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63 year old Marty Ravellette has
lived his entire life without arms.
His life has not been easy, but
Marty has made the most of it. Fiercely
independent, Marty runs his own
landscaping business in Chapel Hill,
NC. On any given day you'll find
him driving his van and heading
out to plant trees, trim shrubs,
mow yards and even run a chainsaw.
He does it all with his feet. And
he does it remarkably well.
In our one-hour Discovery Channel
documentary about Marty, we watch
Marty work and take on daily task
that most of us take for granted.
We learn how Marty became the person
he is by tracing his life from his
birth in Indiana through his next
16 years at the Good Shepherd's
Home in Pennsylvania and on to a
variety of jobs, living situations,
marriages and adventures.
We follow Marty for six months
in his current life and meet his
family and friends. We meet Marty's
extremely lucid 92-year-old mother
and his sister who recount Marty's
childhood. We take a trip to Sea
World in San Diego, where Marty's
mother currently lives, and watch
Marty, his mom, his current wife
and granddaughter on a typical family
outing. We also go with Marty to
his family reunion in Indiana and
hear stories about his very unusual
childhood.
We also visit the Good Shepherd's
Home in Allentown, PA and meet a
man who tells us about Marty's rowdy
childhood. We learn how Marty's
experience at the Good Shepherd
Home helped prepare him for the
rest of his life.
We ride along with Marty, his wife
Maree and his three step granddaughters
to Lakeland, Florida to visit his
first wife (who also has no arms)
and his biological daughter and his
biological grandsons. We speak to
Marty's first wife and learn how she
was initially attracted to him after
reading a story about him receiving
a speeding ticket going over 80 on
a freeway in Los Angeles.
Through out the hour we see how
Marty manages to work and live without
the use of arms and learn how this
experience has made him a remarkable
person and effective inspirational
speaker. We see Marty fish with
his granddaughters, shoot pool with
friends, sip coffee and light and
smoke cigarettes - all with his
feet!
We recreate the incident of Marty
and Maree saving an elderly woman's
life by kicking in the window of
her smoldering car. We learn how
this action landed him on the Rosie
O'Donnell Show and prompted an award
recognizing him as Handicapped Person
of the Year in NC - an honor he
also received in Oregon.
We see Marty provide words of wisdom
to a Journalism Class at the University
of North Carolina and the incoming
UNC athletes.
Marty and Maree also share intimate
moments at home with their own digital
video of their life together. Marty
tells us about his challenges and
what keeps him going in spite of
such significant challenges.
Marty's story is one of strength,
perseverance and courage. Viewers
will never see the hurdles in their
own lives the same way after watching
Marty.
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