:12)
thought when you were a little girl you had a couple of car accidents. Is that wrong?

Lynne (07:17)
I forgot how I was when I was when I was hit by a car. don't remember exactly. See, my memory's not as good as it like it used to be.

Kate (07:27)
That's okay. But do you know what, did they ever tell you what your disability was?

Lynne (07:32)
Well, I had a hard time learning in school and the girls and boys made fun of me because I couldn't do math very well. They said I was mentally retarded. Wish I hate that word. And then my mother, she paid for my dancing lessons.

Kate (07:45)
That's terrible, yeah.

And was that when you already had been in the car accident or before?

Lynne (08:02)
Well, I can't see. Right.

Kate (08:09)
We're getting lost, doesn't even matter. But the point is, after these car accidents, things started to change a little bit for you, right?

Lynne (08:17)
I was, got hit by a car. I was turning across the street and, and all at once this person hit me on. didn't get, they didn't, they didn't, they didn't even bother seeing if I was okay. I was in the hospital. I think I was in a coma for a while. And then one other accident when like we were coming back from our dancing lessons at night.

and they didn't have safety things in the car.

Kate (08:53)
This was

in the fifties, right? So they didn't have seat belts and stuff.

Lynne (08:56)
Yeah,

it was. And then I was sitting in behind the back seat, my back of my bed, my dad, when he was driving. And all at once, it was dark outside. my dad was driving and this man was coming towards him. And we crashed. went flying past my dad.

I came flying over my dad out half the way through the windshield and threw me back in my sister's seat. I was hurt really bad. my brother, my dad was really mad at that man and the police was around there, asked him to see if his headlights weren't, his headlights weren't working and he didn't have them on. They arrested him. He he went to jail. I could have been killed.

You.

Kate (09:56)
I mean, I would say so. you had first you're hit by a car when you're a little girl and then coming home from dance lessons, you went through the windshield in an accident. Yeah. I guess that's why they call you a Trooper Lynne Maria Toppets because here you are. Here you are. All right. Well, so let's go. So after this happened, you were saying that your grandma used to say, oh, if you don't behave, we're going to send you to orient. How did you end up actually going to orient? How did you end up in orient? What happened?

Lynne (10:20)
and then I'm what?

I guess, because I wasn't getting along with my sisters and brothers. I was having a hard time getting a grandma Kept on saying layer at FBA and that. And so, you know.

Kate (10:39)
Were you already in high school at that, like about how old? okay. So you got sent to Orient. Do you know how long you were at Orient? you remember? Like years, right? What was Orient like? You're somebody who knows from the inside. Can you tell me, describe to me what it was like?

Lynne (10:41)
I never went to high school.

Yeah, but I was in Ori.

Wash a long time. Yeah.

They don't call you by your name. They don't call you anything. They call you a number. they have you get on the scrub the floor with a toothbrush.

Kate (11:06)
What do they call you?

Wow.

And were you living with a lot of other kids or?

Lynne (11:23)
They didn't call us by name numbers. After they called it with number, they had us come down an elevator and we to sleep in these white hospital beds. Sometimes we had floods coming out, pulling the floor where there's water and snow on the floor. had to sweep all that up.

Kate (11:48)
Was there a lot of you in one room in these hospital beds?

Lynne (11:51)
Yeah,

several people in hospital beds. I hated sleeping. It was so cold in there. And the food we had to eat was awful. What? People did not cook. they didn't know why they didn't think it's... They made me feel like I was a human being or something.

Kate (12:00)
Like.

Was it like cafeteria style or did they bring it to you? How did it work?

Lynne (12:14)
Well, I think that when they gave them to serve food, they just went in and came on our lap and had us eat it.

Kate (12:25)
So what did you do? Do you remember like what do you do all the time?

Lynne (12:28)
One

time, one time they made us, one time they made us on the floor, they made us scrub a floor.

With a toothbrush. I thought it was the stupidest thing. I don't know.

Kate (12:45)
Why did they do that?

I mean, what did you do? Like, do you remember, what did you do all day long at Ori?

Lynne (12:53)
That's what he did. We didn't do anything for fun. Yeah. We had lockers too. locker thing is that one lady came and took me over to the wall where the locker is. This one girl took me and she kept on pounding my head against the wall.

Kate (12:56)
Just chores?

Was she another kid that was there with you or somebody on staff?

Lynne (13:16)
No, once you're on that staff, that's another person that lived here.

Kate (13:19)
But nobody stopped her, obviously. So all day long, where did you stay in the room with the hospital beds or were you kind of all over the place?

Lynne (13:27)
he finally got to get out of Orient I was going there. I forgot somebody helped me. They didn't like the way I was treated. I was able to get out. So when I got out, I used to be in plays And the church right here at Geyer, there's a church next door here. I used to sing in the choir there.

Kate (13:32)
How'd you get out?

That's pretty great that you still had music inside you after being at Orient. I can imagine when you first got out, where did you go when you first got out of Orient?

Did you live with your family again or did you go somewhere else?

Lynne (14:11)
Well,

I didn't get to go home from my family for Thanksgiving. I got to go to my brother's, my mom's, my mother and father's house for Christmas. I had to ride on a blue and gray bus where my mom and my brother met me.

Kate (14:30)
Yeah. Did you ever have any teachers at Orient? Was there anyone ever teaching classes or anything like that? At Orient?

Lynne (14:37)
And what?

Yeah, I teachers. I didn't like the principal there at college school. He was mean.

Kate (14:45)
Yeah.

So when did things really start to turn around? Because I know now you're living a pretty, you know, independent best life. When you got out of Orient, did you go back to school or what did you do then?

Lynne (14:58)
Well, I forgot how I did this one school, I know where it was at. Okay. Then it was, can't remember where this other school I went to. They tried to help me do high school work, but it wasn't like the 11th 12th grade. I forgot what grade it was. I was doing maybe.

Writing learning and it counts. Sorry, my memory is not very good.

Kate (15:36)
No, it's okay.

You're remembering a lot of stuff, which is really cool. I mean, I'm... When you got out of Orient, what was like, you said you sang in the choir of a church, right?

Lynne (15:48)
Yeah, my mother used to come and hear me sing in a choir. Cause I sang at two different churches. I forgot the church I used to go to up on the hill. I was in the third grade. Kids made fun of me. Made me cry. And I could tell my mother, and my mother always stick up for me when I would go to...

Kate (15:56)
That's pretty awesome. What do you like?

So I'm on.

Yeah.

Lynne (16:17)
It was time for us to eat at the high school, I mean the school cafeteria at Bashful and we to eat in front of the kids in Hawaii.

When my sister Diana told him to leave my, they said, leave my sister then alone. I started crying.

Kate (16:41)
Well, that's pretty awesome that your siblings stood up for you like that.

Lynne (16:45)
Yeah, well, my parents are no longer living now, but I know where they're buried at. They're buried in Mount Healthy, beautiful cemetery in Mount Healthy. Yeah, it has a lot of flowers in there and has lot of statues of Jesus Christ. And I'm gonna be buried right next to my mother.

There's a lot of flowers there and a of statues of Jesus.

Kate (17:17)
sounds

beautiful, really beautiful. When you went to Orient, did your family ever come visit you while you were in there?

Lynne (17:27)
When I was in Orient no, they wouldn't allow them to do that to come and visit me. I know it made me mad and cry.

Kate (17:34)
That's not fair.

I bet it did. Did you have any friends there?

Lynne (17:41)
So

yeah, there was a mother there and there was a patient there with her, with her daughters. Some people that live there and stuff. And some people would go to the glass door with a glass door and they would keep on breaking the glass with their wrist. Yeah. And they ended up injuring their vein and their arm and it will get surgery done. said, and there's one girl.

Kate (18:01)
try and get out.

Lynne (18:10)
Lady named Jean. I forgot her name. She was a redhead. Lady. was woman. had like a... She had like a... She had like a grown... I forgot what her name was, but she was a redhead. And she was a smart aleck. White and everything. She was always...

being like getting smart with other people. I didn't like her.

Kate (18:45)
It sounds like it was a tough place.

Lynne (18:47)
Her name was Johnny Dean Moore or something like that.

Kate (18:51)
You

remember her name, wow, and that she was a redhead. That's what happens when someone's mean to you. You can remember sometimes.

Lynne (18:58)
Yeah.

I kept him telling us, leave me alone. Yeah. What do you name thing do you? That's what I kept him telling her. There's a guy in this building right now. He's in a wheelchair and his name is, wait, now I forgot his name. Bill. His name is Bill. He's in a wheelchair.

Kate (19:15)
What'd want to say about him?

Lynne (19:24)
He's got a white beard and stuff at Santa Claus, Christmas I call him Santa Claus. But he said he used to be at Orient.

Kate (19:34)
Really? Okay, well maybe I'll talk to him as well. I mean, how did you end up finally living in your own place? How did that come about?

Lynne (19:42)
I don't know. think I had a, case manager or something. I forgot what her name was.

Kate (19:51)
And did you, where'd you move into first? did you, when you moved into that, what housing did you move into? Like I think you've lived in two, have you lived in two different places or always the same apartment?

Lynne (20:04)
I lived with this family. I did live in another house. Yeah. forgot what their name was.

Kate (20:14)
And this was after you got out, right?

Lynne (20:16)
Yeah,

I lived in this other house, but I don't remember the people's names. Oh, I worked at a candy store. Tell me- It was a Jackson's candy store.

Kate (20:25)
That's so interesting.

Lynne (20:30)
I didn't like then people coming with candy and they didn't like, they didn't like black people. They'd kick them out of there. wow. It me so mad when I saw them doing that. Sometimes I would dress up like Santa Claus. I had Santa Claus pants on and I put my other pants underneath and I was walking down the, you know, the latest in your use and your Santa Claus pants.

Kate (20:55)
So you worked at a candy store and did you live in the guy or apartments for a while?

Lynne (20:59)
I lived in a apartments. Yeah, did. Well, I lived at the Jackson, this Jackson's family. didn't like their son after what he did to me. This is when I went in or in. I lived at the Jackson's family and her, her, her, her, Mrs. Jackson's husband was supposed to be a pastor. Right. And,

Kate (21:02)
What was that like? How was your life there?

Lynne (21:28)
And I don't think he was a good bastard too.

Kate (21:32)
What what did his what did the sun do? What did you said? What after what did what did the

Lynne (21:37)
I was living at the Jackson's house, I thought their son was going to be nice to me. I knew a girl, forgot her name. She's no longer living. She told me that their son was going to go fishing. He took me and stuff in it his uh green van He didn't take me to go fishing. He had two...

One guy sit next to the driver and then the one next to me. And what he did to me was horrible. I hated when it happens to somebody else. He got in there, he pulled out his penis. raped me. That's what he did.

Kate (22:21)
I'm really, really sorry to hear that, Lynne. I mean, you're a survivor of so many things.

Lynne (22:28)
And he was supposed to be a pastor and I told him about what they did to him. want him to be a... They wouldn't let me arrest him. They said, well, maybe the guys saw him doing it to me they were laughing. And then their son, then when I told their mother and father that, said, well, maybe you deserve to be that happened to you. I said, you're crazy. I said, you mean you're supposed to be a pastor.

and his wife and you're not gonna do anything about it. I was really mad.

Kate (23:01)
I'm mad and I'm hearing about it years later and I'm mad. obviously did you move out? hope you moved out of there soon after that. happened?

Lynne (23:04)
I know.

I didn't move out of there, don't know, lately I guess when my mother, father heard that happen to me, I guess they had me moved out of there.

Kate (23:20)
And then where'd you go after that? Do know?

Lynne (23:23)
Yeah, I lived with this other people here, but they, I don't remember what the other place they'll move to. I don't remember these people to name This was a long time ago.

Kate (23:34)
Yeah, this is a long time ago, but this was all after you were let out of Orient, right?

Lynne (23:38)
There used

to be a group home near here, near here, this guy apartments. It had house one, house two, house three. I don't know why they took, I don't know why they don't, the place isn't here anymore.

Kate (23:57)
you like living in a group home? What was that experience like?

Lynne (24:00)
You like group , home Yeah. You mean orient?

Kate (24:03)
No, no, you said there was a I thought you meant like there was a group home for people near you that was not an institution

Lynne (24:09)
But

what you're here, well, that was a little bit kind of pretty good. I got really sick though, wasn't I?

Kate (24:18)
What kind of other people were living at that?

Lynne (24:20)
House

one, house two, house three. I liked being in house three. I didn't want to be. There was a guy, one guy there I really liked. He didn't like the way some of the people treated me there. His name was Michael. He always stood up for me.

Kate (24:34)
Michael,

I like it when people have champions standing up for them, you know.

Lynne (24:41)
then they told me after I was in house three, they were gonna let me be in this other house. Well, that place don't exist anymore. It's not next to Geier apartments now. They had to tear it down.

Kate (25:00)
And did you ever live alone? Like are you living alone now?

Lynne (25:03)
I don't live alone.

I live here in this building. I live in my apartment by myself. People that are living in this building.

Kate (25:08)
You have your own apartment.

Sure, but you got your own place.

Lynne (25:14)
Yeah, everybody lives in a building here.

Kate (25:16)
You're li- and what's that been like? I hear that you've been you've been doing a lot of activities and tell me about your life now.

Lynne (25:24)
my apartment's better, much better. At least I'm not being mistreated in that. I like it because I get to go sing on Mondays, and do art on Friday. Yeah.

Kate (25:37)
What kind of art do do, Lynne?

Lynne (25:40)
I do, I do, I don't do the art in my building. I go do it. It's a, it's a building, it's a building on, on Kenwood Row. That's a CES yes. It's a CES place. Those people are really the, they have a lot of people that work there. They're really nice. They're good to people that have, have these, are, you know.

Kate (25:50)
Awesome.

Lynne (26:08)
are the people that we that place we go to to sing on Mondays and Fridays. The people are very nice there. They're very, very understanding. I like them.

Kate (26:22)
like that you like them.

Lynne (26:24)
We love going there. place.

Kate (26:27)
Tell me about your apartment, how you decorated your apartment. Yeah, did you decorate it? Do you have any plants?

Lynne (26:30)
You mean decorated?

It's not really...

Well, I got a picture of... In my bedroom, I got a picture of Jesus on top of my jewelry box.

Kate (26:45)
Do you go to church every week, Lynne?

Lynne (26:48)
I see it on TV. I watch church on television. It's Jimmy Swanger.

Kate (26:54)
But you love singing hymns, so that surprises me.

Lynne (26:57)
Yeah, songs they sing, I'll sing along with them.

Kate (27:01)
I love that you're such an artist, Lynne And what are some of the other things you like to do now? Do you like cooking?

Lynne (27:07)
Uh,

do I like to cook? Yeah. Well, I like if I have eggs and stuff and I have some salt to put on it, I like to scramble eggs, eggs. I learned how to do that.

Kate (27:21)
I've heard you described by some people as like a trooper, know, somebody keeps going. Why do think people call you a trooper, Lynne? Like a survivor, like a, you know, like that you're so strong. Why do think people say that about you? Yeah.

Lynne (27:28)
A trooper? What's a trooper?

Say that about me?

Because I don't want to be called a coward. Yeah. I like to take my curling iron and curl my hair.

Kate (27:49)
Yeah, well, you're definitely not.

Gorgeous gorgeous

Lynne (28:02)
that I like the clothes that I am to wear. I do my own laundry.

Kate (28:07)
I think you take real good care of yourself. you really do. You know, do you work with caretakers, Lynne? Do you have people that sort of help you and take care of you? Helpers?

Lynne (28:16)
Do I take care of caretakers You mean help me with my laundry?

Kate (28:19)
You have some working with you?

Or just, yeah, help you like with life.

Lynne (28:27)
Well, Bridget yes, she sometimes I'll write down when I need it. He used to write down the groceries for myself when I haven't been doing lately, but I tell her what I want the grocery stores. That's cool. I don't go to the grocery store with Bridget, but I she would take me to the grocery store. Yeah, she gets more foods at Kroger's

Kate (28:47)
Well, we should tell her that.

You know, people don't really know much about people living with disabilities, you know, and if you could just tell people things that they should know, what would you tell them? Like, what are some of the stuff that they should know?

Lynne (29:05)
The

things that a lot of people that are living with disabilities, shouldn't make fun of them. Right. Just because they have a disability doesn't mean that they can't, can't be able to take care of themselves or cook or anything like that. Cause I like doing things just like anybody else. I don't like, for one thing,

I don't like seeing somebody make fun of someone. It makes me angry when they do that. A person can't help it the way they act or the they talk. And one time, Bridget one time, a long time ago, took us to where the big bar is, know, We went there one time on vacation. And I got a, I got a...

Kate (30:01)
That's nice.

Lynne (30:04)
top that has a bear, that bear has other colors on it. It's pretty. I like doing my own laundry.

Kate (30:14)
and curl in your hair. That's pretty awesome.

Lynne (30:16)
Some people ask somebody else to do their laundry, but I don't ask anybody to do my laundry because I know how to do it.

Kate (30:25)
Do you

think it's easier now for people with disabilities than it was when you were a young woman?

Lynne (30:31)
Do I think

it easier? I think it is. Calm. Well, things have changed since then. Like what? I know one thing I really miss my mom and dad. Yeah. Yeah, because I'm going to be buried right next to them. Because they told me that before they died that I was going to be buried right next to them.

Kate (30:54)
Were you mad at them for sending you to Orient? Did tell them?

Lynne (30:57)
Yes, I was.

a while.

Kate (31:03)
Did they sit you down and explain what Orient was gonna be or did they just like take you there?

Lynne (31:09)
Yeah, well, it's not orange anymore, at least.

Kate (31:13)
That's true. Are you glad that it doesn't exist anymore?

Lynne (31:17)
Yeah, and you know what? Coney Island's gone. I know. Coney Island, there's no swimming pool there now anymore.

Kate (31:27)
Did you go to Coney Island recently?

Lynne (31:29)
Oh, I used to, a long time ago, used to go to Coney Island and we used to play putt-putt golf, and it was easy.

Kate (31:37)
Where are your brothers and sisters now?

Lynne (31:39)
Well, my sister Diana, I can't see her because of her heart. has a pacemaker in her and I can't, she can't fly to see me. I can't fly to see her because I don't watch many minutes. That's what this is. if we get on the plane, we would die. Stop beating.

Kate (32:01)
Okay.

Lynne (32:08)
Yeah, I used to go see my Diane a long time ago when I was here. We'd go to the mountains together.

Kate (32:18)
Sounds like your family must have been really happy when you got out of Orient. Yeah. And that you're really close to those brothers and sisters of yours. that true?

Lynne (32:27)
I got pictures of, I look at these pictures of my sisters. gosh, got relatives they are in my uncle's family and they're related to me and they live in uh Albequerque New Mexico. Diana would have.

Kate (32:51)
Would you say that you're happy now Lynne over?

Lynne (32:53)
Am I

happy? Yeah. Yes, I am. I don't feel sad anymore. I'm just, I'm happy because I'm around a lot of people that like me. And I like this. Yeah. We have good staff here. Sometimes Bridget can get some credit. They don't stay mad at me at all.

Kate (32:58)
What changed?

Do you have any things on your list of stuff you really want to do like in the next year or two?

Lynne (33:22)
Yeah, it's just we wanna go on vacation again. We're in a car, know, not by way to go to by plane

Kate (33:33)
And so like you know a lot about LADD What are the best things about LADD in your opinion?

Lynne (33:39)
The best thing I like is that we get to go places, be with your family. We have like a birthday party. Get to go to Kiss AS, like some of us do. I go there on Monday and Friday. On Monday I sing, on Friday I do art.

And we got a good art teacher, his name is Nick. We had an art show and other people came and my brother got to see the art that we did. then, and sometimes we do concerts. Sometimes we'll do, if we're not doing it at that other place, at Maury's Roadhouse and the other places. We'll do it at where we sing.

Kate (34:34)
This

is great. Well, you know what? Thank you so much for sharing your story with us today, Lynne. We really appreciate it.

Lynne (34:43)
Yeah, just because a person has a disability doesn't make them dumb. Because people with disabilities, want to be respected and treated just like anybody else. They don't want to be somebody else screaming at them because they're a threatened That's why That's why they know that we are special.

Kate (35:06)
Well, what a great story you've shared with us today. Thank you very much. Lynne, is there anything else you want to tell me?

Lynne (35:14)
Happy. I don't feel like like I did when I was in Orient in Orient in I hate ed being there I can cry now. You're ever gonna get out of here. That place don't exist anymore. You know what they used to make us when we did our laundry. They used to make us in the wintertime go and hang the clothes out. Out the line in your bare feet. We don't we don't we we weren't going to be doing that. We don't do that anymore.

coz we do our laundry indoors. In the outside that they would be so cold.

Yeah, cause in Orient, that place doesn't exist anymore.

Kate (35:55)
Yeah,

did they ever hit you when you were in Orient?

Lynne (35:59)
not you know, that i know of, they better not.

Kate (36:03)
That's good.

Lynne (36:10)
Living with a disability, the story of us, the story of me.

Never fade away. Never fade away.