Mary McManus's Page

My dear friend Jordan Rich of Boston's WBZ Radio asked me to contribute a poem to the "For the Children" booklet to benefit Boston Children's Hospital. He asked me to write a poem which celebrates children. My cousins used to tell me when I was growing up that I was too serious and that I should be more 'like a child'. Well, having had polio and then going through innumerable traumatic events, it's difficult to not take life seriously. But, as Tony Robbins… Continue

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Shoes - shoes is the title for a blog post? Yes it is when you are a polio and post polio survivor who is going to Lincoln Center tomorrow night for the End Polio Now benefit concert. In the world I grew up in - Westchester County, NY, a suburb of New York City, appearances were very important. I received that message through the media and through the women in my family. My mother's outer appearance was always impeccable. She modeled for the clubs my father belonged to in their annual shows. She… Continue

It's that time of year --when the world falls in love as the beautiful holiday song says so how do you avoid the pitfalls of becoming stressed to the max? So how do you maintain your center of peace? How do you withdraw from the flurry of commercials telling you to buy this or that to make someone happy this holiday season? You can make yourself happy this holiday season by giving yourself the gift of time. During Thanksgiving, I found that taking the time to set my intentions for each day befor… Continue

I haven't watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition in a very long time. On Sunday evenings, my husband and I have a guilty pleasure of watching The Amazing Race. At a couple of minutes past 8, a dear friend of mine (who has an incredible story all her own as a childhood cancer survivor) called and told me to turn on Extreme Makeover - they were featuring a polio survivor.

I needed a box of tissues to watch the show. James Terpenning had polio as an infant in Vietnam. He was rescued by the Air Forc… Continue