Posts Tagged ‘Disability’
A Drive-By Rolling
Disability: Something that hinders a person from completing normal, everyday tasks.
For me, this word has become all too familiar in my vocabulary and I have been trying to understand its meaning for a long time. An unfortunate illness on September of 1997 made me a quadriplegic and my life was headed in a whole new direction. I have been in a wheelchair for 11 years and it is amazing how many things are brought to your attention once your point of view is lowered a couple of feet. The views of beer bellies and six-packs increase dramatically and the previously altitudinal-challenged first graders lick their chops at the sight of a new play toy. My wheelchair appears like a moving jungle jim and they can’t wait for recess. As I became accustomed to my new surroundings, one glaring problem has reared its ugly head towards my direction.
It all started on a beautiful, sunny weekend afternoon as I drove through the maze of the mall parking lot looking for a space to park. Isle after isle, the spaces were filled with every make of car imaginable. Frantically, I drove in circles looking for a good spot for my Ford van. I am in a wheelchair, so my search was greatly decreased; my van was way to big to fit in those “compact” spaces. As I looked through the sea of faded Honda Civics and shiny, freshly waxed Cadillac Escalades, my patience began to wear thin. Finally, I arrived at the front of the store and headed to the disabled parking area. To my dismay, all the spots were full with other vehicles. “No problem,” I said to myself; I knew that the mall would be packed. When I began passing by this red Dodge Ram, I noticed that a handicap license plate or a disabled placard were nowhere in sight.
