Bridging the Distance
It is both a memory and a defining moment, overlapping and coexisting and still, a decade and a half later, it is as clear in my mind as the day it happened. I was working for a municipal government, part of the team that implemented Ontario’s dearly departed Employment Equity Act. This was a brilliant…
Master of Our Domain
Have you heard of Zach Anner? If not, you’re in for a treat. But first, a soapbox moment. Or two. The other day, I got one of those inspirational e-mails that circle the Internet on a regular basis. This one was a story about a blind boy sitting by a building with a hat by…
It All Comes Down to the Bathroom
Twice in the last month or so, I’ve been in a situation where when investigating the accessibility of a place I was going to, I was told that absolutely, it’s completely accessible! Well, except for the bathrooms, that is… Huh??? It’s not new, this creative approach to accessibility, happens all the time and it makes…
Being A Wuss: A Political Act?
The other day, in response to someone’s inquiry of how I was, I found myself prattling on about the details of my pain levels and I realized that I often do this with people who knew me well and with whom I speak often. And it’s been nagging at me a bit and making me…
Good Cripple
Not too long after Beth and I first became friends, we had a conversation about a meeting she’d had with an agency that were supposed to help her get equipment (possibly Dragon?). Beth explained how she’d started the meeting by outlining the goal of the conversation, setting an agenda of sorts to be that she…
Calling In Miscommunicated
The snooze alarm had been going off for half an hour before it finally penetrated my brain enough to make me wonder what time it was. I peered blearily at the alarm clock with one eye, an act which suddenly made both eyes open wide so fast I may have sprained an eyelid. It was…
Freaks
I love the way kids react to my wheelchair. They’re fascinated, checking out the knobs, buttons and repeatedly coming back to the one thing that is verboten due to risk of injury: my joystick. They’ll ask a quick question or two about why I’m in the chair and why I can’t walk and we get…
Mass Hysteria
A couple of months ago, there was a bit of a thing when someone said that the concern about nuts and nut-free zones was showing all signs of flirting with mass hysteria. Dr. Nicholas Christakis, who himself allergic to nuts, was quoted as saying that the efforts of schools to declare themselves completely nut-free, including…
All Dressed Up & Nowhere to Go
What I need to go outside my immediate neighborhood, I call WheelTrans. WheelTrans is Toronto’s paratransit service, run by the TTC (our public transportation system) and it is designed to provide transportation for people with disabilities who can’t use public transit so they can participate in the community on an equal basis with everyone else….
Hobbled
A little while ago, I ran into (not literally) a woman I know, making her way slowly and painfully and on crutches into the building in which she lives. As she has been using a wheelchair permanently for over a year now, no longer able to walk further than tiny distances requiring only a few…
A Disability Blog?
Thanks to all of you voting, I’ve made it to the second round of the Canadian Blog Awards in the Best Disability Blog category and I’m beyond thrilled (does that make me more dorky?). Last week, I was all humble, saying that it was an honour just to be nominated and it is an honour…
Hero Worship
I don’t use the term ‘hero’ often and I don’t have an awful lot of personal heroes – in fact, I think it might take me it some time to come up with even a small list. But last week, when I rooted around on the new 7-day releases at my video store (where you…