A Senior Moment: ‘I Just Want to Give Back’

Ms. Dorothy Flack helps us pursue our dreams. Photo: Cathy Holt

by Cathy Holt

If you ask Dorothy Flack how she is, she will always reply, “Well, I’m blessed. The Lord woke us up this morning.”

A resident of Livingston apartments, Ms. Flack was born in Asheville in 1930, one of nine children. She attended Stevens Lee and graduated in 1949; she was in the Crown Scepter Club of top students. Right after high school, she married. Of her six children, her daughter still lives in Asheville and visits frequently.

She had some weakness in her legs ever since childhood, which was once thought to be polio, but later diagnosed as muscular dystrophy. For the past twenty years she has been confined to a wheelchair. She had a parttime telephone job for a while, selling special equipment to blind people.

At the age of 66, she went to college, with a Pell Grant
scholarship. “I asked God, I said ‘Let His will be done,’ and he
answered my prayer by helping me get a scholarship. It was a miracle! I
really enjoyed going back to school, and it built up my self-esteem!”
she enthused. But transportation difficulties prevented her from
completing her course in business.

In the past few years, Mrs. Flack has volunteered for the
Council on Aging, making phone calls to elderly people; at the Land of
Sky Regional Council; at ABCCM; and at City Hall. “I’ve enjoyed all of
my volunteer jobs,” she said, “especially the one at City Hall. I enjoy
getting out and mixing with people.” One problem has been a lack of
transportation, since Mountain Mobility can take her only on
Wednesdays.

“I want to give back,” Mrs. Flack emphasized. “God has
graciously supplied my needs through many people. I am now looking for
an opportunity to give back some of what was so freely given to me. It
is my desire to impart the value of serving others. I aspire to do TV
commercials, such as helping people with disabilities get equipment, or
find some means to reach people and offer hope to them. In that way
I’ll also be encouraging myself that we can all pursue our dreams in
spite of whatever handicaps or setbacks come our way.”

She is excited about President Obama and his promise to put
people back to work in green, environmental jobs. “We need jobs for
people who haven’t had the opportunity to go to college. Everyone needs
the basics: clean water, food, shelter, and clothing. We need to stop
cutting down all the trees — a hurricane could come in and destroy
everything! I pray for our president every day,” she smiled.