I love to read.  My bookshelves are so overloaded that they are almost a hazard to human and animal kind. Recently I decided that it was time to "weed out" and donate the books that I do not like all that well.  Naturally, some have been sitting for years and I have forgotten if the story is good or not so I decided to re-read them. The very first one on the stack is called December by, Phil Rickman.  I know what you're thinking. "Why in the holey heck is she bringing this up?" Hang on a few words and you'll see.

Three hundred and sixty nine pages into the story, I came across this paragraph. Quote:

""The up side of being in a wheelchair was the curious power it gave you over intelligent, able-bodied people. The way it was now, with everybody so politically correct, concerned about facilities for the disabled, you almost had to be careful not to abuse the power.""

And then later in the story (page 433), I read this, Quote:

""He was more comfortable with the embittered cripple, selfish and aggressive and determined to shock.""  

This book is a work of fiction. Fiction gives the author the right to just make things up out of his or her head... called.. poetic license.  What bothers me is the ignorance that people are absorbing when they are reading such statements.

I used to be a so-called "intelligent able-bodied person", now I am an "intelligent mobility impaired person". Admittedly when able-bodied, I had no clue of the issues that mobility impaired people face every day. Call me enlightened? You bet your boots!   Am I embittered? No... I do on occasion, feel a little sad, sometimes I'll miss wearing cute shoes or shopping by myself. Am I selfish? No... I believe that isn't an issue. Aggressive? I wish I was a bit more aggressive... but I am not. Do I shock people? Well... Mostly not, if I do shock you, it will be only that I say something that you have not heard before.

What can we do? About fiction... Nothing. About ignorance...  Educate! Try writing yourself. Let people know how things really are, show people that we are the same as the rest of the human race. People who live life as well as we can.

Whats for dinner? Meatloaf, baked taters and green beans MMmm!