It lay there on the floor. I was standing. I can stand. I can walk a bit. But I have to have something to steady me, a wall, a railing, and arm or shoulder. I had put my clothing in the laundry hamper and a receipt had fallen out of my pants pocket. It lay […]
There are times when powerlessness is the only sensible reaction. Joe and I were watching a television program and just as it ended, building up to an emotional climax, one of the characters uses the ‘R-word.’ It’s like a sucker punch, the whole of the ending is thrown off, our understanding of the characters involved […]
Yesterday I gave my first lecture of 2019. I’ve had a long time off from travel, and even this was just an hour and bit away, it still counts. Hotel rooms, supper via delivery guy, room full of people looking at me. The longer I take off from lecturing, and this was the longest time […]
Accessibility is Attitude because Attitude leads to Action because Action conquers Architecture. Did I mention that I love alliteration? Actually, I’m not at all trying to be cute. I believe every word of that sentence. Access comes from an attitude that believes that people with disabilities have a right to exist in all spaces and […]
The girls are staying with us this weekend. We have a routine we all like. It starts with Saturday morning hoping in the car and heading over to the center where I go to the gym and Joe and the Ruby and Sadie go to the pool. We’re there for 2 hours. When we’re done […]
What does disability mean? Sometimes nothing, nothing at all. I think this may be the most surprising aspect of the disability experience. Sometimes it means something. Sometimes it doesn’t. We went to the mall for lunch the other day. We like food courts. This court has tables designated for disabled patrons, they are a little […]
So now that I’m a gym bunny, I’ve taken to writing down weights and reps so that I can keep track and push myself. It turned out that I had been going every week and doing the same thing thinking it was more. So writing it down helps. Today at the gym something very funny […]
Coming out of the theatre with Ruby and Sadie after seeing the movie “The Upside,” we made our way down the ramp and into the long hallway to the lobby. We were playing in theatre furthest from the lobby which meant two things. Carpet and it was closest to the accessible loo. Sadie was ahead […]
We pulled up to an elevator where a family with a baby carriage was also waiting. We were all chatting about the -21C temperature and trying to find ways to describe it. The elevator door opened and we all waited for the family to take it up. It’s not a large one so we knew […]
“She called me that word,” she said pointing at a woman about retirement age. “She said I should be out alone. She said that she shouldn’t have to see people like me when she goes out.” Her distress came from a deep dark place. She was one of the people who had lived much of […]
