Broken Lives Matter

I'm so happy about the response (number of views) my entry "Make a Way For Us" has gotten! Indeed, I've even gotten sweet vindication on Facebook:) It's a touching reminder of how much it means to the Disabled to have the Able go out of their way to include them. Below is a picture of just such an effort made to "make a way"--by letting people who find sand problematic--the wheelchair-bound, people with trouble walking on uneven surfaces (ahem), maybe just those with weakness in the legs, like the elderly. Great to see so many beaches embracing #accessibility this summer! Roll on when all beaches are have equipment to help everyone enjoy the sand and sea. Eg check out @amprouk 's recent article: Aberdeenshire beach made accessible with specialist wheelchairs https://t.co/4lsVkm0BxD — wheelAIR (@wheelAIR) August 5, 2018 And it's especially gratifying to me to see that these efforts have made it "across the pond" to Europe. While...

I have to point out how amazing my state is. They're always evolving, always thinking...And as many times as I DO disagree with a lot the laws and policies here; I know they're trying. It's not easy to be so diverse. It's not easy to "make everyone happy"; but they give it their best shot! As evidence, I submit the image below. No longer are the wheelchair bound portrayed as stationary, the way so many in the world see them.

Finally heard back from a member of the family we'd been expecting to hear from for quite a while, and learned the reason for the long "internet silence" was accessibility related! The location we've all decided on isn't EXACTLY barrier-free; in fact there are stairs galore all around it:( As for me, I'm braving the inconvenience for the reward of being there, but I can absolutely see why for a newly elderly lady who has difficulty with stairs--it would be an issue. Maybe this is subconsciously why I didn't go to the concert last night. I know the venue is very amphitheater-like, and the idea of doing stairs, even though I CAN, after the day I'd had, was just too much to handle. It's important for me to quit while I'm ahead and know my limits, so I don't fall in public, causing everyone around me to "oh!" or anxiously gasp and stare, and meanwhile I have to ask somebody who doesn't look too shocked by the situation to giv...

One more thing I want to mention is that THIS friend did a courteous thing while we were walking. She matched my pace! I know it's small and maybe insignificant, but not for me. So few people consider this simple act of kindness "not that important" any more, but let me tell you...you come across as rude. I mean, once in a while it's natural for people's paces to deviate. Maybe one person is more eager to get where you're going that YOU are, or something. But mostly; I feel like it's people telling me they're embarrassed to be out with me, they feel like I should "step up my game" and match THEIR pace no matter HOW long their legs are:( So yeah, in an era where it seems like common decency is null and void (and a guy I met in the elevator agrees with me); it's better to walk beside each other. Be kind. Don't leave us behind!

Today was a good day, though last night was rough. Now I'm getting a sore throat, making me think that maybe allergens are super high again:( Although I didn't notice them when a friend from church was taking me out to lunch (we split the check) and we were walking around/getting ice cream in East Grand Rapids! Of course to their enormous credit, that part of town may be a cramped urban jungle with smooth curb ramps so the blind can't tell where the street begins--BUT! They have copious water features that cool down the whole area. One of which was a fountain we both made wishes at. There's a little sign on the gate around said fountain advertising that the coins thrown in "help to make wishes come true" for the children at a local hospital. That was kinda fun:) And my friend also took a picture of me amid the water spouts without my walker (thank goodness I kept my balance this time!), so I should have photographic evidence for everybody soon. The other ...

I don't like to bring politics into this. But it's very appropriate, don't you think? It's a symptom of pretty dark times:(

Of Course! The first step to applying for a job nowadays is certainly going to be "fill out the online application"! Of course. So that was one less thing I had to walk to in this heat, thank Heaven:) But I did get my application completed and sent off; I actually surprised myself with my own focus. So that's one more thing to wonder and worry about until I hear back from them either way--which may of course never happen. The way things are, it seems nobody feels an obligation to follow up on anything these days, least of all to let a girl know if she's hired or they're not interested! Actually though, I've more or less reconciled myself to a learning experience. In other words, I wouldn't be surprised and I'd actually EXPECT them to deny me. Which is fine, because there are a number of other positions available. I just thought I'd squeeze in an application to THIS place while the applying was good, if you know what I mean! The other good ne...

In high school and college an elevator was the extent of our accessibility. Grateful as I was for it, the elevators both felt old and unstable; I got nervous on the "destination floor" because it took so long for the doors to open. I'm gratified to know that now, at least some students are not only accommodated, but celebrated. University of Maryland announces new center for students with disabilities https://t.co/HT95lt14tR — BA Haller (@Mediadisdat) August 1, 2018

Hello! Happy New Cousin Day:) This is not a very widely observed holiday:) In fact I and my handful of siblings and First Cousins are the only ones who call it what it is to me:) But I'll have you know, it's been a holiday all day, since about 10:30 this morning! Which means after I give the little family time enough for "Baby Boot Camp"--about four months--I'll be heading back home for some newborn baby smells and cuddles!!! I'm not even worried about the tiny cost, 'cause earlier today I refunded a ticket I had previously purchased for an unrelated family reunion, and got a voucher for future travel in ADDITION to a partial refund:) The Lord provides! Like providing my transportation home to see my new baby cousin once removed is His only job:) Meanwhile, I've been working on my application for the job downtown all day; I plan to print it out and hand deliver it tomorrow. If I MUST, I'll wait another day; the deadline for applications is...

What is it about dogs and people who are different? I mean seriously? It's like some dogs are meant, just like some humans, to live on a separate plane. When they find each other...the most perfect, wonderful things can happen.

Today has been extremely slow, which after the weekend I've had is exactly what I needed! That's the beauty of the freedom I have--I can "take a personal day" if I need it, and get back in the fray when the sun rises. I am always grateful for this. Grateful every day. Grateful every minute! And given that the bright red sun-burn I got on my chest yesterday lingers today with the same hot-pink intensity...I'm glad I don't have to venture out into the world if I don't want to. My plans for the rest of this marvelous day include chores and ordering groceries. Last night, it occurred to me that the high chlorine levels in the GR water just might be a little bad for my fragile human system, so I finally climbed a step ladder and got down a big box of little bottles of distilled water. I'd bought them in a survivalist panic years ago, before Management figured out how to keep the power from going out to our building every time there was a thunderstorm. No...

Climbing a mountain.... in a #wheelchair ...This man from Edinburgh has climbed mount Snowdon! https://t.co/nMJcE9R0t5 @backuptrust @bbcgetinspired pic.twitter.com/OYUr1c6dzg — wheelAIR(@wheelAIR) July 29, 2018

Another busy day, though it started about a half hour later. Dealing with idiots has been the worst part about it;) But I got to spend a lovely afternoon at a friend's family's house on a lake in Muskegon, so that was worth the trouble! Getting up and down from the lake itself was a challenge; a looooong, steep stairway to the beach, then a very narrow, serpentine path through some tall grass to ANOTHER obstacle: a sturdy wooden ladder (to prevent beach erosion somehow, is what I heard). I was surrounded by helpful people though, so I had only the bare minimum of difficulty getting to the water. First song that came to mind? Zac Brown Band singing "Toes in the Water". But my afternoon was without any cold beer:( Then I felt like Dory, from Disney Pixar's "Finding Dory", 'cause I just loved the sand. Squishing it between my fingers, patting it flat with my palm; I even loved the feel of it on my dry skin; it's been a long time since I've...

And the hits just keep on coming. I know I should ignore the people who don't know me and choose to hate on me. But I just stare at the screen and think--"what?" How can they say that? Par for the course I guess. I changed my settings on the other site. https://goo.gl/images/aqxYyP

This morning/afternoon was wonderful. Especially 'cause it bore little resemblance to the morning/afternoon I envisioned when I got up! Which by the way was much earlier than usual for me:) Went to an event this morning, at a high school. There were virtually NO accessibility features. Even outside! But outside the problem was that was that some smart guy parked his VAN right in front of the only ramp in the curb. And the accessible entrance for the auditorium required me to go out and around the building, off the curb to the street a couple of times...but I didn't blame the event organizers for not researching the location. It was big enough, and there was a packed house! And when all was said and done, I got to sit in the front row:) Yes, it was a little annoying that I had to go out of my way. I enjoyed myself, and it was worth it. And I know for a fact that now the organizers will make sure their future venues are accessible to ALL:) And that makes me feel really, real...

Sometimes I wonder if I really DO have thick skin. I mean, I can take constructive criticism. I can take street people thinking "Are you okay?" is a good pick-up line. But through this new experience of phone banking for a cause, I'm confronting the very real possibility that maybe I'm just a big softy:( And it only takes one odd experience to "mess me up", so that I'm nervous and off my game for the next caller, and then the next, and so on. Just now I let the organizers know I won't be doing phone banking anymore, and I do feel bad. But I've been spreading the word among my friends and people I meet in town, so I feel good about my contribution. We do what we can do, and that's all we can do. On the "pro" side for me actually having a skin that is thickening, if not THICK yet, I told off a few online haters earlier, in a very decisive, almost annoyed (to be fighting over something so trivial) way! So maybe there's hope...

file:///home/public/FILE_STORAGE/0726181033.jpg Good afternoon, lovelies! Why do Maintenance inspections (routine) always seem to follow a night at The Pyramid Scheme? Makes it harder to get up and out the door before those maintenance guys show up, which is what I always prefer. Luckily though, San Chez Tapas (www.sanchez.biz) came through to revive me. I may not be fresh as a daisy. but I'm sharp as a tack! Kinda. The above image is something I encountered on my way to the library after breakfast, that I encounter way too often in the city. The stairwell without a chain, obscured by the sun in people's eyes. Can't you just imagine how easy it would be to "do a Humpty Dumpty" down those stairs? It's not a great distance, but it would still hurt:( It's gotten to the point where I'm terrified of unblocked stairwells. They agitate my vertigo the way looking down from up above anywhere does; as if I were on an overpass crossing the highway far, far ...

When teaching ESL, quality matters! Don’t let this be you. https://t.co/AgsxPvmaq8 #languagelearning pic.twitter.com/yLGhdMrccc — Techworld Language Solutions (@Techworldinc) July 25, 2018 This little comic strip tweet reminds me of something I've noticed happens to the Disabled a lot. Nobody corrects us! Nobody respects us enough to tell us we're wrong, or to show us how to do it better. With VERY few exceptions in our daily lives. Maybe when we were kids being raised, our parents or other family were only too delighted to set us straight when we were on the wrong path. Although in my case that was not always the case either. Often I would file something incorrectly, or complete a task without supervision, and somebody "in charge" would redo the whole thing when I wasn't looking:( Let me tell you, it's maddening. And insulting. And it doesn't help the individual at all. Friends who didn't tell me they'd heard the same story from me 10...

All I've got for you today; actually a wonderful story. With my right eye paralyzed "crossed", the two don't work together. This means I can't see a 3D movie; to watch one at all gives me a headache. This means I have to wait longer than others to see a nationally released movie, until the "real D" or just 2D--version is released, often after the release of IMAX and 3D. So yeah, I think this explanation is very apt; we need an "open caption" day. Or several showings a week. They do that on a limited basis in the beginning of a film's release, with IMAX and 3D. Why are they ostracizing the deaf community? Why are those of us with extra considerations STILL considered less important, less HUMAN than everyone else who goes to the movies? WATCH THIS, and see if your heart doesn't grow three sizes.

This story is so adorable. I really wish I had somebody in my life when I was younger who would go out of his way for me like this, and I'm sure I'm not alone! This is for us: