Brilliant

Good morning, lovelies! This is going to be a very busy week for me; I have a lot of things planned/scheduled that have been on the agenda for weeks and weeks. The following got me thinking about "my agenda," which I rely so much on my phone for. I enter everything into my phone as little reminders throughout the day to keep me focused and help me get things done. What would I do if I couldn't flip open (yes I still have an "ancient" flip phone) my phone and read my plans for the day, or enter something new I didn't want to forget? What would I do if I couldn't read or write? There have been a lot of things I do as a matter of course (setting reminders on my phone for example) that have been portrayed by the Able community as kind of pathetic, and I have become more aware of it as I've grown older. Re-watching the late '80s-early '90s series "Unsolved Mysteries" has been a huge eye-opener. In his normal narration, the host regularly uses the somewhat archane and offensive term "retarded," and mentions one man with new brain damage having to enter everything into HIS phone, as if it's something that "normal" people shouldn't have to deal with, but only the truly pitiful brain-damaged must resort to. I think it would serve the Able community just as well as the rest of us! Lifting your legs up to get your feet in your shoes because you lack the muscle control--or ANY control of your legs--is something I've done forever and ever. I don't even remember a time when I thought about it. But several years ago in the briefly-sensational series "Lost", they showed a paraplegic character having to do this as if it was the worst thing in the world, and truly sad. While I don't want to minimize the struggles of the "newly disabled" so to speak, and while I agree that for them it is definitely an adjustment--how would somebody with no physical challenges whatsoever enjoy being shown to be pathetic and pitiful on national TV? Wouldn't they be outraged? And yet if any of the DISABLED say a word about it, no one hears. No one cares. We should just be happy our struggles ARE being portrayed--however inaccurately:( Note the sarcasm. This morning I'm sharing with you an inspiring little slice of life that IS accurate--as real and unvarnished as TikTok can make it. And while I'm not the one in this video, I hope you enjoy it as I did. This beautiful young woman changes the game; she shows how I COULD do without my phone if I absolutely had to--even though I take it for granted. I could "read" without seeing. And I could "write" without knowing where my fingers were on the keys! To me this all seemed brilliant, and opened up a side of the world I'd never given a whole lot of thought to. Even as someone physically challenged herself, it's never occurred to me before to wonder how blind people read, and yet they MUST. In the world as it is, reading and writing on screens is a part of life almost minute-by-minute. I stand amazed at Grace's ability to defy inability, and her patience with the rest of us as she explains how it's done:) Happy Monday, Lovelies! Nothing is impossible. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teen-reveals-she-able-read-150657934.html