Rebelwheels NYC (Michele Sommerstein)
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rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
Rebelwheels NYC (Michele Sommerstein)
@rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
1.8K followers 250 following 4.7K posts
Nerdy Intersectional Activist, Queer/Bi (Love Is About The Soul), Artist, Writer, Poet, Disabled AF, anti-fascist, Neurodivergent, anti-Zionist Jew & vegan (she/they) #DisabilityResistance

Creator of What Is Ableism

Linktr.ee/rebelwheelsnyc
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rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
Huzzah! So originally I got a whiteboard for the grocery list, but at one point I noticed that the markers are so light that it was actually an accessible way for me to draw by hand again

But my doodles were taking up too much room lol, so this morning I finally got my own whiteboard 🥰

#disabilty
A photo taken in my apartment. A whiteboard in the form of a vertical rectangle is on my lap. The black marker which has a magnet on it is on the board and I have doodled and artsy looking portrait of a person from the shoulders up. Their head is turned a bit to the left and they are smiling and they have large eyes full lips and bountiful cheekbones. The drawing is in a black outline and the white fill because I haven't colored it in. You can see a hint of The pink reddish house coat that I'm wearing and a tiny hint of my black thermal leggings. Also in the background is a hint of the leopard print blanket on my bed on the left and because I'm sitting in my motorized wheelchair and the headlight is on, there's this lovely glow coming out of the top of the whiteboard. Lastly you can see a hint of the bottom of my hospital table and the wooden flooring
November 22, 2025 at 4:10 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
Time for a new sign

I realized one day that the external side of my elevating footrests on my wheelchair is the part that able-bodied people gawk @ the most. Which is rude (& ableist), but it also makes it a prime spot for a protest sign. If they're going to stare, then stare at this

#disability
photos taken in my apartment. photo of my motorized wheelchair and the new sign which has been taped to the external side of the elevating leg rests of my motorized wheelchair. The old sign is removed and the new sign which was just printed via my printer is looking extra vibrant and clear. I did however goof a little bit on the packing tape so there are some parts look a little bit messy and some minor bits that I tried to remove that unintentionally faded the sign by some of the paper getting stuck on tape. That said the sign is a horizontal rectangle with a medium thickness white border. within that, It is a red rectangle with a pink triangle on its side so that the tip or the point is facing towards the left. Then there is the main text which is this modern bold font and each line has its own horizontal black rectangle behind it. The majority of the text is white but the following words have their own individual color: resist!, fascism, genocide, ice. The colors are yellow, orange, green, blue respectively. And the text is resist! In these times of fascism, genocide and ice. Leave no oppressed groups behind including the disability community. The last line is it a slightly smaller font and to the right of the text are the following three symbols. One is an orange as in the fruit that is in a yellow cross circle with a white fill so there's white behind the orange. Then there is a medium sized illustration of a vertical watermelon slice And lastly it's an illustration of an ice cube, where the cross circle is blue with a black background. a closer look. photo taken in my apartment. photo of my motorized wheelchair and the new sign which has been taped to the external side of the elevating leg rests of my motorized wheelchair. The old sign is removed and the new sign which was just printed via my printer is looking extra vibrant and clear. I did however goof a little bit on the packing tape so there are some parts look a little bit messy and some minor bits that I tried to remove that unintentionally faded the sign by some of the paper getting stuck on tape. That said the sign is a horizontal rectangle with a medium thickness white border. within that, It is a red rectangle with a pink triangle on its side so that the tip or the point is facing towards the left. Then there is the main text which is this modern bold font and each line has its own horizontal black rectangle behind it. The majority of the text is white but the following words have their own individual color: resist!, fascism, genocide, ice. The colors are yellow, orange, green, blue respectively. And the text is resist! In these times of fascism, genocide and ice. Leave no oppressed groups behind including the disability community. The last line is it a slightly smaller font and to the right of the text are the following three symbols. One is an orange as in the fruit that is in a yellow cross circle with a white fill so there's white behind the orange. Then there is a medium sized illustration of a vertical watermelon slice And lastly it's an illustration of an ice cube, where the cross circle is blue with a black background.
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
One downside of living in an apt lottery building is that bc you're not paying full rent, the owner is not as keen to spend $ on repairs

The floor's been busted for months & pretty sure the dust exasperates my health. Thankfully my PCA had the clever idea to cut out cardboard tiles & tape them.
A photo of the kitchen floor which has these larger blonde tiles. A lot of the tiles are either split or somehow damaged and because it became loose and there's been a lot of dust my PCA tape them down temporarily but you can still see a bit of the blue underlayer. And she also cut out a tile shape out of some cardboard which semi blends in but not really and we're trying that out. You can also see the clear packing tape over the tiles and time to keep them in place. Lastly you can see a hint of the pillow on my foot rest on my motorized wheelchair and my red sequin slippers and striped socks
November 15, 2025 at 4:43 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
yes, my wheelchair is badass.

but also disability pride is not about loving your symptoms 24/7 or even at all. it's the rejection of the ableist idea that they make us inferior.

I see you are also disabled. are you new to it? (I didn't feel always feel this way, so I get it if that's the case)
back of my motorized wheelchair which has lots of artsy, colorful and political stickers on it a white background and black “typewriter” font text. It reads, ”Ableism is… (a form of) discrimination.The false idea that disabled people are by default, inferior. When in truth, disability is just another way for a mind and/or body to be.”
November 14, 2025 at 2:05 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
I made a new sign for the external side of my elevating leg rests.

(I might redo the cardboard backing so the tape looks nicer, but I ran out of spoons. This should work for now.)

#disability #antifascist
The first of two images is a photo of two signs. The new one is on my lap while the old one is on the external side of my elevating foot and leg rests on my motorized wheelchair. The old sign reads don't be silent in times of genocide and fascism. Leave no oppressed groups behind including the disability community. And the new sign reads resist! In these times of fascism genocide and ice leave no oppress groups behind including disability community. Both signs are a horizontal rectangle with a medium thickness white water. Inside is a red rectangle with a horizontal pink triangle where the the point is towards the left. The first sign has an image of an orange with a cross circle. There's also a watermelon slice illustration. But now all the text which on the old sign is centered is now flushed to the left, it's bigger and there are much bigger symbols on the new sign including an illustration of an ice cube in a cross circle that is blue with a white fill. Also on the old sign all the text is In the same bold white modern font but certain words such as a silent, genocide and fascism have their own color color, yellow, green and blue respectively. Also all of the text has the horizontal black rectangle behind it. But the new sign has the same font and same aesthetic but the words resist!, fascism, genocide, ice have color. Yellow, orange, green, and blue respectively. Lastly the photo was taken in my apartment so you can see the blonde wide tiles on my floor and a hint of my red and black leggings and pinkish red long housecoat. You could also see that the old sign which is still attached to the wheelchair is a slightly faded and it's being attached to a cut out of cardboard and then taped with clear tape to the wheelchair. It doesn't look bad but it definitely lives a bit used. In the second photo is the new sign which has been taped to the external side of the elevating leg rests of my motorized wheelchair. The old sign is removed and the new sign which was just printed via my printer is looking extra vibrant and clear. I did however goof a little bit on the packing tape so there are some parts look a little bit messy and some minor bits that I tried to remove that unintentionally faded the sign by some of the paper getting stuck on tape. That said the sign is a horizontal rectangle with a medium thickness white border. within that, It is a red rectangle with a pink triangle on its side so that the tip or the point is facing towards the left. Then there is the main text which is this modern bold font and each line has its own horizontal black rectangle behind it. The majority of the text is white but the following words have their own individual color: resist!, fascism, genocide, ice. The colors are yellow, orange, green, blue respectively. And the text is resist! In these times of fascism, genocide and ice. Leave no oppressed groups behind including the disability community. The last line is it a slightly smaller font and to the right of the text are the following three symbols. One is an orange as in the fruit that is in a yellow cross circle with a white fill so there's white behind the orange. Then there is a medium sized illustration of a vertical watermelon slice And lastly it's an illustration of an ice cube, where the cross circle is blue with a black background.
November 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NEW ARTICLE: "The following is a call-in (opposed to calling someone one out), a call for solidarity, accountability, and action..."

"A real revolution leaves no marginalized people behind"

READ: rebelwheelssoapbox.tumblr.com/post/7994835...

#ZohranMamdani #NYC #DisabilityJustice #Disability
The background is a photo of a skyline in NYC. White clouds cover most of the sky, but not all of it. On the left is a large pigeon (from the neck up) staring in the distance. There is a super tiny one on top of a building on the right side. main text. black. modern. reads "Now That Zohran Mamdani Won, Let’s Talk About Disability Erasure: From A Disabled New Yorker Who Voted For Him". This is the title of the article. There is an orange wedge shape coming out of a purplish blue horizontal rectangle from the bottom. On the purplish blue strip is a thinner black strip, horizontal with white text that reads "link in post/at sign rebel Wheels soapbox Tumblr.com". going diagonally on the orange wedge are the words "new article", which has two layers, using that signature yellow & orange color scheme that Mamdani uses on his website. Under the words "new article", in a smaller modern white text, reads "a call for solidarity." And then in the lower right-hand bottom corner is a small photo of Zohran Mandani, the soon-to-be mayor of New York City. He is wearing a suit and tie and is smiling
November 7, 2025 at 6:43 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
halloween costume / protest costume ideas

(I love that people are wearing inflatable costumes at protests, a wonderfully subversive way to fight fascism, but alas they're not very wheelchair accessible, so I'm experimenting with different ideas for various types of weather)
A photo of myself from the upper legs and up. I am sitting in my motorized wheelchair and my legs are facing slightly diagonally, while my waist and above are facing the camera. I'm wearing bluish purple leggings but ignore that lol. I hadn't really thought the costume beyond my waist yet. I'm wearing a blue and green sequins sweatshirt that has a zipper going down and has a black trim for the waist and then the wrist bits. I'm wearing a bejeweled pink collar which is actually a headband but it's being worn as a collar. And then from my let's say nose down to my neck cuz it's tucked in in the sweatshirt is this black and white cat face mask. And then I'm wearing rhinestones cat eye sunglasses. On my head I'm wearing a rainbow knitted with your hat with a bit of a mohawk part and then a rainbow flower crown medium flowers they are going across and then I'm wearing my little small off-white satyr horns. Lastly on my hands I'm wearing fingerless furry black cat gloves with pink palm bits like a cat would have.
October 31, 2025 at 6:27 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
My Halloween costume in progress.

I'm kind of aiming for more sun than flower with the intentions of having an anti ICE sign, But I feel like this is giving more flower than flaming ball in the sky and I'm not sure if that works with the sign...
A photo of myself from the chest up. On the under layer I'm wearing a yellow somewhat transparent tutu as a top that is going over my neck and shoulders. I'm wearing a black top underneath which you can see a hint of and then I'm wearing a yellow balaclava so that's only showing my forehead nose and a bit of my mouth but no chin and a bit of my cheeks. I'm wearing circular sunglasses that are sort of golden in the frames and have these white golden type of rhinestones situations happening around them. And then over the balaclava was covering I would say somewhat most of it is this flower accessory where the center is cut out so it looks like you are a flower and or a sunshine. And then my arms are bent to show my gloves which are these figures yellow gloves with a bit in the center that goes clackity clackity. It's meant to be worn at protest so you can amplify your clap
October 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
There was also a small but present pigeon convention happening the same day as the NYC disability pride parade, but thankfully, they moved to another location so I could take photos. very gracious AND no one pooped on me. much appreciated.
a large group of pigeons standing on a NYC sidewalk next to a street with a white car in the background.
October 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (22)
A photo of a woman with medium light peachy skin is smiling as they make their way in their manual chair in the parade. They're wearing black leggings with bright blue shoes and a matching blue top that has either a blue or purple design on it that reads elevators are for everyone but the text and design are slightly obscured by their medium length blonde hair which is half behind them and half over their shoulder. They have glasses it's unclear if their eyeglasses are sunglasses as they're on top of their head. Behind them our number of people who are walking and holding up a banner that is blue and yellow. The text is a bit obscured by the person in the wheelchair And another person who is partially cropped out of the photo, but the text reads disability rights are human rights. There are people behind them but that's the focus of the photo
October 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (21)
a close up photo of some of the people in the parade in the elevators are for everyone group in the previous photo. The focus is on 4 people. A woman with pale peachy skin is in a manual wheelchair which is black and has a drive sticker on it. She has reddish brown hair just part in the center and then eyeglasses. She is wearing a black brown sweatshirt with a coffee colored design on the center but I'm not sure what it is. Also in her possession is a marble looking cane and some blue pants and a blue sweatshirt. Her wheelchair is being pushed by the person behind her. She is wearing a very artsy and cool looking plaid outfit. This person has pale pinky skin and thin rim glasses. They're looking at the camera and smiling and they have several bags in their possession. What looks like either a backpack and then a artsy bag with a ruffle on it. Next to them is a person with short dark brown hair also with eyeglasses but they because they're more black rims but still thin they also have light peachy skin but a little less pale then the person next to them. They're wearing medium blue denim jeans a darker red top and a black open jacket of sorts. They're holding up a sign that is black with a white border and has white text which reads disability rights are human rights. But the word human is mostly obscured except for the n. And then next to the person in the manual wheelchair is a person who is also in a wheelchair although it's not totally clear In the photo at the chair is manual or motorized but we go from the previous photo which shows more of it that it is motorized or at least appears to be as they appear to be driving it themselves. The two people in wheelchairs are holding up the banner and looking ahead. There's a larger crowd but that's the focus of the photo
October 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (20)
A group of people make their way in the parade behind a black banner with rainbow ombre text that reads "elevators are for everyone" There some people walking, some holding signs, one person is being pushed in a manual wheelchair, two people in motorized wheelchairs. the signs vary in message but say things like "disability rights are human rights" "elevators are for everyone" (and then in Spanish) , as well as "rise and resist"
October 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (19)
a man with light tan skin, in a gray hoodie and black pants is riding in their purple and black motorized wheelchair and holding the ribbon of a flag and is looking towards the left. a woman with medium brown skin, in a black leather jacket on a black and red motorized wheelchair, is looking at the camera. they are wearing a green dress (or skirt?) with black tinted stockings. There are other people are in the shot, but that is the main focus in this moment during the parade
October 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (18)
photo by michele sommerstein / rebelwheels nyc taken at the nyc disability pride parade 2025 A group of people is making their way respectively in the parade behind a horizontal banner which has soft colors of very light pink and blue green bit of purple maybe a bit of yellow. It has a rainbow affinity symbol and has the text autistic adults NYC. And a smaller fond it reads by autistics for autistics and then the hashtag is aanyc.org. There is a person in a wheelchair that is manual and is wearing slightly tinted sunglasses and a black KN95 covid mask. There is a jean jacket and some white plaid pants. There is also a person wearing a cropped black tank top and a black pair of shorts. They have a black bucket hat on that covers most of their eyes but we can see that they have dark brown or black hair that goes down to the lower neck and their skin is a light peachy color. They have a pink bag on their shoulder and they are probably holding up a sign that is white and reeds proud to be me. And in between the two lines there is a transgender flag symbol and then autistic symbol which is the affinity symbol but with blue and pink colors and then another symbol where it's a circle and then at the bottom is a cross and then coming out of the top of the circle on the sides is one blue arrow and then one other blue arrow with a second line on that. To be honest I'm not sure what that means but it does exist. They have another bag on them with a brown strap and they are talking to a person wearing a pink sweatshirt and pink pants. They were wearing glasses and their hair is black with a black bearded mustache. Their skin is a medium brown. There are other people in the shot but that's the reason for the photo were these three people.
October 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (17)
a woman in a wheelchair with very cute small white service dog with a red and black service dog attire on her lap. Her motorized wheelchair is pretty much black with a slight yellow accent on the lever that turns the wheelchair from motorized to manual. Other than that there is gray wheels but there's no real color accents. She has a gray and purple bag on the back of the wheelchair and is waving to the camera and smiling. She wears a blue either open jacket or sweatshirt and a white top. She has a yellow beret type hat perhaps and black headphones. On her lap is a very cozy looking yellow and blue blanket. Her skin is a medium brown and her hair has a reddish tone to it and is in thin locs. There's a person who is traveling with her who is standing and taking a photo of us taking a photo of them and so her face is obscured. But she wears slim fit blue pants and a white top with a white open sweater or sweatshirt over that. She has a black bag that goes across her chest and black hair. Their skin is a light medium brown and she is wearing a blue and white Yankees baseball cap and white shoes.
October 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (16)
This photo focuses on two people in their respective motorized wheelchairs who are riding together in the parade. The first man closest to the camera has medium dark brown skin. He is wearing a black light winter coat, a white top, black jeans and black sneakers. He wears a black baseball cap with a pink and teal bright blue Yankees logos on it. He is looking at the camera and smiling and giving a slight wave as he uses his other hand to drive the wheelchair. His motorized wheelchair is mostly black with a green and yellow accents. The second man also has medium dark brown skin. He is also in a motorized wheelchair but his chair is black and has white accents. He appears to be wearing a dark blue or black denim jacket and a black durag on his head. He is semi obscured by his friend who's closer to the camera and he appears to be looking at his friends wheelchair or off into the distance. He has a thin mustache and beard and they are both in the road in the parade passing by barricades.
October 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (15)
a white dog in costume in a person's cart. behind them are the backs of several people's wheelchairs
October 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (14)
A photo of a small framed and short woman, dressed in black open sweater, with bits of white floral design on her shirt. She is holding a sign that reads "DIA OUR VOTE COUNTS" with colorful stars. surrounded by people. She has light blonde hair and pale peachy skin. She is smiling and tilting her head slightly in her motorized wheelchair. Behind is other people in the parade in their respective wheelchairs.
October 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (13)
There are 2 people in this photo that are the focus of the image. Gabriel (a man with medium peachy skin with perhaps a slight tan from the summer) is in a leather jacket and is holding a sign that reads "ANTI-DICTATORS". he wears medium blue demin jeans, a bright blue shirt and a brown-black leather jacket that is zipped up. And Nadina, a woman with long wavy gray hair who is holding a sign that read "DISABLED PEOPLE AGAINST FASC[ISM]". The word fascism is a bit cut off so you only see the letters FASC but that's what it reads. Nadina (who is wearing all black (or at least what we can see, we can only see outfit from the waist up with a black light jacket and her black and white ADAPT t-shirt. Nadina (who is also wearing a black covid mask (kn95) is in her manual wheelchair and is looking to the left. Gabriel looks at the camera. There are people behind them, as this was taken during the parade. One person is holding up a sign that reads DIA out votes counts.
October 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (12)
several people are in this photo. 5 in total (not including those behind them as this is during the parade) the focus though is Jessica, a woman with pale peachy skin, and brown hair with streaks of gray that is parted in the center. she is smiling and waving as she leans forward in her motorized wheelchair which is black and has a powder blue bag attached to it. Jessica wears and a young girl with light-medium tan skin, holding a water bottle, possibly in mid bite of her food. there's a person behind the young girl in all black, two people walking besides Jessica, both with tan and brown skin. Jessica's sweatshirt reads bronx independent living center In the distance, one person appears to be smiling at the camera, while another person is staring either at the bottom of my wheelchair (there was a sign) OR off into the distance.
October 28, 2025 at 2:16 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (11)
There are three people in this photo. One is an older man who has very short gray hair in medium brown skin. He's looking at the camera as he drives his motorized wheelchair which is black with blue accents. There's also a medium sized black bag in the back of the wheelchair. He wears a white T-shirt with a gray sweatshirt underneath and light blue sweatpants and medium blue sneakers with white accents. Next to him is a woman who has their black hair up in a significant sized bun. They have medium brown skin and are wearing a I would say medium light blue sweatshirt with a zipper down front that is closed. They are wearing something on their legs but we can't see that in the photo as their legs are hidden by the man's wheelchair. Their arms are folded they have a white bag and they're looking somewhere else towards the left. The third main person in the photo is a woman with pale peachy skin and short white gray hair with eyeglasses and a patriotic themed lei. She wears a black T-shirt and a longish black skirt with pink shoes and short white socks. In one hand she has a red bag which is has wheels and in the other hand she has her cane which has various shades of gray
October 28, 2025 at 2:15 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (10)
There are two women in this photo. One women is giggling and smiling as she looks at the camera and leans towards the other woman. Both are wearing the same white t-shirt that reads my voice matters and community network. the text is a bit hidden in the shot. there are people with various disabilities on the shirt. some with crutches, some in wheelchair and so on. the woman has a small orange bag and rose brown pants. her skin is a rosy dark tan and her hair is short with varying shades of white, gray and black. Her body appears rigid and so there is another person driving her wheelchair for her (though we only see the person's arm/hand. the person that she is with is wearing the same shirt with a long sleeve black top underneath and dark denim pants. she has medium light skin and black hair which is pushed back maybe in a pony tail (we can't really tell in the photo) she has one eyebrow raised and is smiling. there are others around them as they are apart of a group in the parade
October 28, 2025 at 2:15 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (9)
Woman with medium tan skin in a motorized wheelchair. she wears a white shirt with a thing gold necklace and light denim jeans. she wears an open black sweatshirt and is holding a sign that reads "BELIEVE in EACHOTHER" in black handwritten letters on a white background. she is wearing red tinted sunglasses and has a bottle of water on the bottle holder part of her wheelchair. Her short hair is bright red and parted a bit to the side, which matches her red sunglasses and red lipstick. she wears hoop earings and is looking either to the left or a bit to the camera, I can't tell.
October 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (8)
There are 3 people in the photo, 2 women and one man. One woman with medium dark brown skin and black hair, an orange shirt with a blue baseball cap, has a Halloween themed tote bag on one arm. she wears a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants and a black light jacket. She wears red framed sunglasses and is smiling as she stands next to the man that she appears to be assisting or at least accompanying. The second woman (also with medium dark brown skin) is wearing an orange shirt with light blue jeans and sneakers. she has a black tote bag in one hand, and a small backpack worn in the front. She wears black sunglasses and a matching baseball cap as the other one woman. The man that they are both with has light rosy skin, a green t-shirt, light gray jacket and dark demin pants with black shoes. He also wears the same baseball cap as the other two women and has a huge grin on his face as he waves at the camera which is why on hand is blurry. the other hand holds a small white sign with handwritten text that reads Medicaid is my lifeline
October 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social
NYC disability pride parade 2025 (7)
There are two people in this photo. One man is in a green hat and light tan skin, short beard and mustache and red framed sunglasses sitting in a motorized wheelchair, smiling and looking ahead, while another man next to him in a white shirt and straw hat using a white stick. they are both looking ahead and smiling. they both have balloons, one attached to the wheelchair and the other attached to the white stick.
October 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM