True Tales by Disability Advocates
Where advocates harness the power of storytelling to build community with their peers and hope to develop empathy in others. A team of disability advocates creates this True Tales podcast to share personal stories by disabled storytellers and add their voices to the growing community of podcast listeners.
True Tales by Disability Advocates
Someone to Light My Fire
Step into the life of Albert 'Sparky' Metz, a relentless disability rights activist and country music fan who's been championing the rights of the disabled since his formative years. From his institutionalized childhood to his fiercely independent adulthood, Sparky's journey is as captivating as it is inspiring. Through it all, Sparky's spirit remained undeterred, fueling his passion for advocacy and his love for music.
Join host Joey Gidseg, who chats with Sparky and his attendant Pansy as they shed light on Sparky's experiences and challenges in his quest for independence and true love. Get familiar with the Speaking Advocates program, a virtual training initiative designed to teach people with Disabilities to use storytelling as a form of advocacy. As we listen to Sparky's 2015 performance at the Vortex Theatre in Austin and hear his story through his personal AAC device, we realize the transformative power of stories in advocating for change, inclusivity, and disability rights. So, buckle up, lend us your ears, and support our mission of amplifying the voices of people with disabilities. Rate us on iTunes, share this episode, and join our movement towards a more inclusive world.
Sparky is an actor and disability activist. He is a member of ADAPT of Texas and a big country music fan. He leads an active life and depending on the day you can find him at Morgan’s Wonderland, going shopping, or attending Christian concerts. Sparky lives in Austin, Texas with his attendant and two cats, Smoke and Phoenix.
Keep up with Sparky on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/albert.metz3
To learn more about Adapt click this link.
Joey Gidseg is an enthusiast of podcasts and disability policy who works to close the Justice Gap for disabled Texans through their organization Justice in Reach. A former multimedia producer, Joey is thrilled to collaborate with other disabled creators on the second season of Art Spark Texas’ podcast,True Tales by Disability Advocates.You can connect or keep up with Joey on their Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin:
https://www.facebook.com/joeygidsegfortexas/
https://twitter.com/joeyinatx
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeygidseg/
Learn more about closing the justice gap at https://www.justiceinreach.org/
Click here to listen with the full transcript.
For more details about our programs go to Art Spark Texas, True Tales Podcast Page.
Segments of this podcast were read by an automated voice. Inconsistencies in pronunciation and tone may occur.
Someone To Light My Fire
(Podcast Theme Music)
[00:00:00] John Beer Podcast Intro
[00:00:00] John Beer: Welcome to True Tales by Disability Advocates, authentic voices of people thriving with disabilities. Where individuals use the art of storytelling to change the world. The True Tales by Disability Advocates podcast is produced by Art Spark Texas, Speaking Advocates Program.
Keep listening to hear how life's challenges can spark a desire to speak out and advocate for themselves and others.
[00:00:41] MsBoye Episode Intro
(Transition Music)
[00:00:41] MsBoye: Welcome to Season Two Episode Eight of True Tales by Disability Advocates, the podcast where Advocates harness the power of storytelling to build community with their peers and hope to develop empathy in others.
A team of Disability Advocates creates True Tales to give voice to the personal stories and lived experiences of Disabled Storytellers. We offer our unique and often underrepresented perspective to the growing community of podcast listeners worldwide.
Did you know that according to the CDC, one in four Americans are disabled? That's about 61 million adults with 61 million experiences and points of view about what it means to live in a world not designed for them. Recognizing that everyone's life is enriched by the inclusion of multiple voices, Art Spark Texas has been training Disability Advocates as storytellers for over twenty years.
We close out disability pride month, 2023 with "Someone to Light My Fire", featuring guest storyteller, Albert Sparky Metz. Sparky, like generations of children with disabilities before and after his, grew up in a State School from the age of nine because doctors at the time told his mother it would be the best place for him. When he came of age 10 years later he was transferred to a nursing home. Where he stayed for another 10 years until his father won his long campaign for Sparky's right to live independently.
Throughout his life, Sparky has been a tireless Advocate and Activist. His passion for this work comes from these early experiences and also from witnessing his father's courage. .
Sparky shares his story with Legislators here in Texas, and he has participated in actions all over the country with "Adapt". He told us that he needs Legislators to know that State Institutions are not safe, and to understand that people there are hostages. He needs everyone to understand that there is nothing wrong with him and that children and adults with disabilities don't need to be and should never be hidden away. He's just looking for legislators to acknowledge this and establish systems that would allow these institutions to close down.
In the spirit of making up for lost time Sparky wrote his "Lonely Hearts" style story during the 2015 Speaking Advocates training and performed it the same year at the Vortex Theater in Austin.
At the time Sparky was using an AAC device to support his natural speech. However, when we talked with him in 2022, his device was malfunctioning, so he asked his attendant Patsy to interpret during our recording sessions. Unfortunately their mic was unable to pick up both Sparky and Pansy clearly, which meant we lost some of the dialogue because the Master Track had some unusable sections. But thankfully, with the magic of AI we have been able to recreate all the lost segments, so you will hear Sparky talking in his own voice, as well as an AI generated voice to compensate for his personal AAC device. And as an added bonus, we were lucky enough to find the original recording of his 2015 performance, so you can enjoy his in-person spirit as well as his words.
So did you know that you can help us with our mission of sharing everyday stories of people with disabilities? All you have to do is send your friends the link to this episode. Then if you're feeling really adventurous, you could rate the show on your on iTunes, or you could leave us a review or leave us a message on our Facebook page.
We acknowledge and thank the Disability Rights Advocates whose courage laid the groundwork for the ADA and the independence that many of us enjoy today. And we are proud to bring you stories that build upon their legacy. We hope this episode sparks a fire in you to change the world by sharing your personal stories. Or even to contact your local Legislators to advocate for Disability Rights and for a living wage for Attendants.
[00:05:10] Joey Welcomes Sparky and Pansy
(Segue - Southern Fried)
[00:05:10] Joey: I'm Joey Gidseg and I'm here with Sparky Metz and his attendant Pansy, who will be helping out today.
Welcome, Sparky and Pansy. Thanks for being our guests today. So we know your given name is Albert, but would you please share with us how you came to be known as Sparky?
[00:05:52] Sparky: My Dad when I was little would use AC spark plugs and my initials are AC Albert Carl Metz, yeah....
[00:06:25] Pansy: When I, when I was little, my dad would use AC spark plugs and my initials are AC, Albert Carl so, so that's how my dad made that connection.
[00:06:42] Joey: Oh, that's so clever and it really suits you too. Well, Sparky, we can't wait for you to share your story with us. Please begin whenever you are ready.
[00:06:53] Sparky Story "Someone to Light My Fire"
(Segue - Crazy Hearts intro)
[00:06:53] Sparky: AI Voice:
This is "Someone to Light my Fire" by Sparky Metz.
My name is Albert Carl Metz, but everyone calls me Sparky. I'm looking for someone to light my fire.
[00:07:30] Pansy: My name is Albert Carl Metz, but everyone calls me Sparky. I'm looking for someone that will light my fire.
[00:07:41] Sparky: About me: Bright, outgoing, single white male, sixty-five years old, good looking, good sense of humor. Live in my own apartment.
[00:08:15] Pansy: About me: bright, outgoing, single white male, sixty-five years old. Good looking, good sense of humor, live in my own apartment.
[00:08:27] Sparky: My dad had Alzheimer's and lived in a assisted living center. I visited him often before he died.
[00:08:50] Pansy: My dad had Alzheimer's and lived in assisted living center. I visited him often before he died.
[00:09:00] Sparky: I have Cerebral Palsy and use a power wheelchair for mobility.
[00:09:19] Pansy: I have Cerebral Palsy and use a power wheelchair for mobility.
[00:09:27] Sparky: I'm in, I am in a recently...
[00:09:42] Pansy: I have a recently released feature length movie it's called Loveland.
[00:09:49] Sparky: What I have to offer: I am patient, understanding, outgoing, like to talk stuff out.
I want a partner I can share with.
[00:10:25] Pansy: What I have to offer: I am patient, understanding, outgoing, like to talk stuff out. I want a partner I can share with.
[00:10:54] Sparky: Is there more?
At this point in our recording session Sparky ran out of steam and was unable to continue. Luckily we have an original live recording of his performance at the 2015 Speaking Advocates Showcase. He uses an AAC machine to voice his story.
[00:11:12] Live Showcase Version of "Someone to Light My Fire"
[00:11:12] Sparky AAC: My name is Albert Carl Metz, but everyone calls me Sparky. I am looking for someone that will light my fire.
About me: Bright, outgoing, single white male, fifty-eight years old. Good looking, good sense of humor. Likes to get out a lot. Disability Rights Activist. Loves to travel. Lives in own apartment.
My dad has Alzheimer's and lives at an assisted living center. I visit him often.
I have Cerebral Palsy and use a power wheelchair for mobility.
I'm in a recently released feature-length movie called "Love Land".
What I have to offer: I'm patient, understanding, outgoing. I like to talk stuff out. I want a partner to share with. I'm good at holding you when you're sad or scared if you'll let me.
I am looking for an active relationship, not just sit at home all the time. Someone who loves to go out and do things, go out to the park, out to eat out, to Adapt, up to the Capitol City Hall.
I am looking for a woman who is patient, gentle, says what's on her mind, understanding, around my age, sassy, opinionated, and willing to share. For true love companionship in daily life and in Disability Activism. I need someone who knows me well enough to keep me in line. Effective communication is key.
If you are that special someone you can call
at (5**)***-**** (church bell sounds and Audience laughs) . Thank you.
(Story Transition Music - Crazy Hearts)
[00:13:15] Joey Chats with Sparky and Pansy
[00:13:15] Joey: Sparky, I really admire your courage, putting yourself out there like this, and I can't even imagine doing all the things that you do, you have so many spoons. Thanks, so much for sharing your story with us today.
Sparky, you've mentioned you're a pet parent and a Disability Rights Advocate, and you've shared your message with elected officials in State and Local Government.
Have you always felt like you were free to share your story and that your words would matter?
[00:14:24] Sparky: No, uh, no I haven't
no, I haven’t.
The barrier I had was with communication.
[00:14:40] Pansy: I used a communication device and I didn't have it with me when I was growing up.
[00:14:47] Joey: Oh, Sparky. That sounds so hard. I imagine that must have felt scary, infuriating, and isolating, especially as you were growing up in institutions from age nine to twenty-nine.
If you're comfortable, would you share what it was like for you to grow up in an institution?
[00:15:10] Sparky: I had a girlfriend and she died in there.
[00:15:21] Pansy: I had a girlfriend and she died in there.
[00:15:24] Sparky: At this point Sparky indicates to her that she should continue with his original written answer.
Uhum! She got sick and died of doubled pneumonia.
[00:15:35] Joey: Oh, Sparky, I don't even have the words to explain how sorry I am for your experience and your loss. What was her name?
[00:15:46] Sparky: Molly.
[00:15:48] Pansy: Molly.
[00:15:49] Joey: How long were you and Molly together and when did y'all start dating?
[00:15:55] Sparky: In nineteen seventy one, we were together for seven years..
[00:16:09] Pansy: Nineteen Seventy Seven we started dating.
[00:16:12] Sparky: AI Voice: Sparky points out it was Nineteen Seventy One not seven.
When we dated start both teenagers. Seven years. Go ahead...
[00:16:25] Pansy: We started dating in seventy one. We went together for seven years. We began dating as teenagers. Before she died she told people to tell Sparky that she loved him. Her grave is not far from my brother's house in Oklahoma.
[00:16:46] Joey: I'm so, so sorry. That's devastating. It sounds as though you two were the love and support for each other that you both needed to survive in a place with so little freedom. You and Molly were together throughout a really important time of your lives, would you share more about what your relationship was like?
[00:17:09] Sparky: AI voice: Everyone on the campus knew we were boyfriend and girlfriend and everyone talked about us.
It was weird that we were the talk of the campus.
[00:17:16] Pansy: Everyone on the campus knew that we were boyfriend and girlfriend and everyone talked about us.
[00:17:23] Joey: Did that make you and Molly feel like celebrities?
[00:17:27] Sparky: Yeah... – and there was a guy who tried to take her away from me,
and
AI voice: Yes – and there was a guy who tried to take her away from me,
...and she told him to get lost.
[00:17:51] Joey: (Joey laughs.) ... Wow.
[00:17:53] Sparky: and she told him to get lost.
[00:17:56] Joey: Ooh, oh, hahho, wow! Um, so aside from your relationship with Molly, what was it like for you to grow up and live in institutions, which are also known as State Schools?
[00:18:12] Sparky: I'll tell you, it was hell.
AI Voice: I'll tell you... It was Hell!
[00:18:22] Joey: You mentioned previously that it wasn't safe in the institution and in the nursing home where you lived and that you felt like hostages in those places. What happened there? Would you share more about that ?
[00:18:35] Sparky: They used...
They used to They used to force feed me.
[00:18:49] Pansy: They used to force feed me.
[00:18:52] Joey: Sparky that is horrible! I am so sorry that they did this to you.
Can you believe that they still do this today as part of Applied Behavior Analysis with some Autistic people? They call it therapy. Can you imagine? It's brutal it's inhumane. Do you have any idea why they did this to you Sparky?
[00:19:13] Sparky: I don't know. After I moved to Austin, the institution I was in, in Oklahoma, was shut down – They moved me to a nursing home, and then the nursing home got shut down too.
[00:19:55] Pansy: After I moved to Austin, the institution I was in in Oklahoma was shut down. They moved me to a nursing home, and then the nursing home got shut down too.
[00:20:07] Joey: Hmm. I know it's really hard to shut down institutions and nursing homes even when they're known to be harmful. Hmm.
So Sparky, you mentioned that you're a parent of two cats. Do you think of them as if they are your kids? Would you tell us more about them? Like what are their names and what do you all like to do together?
[00:20:32] Sparky: They are my cats
AI Voice:
but I’m more like their grandad.
Their names are Phoenix and Smoke.
[00:20:42] Pansy: I like to pet them and play with them, and this morning they were in my bed.
[00:20:49] Joey: (Joey snickers) Hah! Sounds like kitty-cats, all right. So Sparky, tell us, are you still single and ready to mingle?
[00:21:00] Sparky: Yeah.
[00:21:01] Joey: (Joey laughs!) So what is the best way connect with you?
[00:21:06] Sparky: On, on Facebook, Albert Metz.
[00:21:14] Pansy: On Facebook, Albert Metz.
[00:21:18] Joey: Great !
So what are some of the most important things that you want people to know about you from this episode?
[00:21:25] Sparky: I have er, I have an active life, I make my own decisions.
[00:21:43] Pansy: I have an active life and I make my own decision.
[00:21:47] Sparky: I like music, er - Country Music and Christian Music.
[00:21:59] Pansy: I like music, country music, and Christian music.
[00:22:05] Sparky: Last night...
AI Voice: Last night I went to a Kevin Fowler concert – I got an autographed shirt and cowboy hat, and my nephew and friend did too.
My nephew knew him before he got big.
[00:22:17] Joey: Tah! That's so cool, Sparky. That's gonna be a collector's item someday.
Sparky and Pansy, thank you so much for being our guests and for sharing your story with us today. We appreciate it and we know that others will too.
[00:22:33] Pansy: Yes, you're welcome.
[00:22:35] Joey: I think that was great.
[00:22:36] Sparky: Yeah. I do.
(Musical Segue - Cheerful, Happy Bright - Shinden Beats Music)
[00:22:38] Joey Episode Credits
[00:22:38] Joey: Thanks for listening to this episode of True Tales. This show was produced by Kristen Gooch. It is edited and mixed by MsBoye. Our script and production team includes Toby Al-Trabulsi, Kristen Gooch, and Jennifer Howell. Special thanks to Sparky Metz for sharing his story with us and Pansy for helping us chat.
I've been your host, Joey Gidseg, and you've been listening to True Tales by Disability Advocates. Don't forget to share this episode with your friends and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
[00:23:27] Program Outro
[00:23:27] John Beer: (Podcast Theme - scandinavianz-sunbathers. ) (Segue Music) All episodes of True Tales by Disability Advocates are free on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts. The program is funded in part by a grant from the Texas state Independent Living Council, the Administration for Community Living and individuals like you to learn about The Speaking Advocates Program.
Sign up for our newsletter at Art Spark, Tx.org. That's A R T S P A R K T X dot O R G. The free virtual training is open to people of all disabilities, no matter where you live.
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