Resources
One-Stop Resource Guide:
Looking for help? In addition to the many resources below, United Cerebral Palsy has developed comprehensive One-Stop Resource Guides to help you locate the assistance you need. These state-based Guides are free and can be downloaded as Microsoft Word® documents or as PDFs. Download the One-Stop Resource Guide for your state now: (Text, PDF)
UCP does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the referenced organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy of the information contained on the destination server, but offers this further information as a service to our visitors.
Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter
-
Two stories on the life of door-to-door salesman Bill Porter are being released this year. The first, Ten Things I Learned From Bill Porter, a book by his assistant Shelly Brady, was published in April. The second, a Turner Network Television (TNT) original movie, Door to Door, will premiere on TNT on Sunday, July 14.
Bill Porter started his career in the 1950s at a time when it was unthinkable for someone with cerebral palsy to be employed in the physically demanding job of selling products door-to-door. As Shelly points out in her book, Bill has succeeded because he and his parents believed he could and because he is passionate about his work.
The book chronicles Bill’s life in ten chapters focusing on things that Shelly learned from Bill. Some of these chapters such as “Follow Your Passion” and “Persistence Pays Off” are very effective and motivating. Other chapters are less so, conveying a historical account of Bill’s life in a very impersonal manner. Shelly describes in detail how she has taken Bill’s advice, followed her passion, and built a career as a public speaker (and now author) telling Bill’s story. Bill comes across as a curmudgeonly old man who loves his job.
The movie, Door to Door, is a much kinder, interesting and even inspiring account of Bill Porter’s life. William H. Macy does an excellent job portraying Bill. The movie vividly depicts the day-to-day life of a door to door salesman who perseveres in a harsh profession despite his difficulties speaking and walking. The relationships that Bill develops with his customers are explored, and social changes from the 1950’s through the 1990’s are chronicled. The movie illustrates how Bill adapts and survives despite the changes in society and in his own life. It’s a trip down memory lane in the shoes of someone, who like many of us with cerebral palsy, walks a little differently, and lives just like everyone else.
Updated: 07/18/2006
View a Printer-Friendly Version
Go back to top