Chapter 372: An Immediate Correction
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Dai Li stared blankly at the man in front of him, the one who called himself Barron Phillip.
Relief funds, such as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which the social worker told him about, were established to provide aid towards senior citizens aged 65 and above, as well as to the blind, and other people with disabilities. They receive several hundreds of dollars each month from the government.
For a lot of people with "lazy man's thinking," they would regard the few hundred dollars as a handout from the government, and when someone's handing out free lunches, why not take one? If someone told Dai Li that there were people who would use tricks and lies to con their ways into receiving these relief funds, he would certainly believe them.
As he reached this conclusion, he put on a puzzled look and said, "Mr. Phillip, from the information I received, everything below your ankle joint had been amputated." Dai Li glanced again at both of Phillip' feet as he said that.
Paying no mind to Dai Li's comments, Phillip smiled and said, "I use prosthetics." He then pulled up his trousers, exposing the prosthetic limbs beneath.
"They really are!" Dai Li thought. As he recalled Phillip's pace when he was walking towards him earlier, Dai Li couldn't help but sigh, and said, "I'm really sorry, I really didn't notice. The way you were walking just now, it was the same as everyone else!"
"I'm not a wheelchair athlete, so if you group para-athletes according to their disability sports classifications, my classification would be T43," Phillip stated.
In the disability sports classifications, the alphabet represents the sports type, for example, "S" is for swimming, "AR" for archery, "WB" for wheelchair basketball, "TT" for table tennis, "SH" for shooting, etc. For the number that follows, the digit in the tens regards the disability type.
For instance, the digit one is used for vision impairments. Two is for intellectual impairments, and three is for cerebral palsy, or those who have suffered brain damage. Four is for amputees, or those with short stature, and five is for spinal cord injuries, as well as some wheelchair groups.
The digit in the ones signifies the severity of an athlete's disability. The lower the number, the more severe the disability. For example, in the vision impairment disability type, a classification of "11" means that the person is fully blind, or almost fully blind, meaning that the person can no longer see anything. However, a "13" classification is for those who meet only the minimum standards of being regarded as visually impaired. As such, these people can generally still see something.
Barron Phillip was in the T43 class, so the alphabet "T" stood for track. The number four meant that it was the amputee or short stature disability type, and the final number three implied that the amputation was below both knees, but above, or through, the ankle joint. It could also mean that the amputation was above the knee on one leg, while on the other leg, the amputation was below the knee and above the ankle.
For normal people, losing both their legs usually meant that there was an 80 to 90 percent chance that they would end up in a wheelchair. Even if one were to utilize a prosthetic, they would most likely require the additional support of a crutch, as there was no way they could walk like an ordinary person.
However, for a class T43 para-athlete, it meant that he was a professional track and field athlete, or to put it in simpler terms, he practiced running. How could a runner not know how to walk? They might even walk better than healthy people!
Dai Li stared at Phillip's prosthetic and had a look of realization, as he said, "Oh so that's why. No wonder! You walk just like everyone else."
Phillip smiled and said, "If I had difficulty moving around, I wouldn't even be able to work anymore."
"Work? I should think it would be quite tough to work, considering your circumstances. Why not apply for financial subsidies for disabled persons?" Dai Li asked.
"It's not all that hard, once you get used to wearing the prosthesis. Besides, I didn't apply for the SSI. I'm not qualified," Phillip continued.
"I previously heard from a social worker that people with disabilities, the blind, and those who are over 65 years old can apply," Dai Li said.
"He might have missed some details, as those are just the groups of people who can apply for the SSI. There are other economic limitations. One of them is that the personal financial income of the applicant is capped at 2,000 USD, and I don't meet this requirement," Phillip said, pausing for a short moment before continuing, "I can work and live on my own, so I don't need that. Of course, I'm still poor, so I do apply for other financial subsidies. I have to work at least 20 hours a week to be eligible to receive the financial subsidy that I apply for, which means that I have to work at least four hours a week."
"Oh, I'm not that well-versed in these topics, I just came to the U.S. not that long ago," Dai Li answered with an awkward smile.
"I can see that, because if you were an American Born Chinese, you wouldn't have asked me those questions," Phillip said in a friendly manner. "In the U.S., for most financial subsidy programs, you are required to submit three to six months' worth of tax bills when receiving funds. Those are needed in order to prove that you were indeed from the low-income group. At the same time, it would also prove that you are a working individual, not just an idler getting by through these relief funds."
"I understand. Simply put, the government doesn't want to raise lazy people," Dai Li said as he chuckled.
Phillip shrugged his shoulders and continued in a talkative manner, "You've just come to the U.S. A lot of you new immigrants think that America is a heaven, filled with welfares and guarantees, free medical treatments, free food, free accommodation… But the truth isn't like that, the welfare is only used to help the poor, not the lazy. As far as I know, some European countries are the same. After losing both my feet, I've read a book that was titled "A Second Wind." It was the memoir of a paralyzed French aristocrat and his black immigrant care-worker. The reason the black immigrant became a care-worker was simply because he needed a job, so that he could receive relief funds."
"I'll try to find this book if I have the chance," Dai Li politely replied. He now knew that Phillip considered him as being a new immigrant.
Regarding this matter, Dai Li was neither surprised, nor was he interested in justifying himself to anyone anymore. The U.S. was originally a nation of immigrants, and it was also the country that received the highest number of immigrants in the world.
Several cities located in the west coast were popular immigration destinations for the Chinese, and as such, a Chinese like Dai Li, who knew little about the various systems in the U.S., would easily be regarded as a new immigrant.
Phillip glanced at his watch and spoke, "Although I am late, I really did encounter an accident. Can you take me to Coach Lee? I'll explain it to him myself."
"You're looking for Coach Li? I am Coach Li!" Dai Li said with an innocent look on his face.
"You are Coach Lee? You're the one in charge of this place?" Phillip exclaimed, as a look of distrust formed on his face.
Americans generally stereotyped Chinese people as being bookworms, short, not good at sports, antisocial, etc. As such, it was rare to see a Chinese person within the sports industry, which was why Phillip didn't even consider the possibility that Dai Li was the fitness coach, and why he even assumed that Dai Li was just a part-time worker.
"Hi, my name is Dai Li, and I'm the owner, as well as the coach of this training center," Dai Li said as he formally introduced himself.
"Sorry, you used the word "L""E""E", so I didn't give it much thought," Phillip stated.
"Lee" is also a common surname used in the west, and the number of Americans with this surname isn't exactly low. That was why Phillip's impression of "Coach Lee" was that he must be a tall and burly white Caucasian male.
However, Phillip knew from the bottom of his heart that he didn't trust Dai Li. After all, sports was never a thing the Chinese excelled at. Moreover, in his eyes, Dai Li was but a mere "new immigrant," so Phillip would never believe that Dai Li was a certified fitness coach. In fact, he even felt that Dai Li was probably less qualified than the volunteers working in charities.
"I should've known. There is just no way a good coach would ever provide free training. An a Chinese, as if that isn't enough, a new immigrant! I bet he isn't even qualified to train elementary school students. There is no way he's training me."
Phillip was set on switching to another coach, so he asked, "Coach Li, may I know in total, how many coaches do you have employed here? And what kind of programs do you provide?"
"For now, I'm the only coach. I just opened not long ago, and I haven't got the means to employ other coaches at the moment. As for programs, I will develop customized individual training programs based on each person's traits and needs," Dai Li answered without a shred of hesitation.
Many other para-athletes had asked him similar questions before, and at first, Dai Li felt awkward and uneasy. However, when you're covered in lice, you don't itch anymore, so after repeatedly facing the same question, Dai Li had already grown numb to being affected by it. Thus, he graciously admitted that he could not afford to hire coaches.
Upon hearing Dai Li's answer, Phillip was extremely dissatisfied. Although Dai Li provided free training programs, Phillip still had an urge to call it quits.
Consumers in the U.S. are used to paying for services. For example, there's medical insurance. Only those living at the bottom of society would choose free health care in dire situations. As long as they could afford it, they would pay the insurance companies for commercial insurance, so that they could enjoy better healthcare services.
That was why Philip was reluctant to stay, even when the training programs that Dai Li provided were free. He felt that if he could not achieve the desired training effect, it would be a complete waste of time.
"Coach Li, I think that your training center might not be suitable for me…" before he finished his sentence, a black man could be seen walking towards them.
"Hey Li, I've been all over the place before I finally found your place!" The man was extremely loud, so his voice could be heard from afar.
"This person looks a bit like Allen Hampton!" Phillip widened his eyes, as he stared at the black man walking towards them.
"Allen! I thought you would arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow!" Dai Li smiled as he replied.
Hampton, however, merely moved forward and gave Dai Li a hug.
"Li, even if you didn't come to the U.S., if I happened to be in Asia, I would have definitely gone to find you!" said Hampton enthusiastically.
On the side, Phillip was staring blankly at them both. By then, he was confident that the black man in front of him was indeed Allen Hampton.
"Allen Hampton, it's really Allen Hampton! I can't believe I'm actually meeting Allen Hampton. Is he here in Los Angeles for a game?" Phillip thought as he pulled out his phone, wanting to take a photo with him.
Phillip approached apologetically and asked, "Are you Allen Hampton? Can I get a photo with you?"
"Of course," Hampton was already used to having his photo taken with his fans, he posed and asked, "Are you here to train with Coach Li? If you are, then you've got the right man, as Li is the greatest fitness coach I've met!"
"The greatest fitness coach?" Phillip never would have imagined hearing such high praise from Hampton.
"Definitely the best!" Hampton nodded. "If it wasn't for Li's training, I might have not even made it to university! Li was the one who made me who I am now."
Phillip subconsciously looked at Dai Li. He never would have thought this new Asian immigrant standing in front of him had actually trained the famous Allen Hampton!
It was then that Dai Li spoke, "Mr. Phillip, what did you say was not suitable? I didn't quite catch that..."
"Not suitable? No, I did not say not suitable, I was just asking, when can we start?!" Phillip immediately corrected himself. He was certain that the skills and level of a coach who trained Allen Hampton couldn't be too bad.