I'm Looking at You, World

Well, the rain has finally cleared up! Just for the moment:( I think tonight is going to be more of the same "tears from Heaven" all night long:( Possibly. In Michigan, you never know. The forecast could be on point, or they could be completely wrong! So I've made plans to make tonight a "stay in" kind of night and order from somewhere for dinner. I hate to do that when the weather is bad, but of course sometimes it just can't be avoided. And as a friend of mine so wisely observed when I shared with him a similar story..."you've gotta eat." Indeed. We do what we have to. At least it dried off enough that the guys who play on the tiny basketball court below have resumed their game:) And music is roaring from somewhere--probably a festival of some kind. There are MANY this month covering just about everything. Pride, (LGBTQ community awareness), graduations, Father's Day...there's even a lot of little local shindigs happening on the art scene. And of COURSE there are those who feel it's never too early to start firing off those Forth of July fireworks, so that's another sound that's been attributing to the night noises lately. With all these reasons to celebrate, wouldn't you think they'd give the Disabled community "a month" in there somewhere? Every month it seems we're becoming more aware or more appreciative of one cause or another. Different types of cancer, brain tumors, Autism and its children, Black history, teachers, medical professionals...everyone's got a month! Wouldn't it be nice if the Disabled community got one too? Maybe there could even be a celebration of THEIR talents and the unique gifts they bring to the collective table as well, just like in a Pride parade, or the speeches and celebrations following a Memorial Day parade? I would hope that my last posted entry, a group of physically disabled performers giving a beautiful concert in the Middle East, would be proof that we have a lot to offer such an event, and are just as capable of entertaining the masses as any group they might otherwise commission for a "benefit" concert. And who knows how much of the money raised for something like THAT would actually end up where it could do the most good? Most likely the bulk of it would end up in the hands of the performers and their staff. Whereas with a parade/celebration thrown for the Disabled community BY the disabled community, I'd bet the money raised would be directed to exactly where it was most needed, and then EVERYONE would be happy. In my imagination, in my wildest dreams, we'd make September the month for Disability Awareness/Celebration. What could be better than a month when kids are going back to school, and the learning disabled dealing with the same old frustrations and difficulties, "special" classes designed to help that provide their own challenges to a child's self-esteem, and when the physically disabled are trying to get their mobility aides up out-dated, inaccessible school stairs? These are just a FEW examples of what kids with disabilities handle on a daily basis in school, and September would be an ideal time to focus on that community, and where improvements need to be made. Not to mention, it would also be an excellent time for guest speaking professors in wheelchairs, and disabled veterans who came home from service to find work teaching, despite the limitations of their new circumstances! We could make wearing patches that look like human eyes "a thing" for further symbolic significance. The eyes of the world are opening to what the disabled community has to offer. Or they could just be adhesive "googly eyes". Why not poke fun at ourselves? While all we've ever wanted to is to be seen and respected and accepted as legitimate members of society, we've had to make light of our struggles AD NAUSEUM, as if we enjoyed it. Because we didn't have a choice. In my wildest dreams, we would take back our choices, and laugh at ourselves while staring the world straight in the eye.