Broken Lives Matter

Hello Lovelies, we have a visibility month!     I wasn't even aware the Disabled had a month in the spotlight. But when the clock ticked past Midnight on July first, it ceased to be Pride Month (an equally important month of visibility for marginalized groups) and became Disability Visibility Month:)     Calling it that does sound a little clumsy though. Maybe Disabled Visibility Month would be better. It's highly gratifying to see that the world is waking up. At least part of it is! This means that in the few short years I've been maintaining this blog, we're edging out of "better not seen and not heard" into part of the global vision. I used to be so sure and so sad that I felt we were destined never to be seen as equally valuable. Now that mindset is fading! Although I could never ever take credit for bringing visibility to my community, with just my little blog.     But I have (I hope) shown how there are a growing number of other  people with disa...

 Hello Lovelies! I've just come from lunch, and it was simple and enjoyable, though there was a time when it was not. Right after brain surgery after brain surgery, lifting utensils to feed myself was impossible, let alone holding or loading up a plate with food. So life was one frustration after another, waiting to be fed when I was hungry, settling for more or less than I felt capable of eating because whoever fed me (usually my mother, sometimes a nurse) didn't think I'd want as much as I did, or thought they'd already given me more than I wanted. Something like this baby would really have come in handy! To this day I very rarely relinquish control of my plate, even if I have to be extra careful balancing it on my walker as I go around a buffet table or whatever. It's a small price to pay for enough green beans to suit me! Not to mention that often times, even if I expressly say, "I'll take a little of everything," I end up with less. Who makes thes...

Hello Lovelies! Yes, the bit about cute comments being "infantilizing" resonates deeply. Don't make quips at my expense to ease the tension for you . I don't yuck it up about my own challenges. Just think of me as a person. With a mobility aid. That's it. That's all:) Cheers everyone! https://www.facebook.com/reel/503261679385712 

Could we make this the standard procedure for dealing with mobility aids that are vital to a passenger's ability to function int he society when they get where they're going? it would be a game changer. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1RBYy5uDm2/https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1RBYy5uDm2/

 Hello Lovelies! In the spirit of the season, I'm sharing this happy clip. Be inspired: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1371434100820704 I don't know him, but I am so proud of him!

Hello Lovelies! Lately I've been struggling to suppress my restlessness, wishing I had the means to pick up and go to some far off place and get away from my every day for a nice long vacation. My thoughts have been Scotland or New Zealand if I could go anywhere, but this reel makes me wonder. Maybe Japan is the spot. Nothing like escaping my frustrating, inaccessible, non-compliant, uncaring corner of the universe for somewhere that ticks ALL the boxes! Clean, accessible, unquestioningly inclusive of all abilities and limitations--what's the exchange rate of the yen up to these days?  https://www.facebook.com/reel/1021870413459942

This reel made me so happy. Clara's living so well; living honestly, genuinely, without any pretense or falseness. How could she? Clearly it's not in her nature. I love that there are others out there who support this in her. I think too often in this society the Disabled are encouraged not to have a voice, not to say what is in their heart or put thoughts on paper. Not this girl! Clara's just who she is, and the world has to adapt. This goes back to my previous post including the quote from Nick Offerman. Don't let anyone tell you to be anything for  this world. Make this world take a knee for  you. I wanted to share a little of how Clara Woods is changing the world for herself.  https://www.facebook.com/reel/2218693525254037 This is the link to Clara's Facebook reels page; there's more content like the video above and you get a great sense of who she is:  https://www.facebook.com/clarawoodsofficial/reels This is to her official art, which she is fantastic at, ...

 Okay Lovelies, bare with me;     I am pretty fired up about a recent discussion I had regarding the leveled curb. I was asked if it would be acceptable to instead install small narrow curb leveling ramps made of plastic. No.      I made myself clear. The point was accessibility for all. Little ramps and little accommodations are a miserable placation of my concerns. And they are not  just for me. The members of my condo community are aging. It might even be that most people in the market for  a condo are aging. Accessibility is clearly going to be an ongoing issue.      I was unmoving, even though the individual sent to talk to me made me uncomfortable. I will continue to stand by this issue of equanimity. For Heaven's sake, it's not like I'm asking the world. I'm asking that all residents be treated the same. It might  be true that residents of mine and the other building involved do not pay dues to the association quite as h...

Hello lovelies!     I love this image for the lesson. Plus calling someone "the dude" is charming. Quick update on the curb leveling project. There is a semi-promising sign. Somehow a little plastic ramp with a lip that extends over the top of the raised curb, so as to level it, has been placed next to the crossed out white markings for mobility aids. Um...good? I hope this means what I think it means.     I think  it means that workers will come by when the weather is consistently warm and level the entire curb, as promised. That this little yellow bare minimum of accommodation will eventually be removed. It's not even immovable! I nudged it with my foot and it was easily re-positioned. I hope this isn't their answer. To my request.      My request was that the powers that be with my living situation accommodate me and others like me who need a beveled curb in front of my building. Just as Offerman told his fan on bended knee. I've found my self-...

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Hello lovelies! Just got back from a little mini getaway; I met some wonderful people, had some good food, and even indulged in some precious little souvenirs. I felt "normal":) But I did way, way, way too much walking with the walker. Everything hurts. Slept for 13 hours...well on my way back to health.  <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMisaOnWheels%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02UFNxgQB22X9e8oEngjNmQsJ8EmyvyzX7uh2Cv47KGSeEg3kkbGZQ6CuNaXppvLSvl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="447" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>

Hello Lovelies!    Following a new lady on FaceBook, Misa On Wheels , whose latest post has my mind  absolutely spinning. There is so  much I could say! This speaks to me as a disabled woman navigating a severely Ableist world, and as a "nearly wed," who would have been married 13 years this October. Michael and I would--arguably should--be celebrating our anniversary this fall by going to some exotic locale or by me making him my meatloaf:*( Instead, I don't even have a grave to visit, since his family opted out of a traditional burial and did not separate his ashes.    This picture speaks to me most poignantly for another reason at this age. My legs are not as  reliable as they used to be, and my balance has never  been reliable. In all likelihood, these days, I would have to be the girl in this picture on my wedding day. Would that make me any less the blushing bride? Would that make Michael an embarrassed groom? Should anyone feel that way on...

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Hello Lovelies! I hope you all had a nice weekend; I certainly did, but it was entirely too short, as they all are. One thing I have found joyful about my workaday life is that there is so much popping up in my social media feeds to inspire me. I present to you for your enjoyment, this reel gem: https://www.facebook.com/reel/655681913600411 A bit about Madison Tevlin, though her Wikipedia page is disappointingly short:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Tevlin  I hope this just means that we are in for a much longer, greater body of work from this lady; she clearly cannot wait to prove the world wrong about people with challenges. And after all, it is so  much fun to surprise them.

Hello Lovelies! It's nice to be getting so many reminders of this lately. I don't think I can restate it often enough:

Hello Lovelies! The meme below was posted by a group called Autism Inspiration. Their description is thus:  "Welcome to Autism Inspiration! "Inspiring and empowering the autism community with positivity, support, and awareness every day." <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02Cr8cSaUMRkv13DqkjPGX1PAUf93cXp2VNeAm9r763A4JiMPgddarMdXjEKvSqDRcl%26id%3D61564853816241&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="419" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> Well, boy was I inspired. But in a different way. I commented beneath the image: " Not every Autistic kid is in a wheelchair. Why is this one? The message is acceptance, yet in a traditional ...

Look at me, my Lovelies! I'm taking steps to bring awareness to my community, endeavoring to ensure that we are not the next group forgotten:  <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgay.equality.5%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02y1kjwBTnnxM2HHZNw5YBLaYjyeuY82DvySyUWTHuH6fXcZyjUtxXqTuLcANhD7hwl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="590" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>

 Hello Lovelies! I was scrolling and thought we all needed a little dose of Bitty and Beau's. Fun fact; the 9 of Hearts supposedly symbolizes emotional growth:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/9188384154588746

Hello lovelies! Today is gorgeous. The blue sky and sunshine put one in mind of summer. The snow and icy temperatures tell the real story. It is still the Winter of our discontent. With the state of the country, my heart goes out to everyone shoved violently out of sight. I know what it's like to be the unseen. One of the jokes I tell people is that "going invisible" is my super power. Sometimes people I've known for years walk right past me. Or I can disappear within my tiny condo and it feels unoccupied. Not that I'm trying  to be small, necessarily. It's more a defense mechanism when the time is right. Changes in policy lately have meant that going invisible for one's own safety isn't even a choice any more. Some people are just invisible. To those without a sense of humanity. These days I've become a bit of a zealot about making the "invisible" people visible, if it is within my power. I don't have that many tools at my disposal y...

  Hello! On this observance of the late, magnificent Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I feel moved to write. And my friends, it's days like this when creativity is a useful outlet for our emotions, whatever they are. So I return to my old favorite art, one I discovered my aptitude for in high school and has never quite deserted me. Though Heaven knows I've let my talent fall by the wayside and not considered it much of a gift for years and years at a stretch. Throughout my life I've had long, long moments of grief and silence where I needed to withdraw to collect myself, and didn't feel at all like giving  back to a world that had robbed me of something I loved. Indeed my only focus at those times was  what I then lacked, and what I longed for. I wasn't thinking clearly or creatively. I thought only of a gaping black hole, freshly opened in my life, where my grandmother, father, fiance or best friend had been. And it felt like there was nothing that could ever fill the ...