Text 191, 97 rader
Skriven 2005-12-06 20:35:03 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
     Kommentar till en text av James Bradley (1:134/77.0)
Ärende: Look Out...  2A.
========================
Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  I'm okay in salt water.  As for fresh water, I'm not
AH>  sure yet.  :-))

JB>  You need a sweat lodge, and quick dump into the Athabasca
JB>  River. That'll 'freshen' you up in a hurry!


          Hmm.  I've been swimming in Howe Sound... that's cold enough for me!
What I had in mind there, though, was that salt water is more buoyant....  :-)



JB>  Nora's my kind. <LOL> Any kid that can drag her parents
JB>  out on a lake, has all my respect in the world.

AH>  We had to be willing to try it & the opportunity
AH>  never arose earlier. But Nora is certainly a force
AH>  to be reckoned with.  I've often been known to say
AH>  "Look out, World... here comes Nora!"  ;-)

JB>  Well, see? You were open enough to jump on the chance,


          Yes...



JB>  and perhaps Nora's enthusiasm swayed your decision,


          Yes...



JB>  where you met others just like yourself. Funny how
JB>  your type tend to congregate in herds.


          That's what makes it a new experience... I'd never thought of myself
as a herd animal, but it's obvious there.  Whether you are supposedly abled or
disabled, you're part of the group.  People recognize that you love to do what
they love to do, there's a mutual willingness to learn by doing... and nothing
else matters.  Besides, there's a lot of effort involved in hauling a kayak to
SomePlace Else & getting it into the water.  What's another fifteen minutes if
all a person needs is a bit of help in order to join the fun??

          As one of our friends remarked, we seem to be spending a lot of time
with people who are disabled (and/or with caregivers of same).  I must confess
that I rather enjoy the supportive feedback we get from folks who know whereof
they speak... but I don't think disability automagically makes a person better
able to relate to others.  What it does for them, and their nearest & dearest,
is to make the learning curve steeper.  Some people rise to the challenge, and
others don't.  I have no desire to cultivate any further acquaintance with the
woman we met at McDonald's, for example, who threw me an icy glare because I'd
taken a mentally handicapped teenager into a stall which she felt was reserved
exclusively for wheelchair users like *her*... or with the woman we met at the
theatre who kept knocking impatiently on the door of the washroom Nora & I and
her wheelchair were using because her husband (older man with cane) wanted it.
OTOH, I don't mind sharing a "family washroom" with parents of younger kids as
long as a whole bunch of stuff hasn't been added as an afterthought to a space
which barely met minimum standards to begin with.  A changing table can double
as a grab bar... or it can occupy space the wheelchair user desperately needs.

          Recently, in our local shopping area, Dallas determined that 1/10 of
the pedestrians were using some sort of mobility aid.  Folks with disabilities
don't have to hide in a back bedroom any more... long may it last!  And as for
those who lose interest when they see a cane or whatever... is it worth trying
to drag them kicking & screaming into the 21st century?  Probably not....  :-)



JB>  A day being the fool for the Whisky Jacks, always
JB>  seemed to be more fun than any gym teacher I ever had.


          That's my take on it.  I'm not up to long walks any more, but I love
being in the great outdoors & kayaking offers another way to get around.  :-))



JB>  [...] he was pushing bobsled for most of the past ten
JB>  years. He was a little shy, that he didn't gather as
JB>  much money by then as he would like, but we both agreed
JB>  the travel plan, and elite exercise club he belonged to
JB>  would be worth MANY millions. How on earth do you buy
JB>  what he experienced?


          For everything else, there's MasterCard.  Quite a clever ad....  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver BC, CANADA [604-266-5271] (1:153/716)