ANNOUNCER: A message about rural transportation from Lisa Black.
LISA BLACK: Hello. I’m Lisa Black. I live with my husband on a farm here outside Gibbon, Minnesota. I’m a fifth-generation American of English and German heritage with brown hair and blue eyes. Today, I’m wearing a blue cardigan sweater over a blouse of light blue color with silver dots around the neckline. I also wear glasses with light brown frames.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
In December, 1992, exactly three months after my return from a year of study abroad in Germany, I was in a serious car accident, giving me numerous broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. I was in a coma for 5 and 1/2 weeks. I came out of that coma speaking German, the language of my host country, for 13 months, just three months prior to my accident,
And I have no memory of coming home, thus, I had to be told, “Lisa, here you speak only in English, otherwise, no one will be able to understand you.” Again, I have no memory of coming home in August, nor of the three months before the accident.
By God’s grace, broken bones heal, and I have learned many memory helpers. One of the many difficulties that I continue to deal with is safe driving. Due to the brain injury, my decision-making is not swift enough to drive safely in heavy traffic. My lack of memory on where to turn or how to get somewhere is also hindered.
One of the nerves in my left eye was severed due to the impact of the accident in 1992. This gives me double vision, meaning I see everything in double or with a shadow, making it difficult to determine how far away traffic is and how quickly it is coming toward me. Also, a big hindrance in my ability to drive safely in heavy traffic.
There is a park and ride service in which I could drive to an outer Twin City suburb connecting me to a bus transit system. However, these lines are serviced only on weekdays, and the connections are difficult to find and are very infrequent.
In 2018, when I went to the state capital with my county’s volunteer driver service, the Trailblazer Transit, it cost me $180 round trip. I took that transit system two or three times, but this service is no longer available. Today, I would need to use the SMART ride service of the Sibley McCloud Auxiliary Regional Transit. At $2.50 a load a mile, it would cost me $525 round trip to visit the capital.
County systems need funding in order to operate. Rural transit is lacking in Minnesota. It needs more funding. Please improve transit in greater Minnesota. Help me get there.