Wow, Red Hill.

I hiked that many times as a youth. I took my family there to hike to the observation tower and pick blue berries about 15 years ago. I was also doing some genealogy research.

Have you hiked the trail to the tower? Do you know of a hole in the ground lined with large rocks about half way up the trail on the left?

That is a well pit dug by my 6th great grandfather Israel for his trapper's cabin built on Red Hill. It was the most northern cabin at the time. He trapped and surveyed the area and up into Coos County. He dug the well in the early 1700's.

Looking north from Red Hill is a mountain called Israel Mountain named after him. There is a river north of Whitefield toward Lancaster called Israel's River. His brother John has his name on the river than flows through Whitefield. There is an island off Moultonborough Neck named after our family. They owned the land on Moultonborough Neck where the Castle now stands.

I know what you mean by the traffic whizzing by too fast. I had a difficult time learning to ride shotgun as my wife drove. I finally learned to focus my eyes on distant objects or inside the car. The objects near the car were going by way too fast for my brain to process.

Before I stopped most of my driving but soon after moving to Idaho from too busy California, I was driving my jalopy truck down a main thoroughfare at about 25 mph. Cars were passing me like I was standing still but I was comfortable driving 25. At first, I thought I was just mellowing. Then, I had a neuro-psych and some other tests that showed that my visual processing was seriously slowed. I was driving as fast as my brain could process. Now, 35 mph is my limit.

I find that I do much better in a truck or suv that sits higher off the road. When I look down on most cars and the road is farther down, the relative speed is easier to accommodate. I took a driving evaluation in a normal passenger car at a rehab hospital. I got very overwhelmed once we were in a heavy traffic area. It appeared to me that cars whizzing past my shoulder was just too much. When I am in my wife's Yukon suv, they are much lower and do not overwhelm me visually.

I also do better if the car has lots of feedback to the driver, like stiffer steering, not so sound proofed, etc. In other words, no cushy ride cars.

The driving evaluator ( an Occupational Therapist) thought I did great even after I had a melt down and needed to pull to the side of the road and stop. She couldn't see the chaos going on in my brain.

Regarding Social Security Disability, If you have been paying into Social Security and get the annual report of benefits, you qualify. Look at your last statement from Social Security. It list you disability pay earned. You can start you application online at http://www.ssa.gov/disability/

They will have a neuropsych evaluate you and make a determination. Your own neuropsych report can be used with your application. It can take a while to get approved. Took me three years then I got a big back-pay check. The standards for people over 50 make it much easier to qualify. They do not expect you to be retrained into a new profession.

I applied claiming my neurological injury. They approved me based on behavioral dysfunctions, i.e. inability to respond properly to stress, and other such symptoms of PCS. They had an employment psychologist and a occupational therapist evaluate my records. I should have been approved the first time but an accounting error made it look like I earned too much money.

The SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity) limit is $1000 per month. If your disability prevents you from earning more than $100 per month, you qualify by SGA standards. Once approved, you can continue to earn less than $100 per month and qualify. Maybe you could tutor or teach private lessons. Probably not drums or screeching horns or violins.

Your sensibilities to brain processing struggles will be quickly recognized as acceptance by those students with the same struggles. I work in the nursery at church. The 18 month old kids who are reserved or shy like my slower pace. I think there is a connection when they look into your eyes. My two late beagles (both passed away in the past three months) were very good at recognizing my down days.

I hope this is helpful. I'll be off visiting my grand kids for the weekend. I'll check back Sunday. I think you will be fine. You live where there are lots of great people. I love the independent but neighborly style of the New Hampshire people.

My best to you.