Suck it up, because it is what it is, and you can’t change it.” Now an advocate for those with disabilities, the first advice he gives to amputees is a hard pill to swallow: “You’re going to hate yourself for a while. Accept me or don’t, but I have an appreciation for those who do,” he said. “Losing legs has given me a freedom a lot of people don’t have. That’s why he chooses happiness to pay his rent in life - especially on the air, where he forms an intangible connection with listeners he calls “family” every chance he gets. The only difference is what he does in life to pay the rent.īartlett is keenly aware of how closely thousands of people listen. While losing two legs has made Bartlett more humble and open to reality, she doesn’t think the charismatic host has found a “new lease on life” after facing the same adversity twice. He reminds her of one tenet from her Southern upbringing: kindness. “You either love him or hate him, but you listen.”Īn Alabama native, she’s known Bartlett for 12 years. “People just eat him up,” said Holly Penuel, the KMRY host who hops on after his shift ends at 11 a.m. Whether he’s giving a glimpse into his childhood in the projects of Columbus, Georgia, or reading the specials for a nearby pizza restaurant, listeners hang onto his every word. I look at them as continuing on.”īartlett’s brand of optimism and life story certainly aren’t foreign to his listeners on 93.1 FM. “I don’t look at these legs as adversity. I felt odd before with two different legs,” said Bartlett, 50. “Being a double amputee actually feels better. Three months after he became a double amputee in May, the Iowa City resident hasn’t regretted it. “I ain’t walking around like no goat,” he told the doctor in his Georgia drawl, electing to amputate the entire leg to the point just below the knee to match his other leg. So he told them to take the whole thing off.

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