I think it is supposed to be 15 minutes of fame, according to Andy Warhol, but you take what you can get, right? A couple of months ago I was contacted by a producer for the History Channel show called Modern Marvels. They were doing a piece on the Segway (a cousin of the iBot wheelchair that I own) and wanted to license some of my iBot footage. Of course I agreed. Any publicity for the iBot is welcome. I’m working with a group of people to try and save the iBot from extinction (click here). I made my case with the producer that the iBot technology and the iBot story were much more compelling than the Segway technology or the Segway story. I didn’t get anywhere though. So the piece recently went live. Click here to view it. The Segway story (which is good, just not as good as the iBot story would have been), begins at time 11:35. My brief appearance (if you look quickly you’ll see Kim too) begins around 14:20. So it was cool to be on the History Channel, but I want more. I want the iBot technology and the iBot human interest story to be told on Nightline, or 60 Minutes, or made into a full length documentary. The world needs to hear the story of how disabled people were given an incredible gift, only to have it unceremoniously ripped away from them. Who do I call? How do we get this story told?
Merry Disabled Christmas 2010
And read disabled books
I contributed to a disabled charity
And thwarted disabled crooks
I sailed on a disabled cruise
And piloted my disabled iBot
I sat for disabled interviews
And the good disabled fight, I fought
I starved myself on a disabled diet
And took a disabled shot at a deer
I appreciated nature, and disabled quiet
And quaffed many a disabled beer
I hand-peddled my disabled bike
And hand-drove my disabled van
I spent disabled time with people I like
And I was a loyal, disabled, sports fan
I spent too much money on disabled wheelchair parts
And I made many a disabled friend
I touched a few disabled hearts
And a thousand disabled emails, I did send
It’s not that life is unfair
As you know, I’m not one to complain
You play the cards that are dealt you
If you live in the jungle, you better enjoy the rain
So during this holiday season
I urge you to seek out contentment
Don’t spend time searching for a reason
To feel self-pity, jealousy, or resentment
I’ll end my cryptic verse right here
And offer this sentiment to those most dear
I wish you a Merry Disabled Christmas
And a Happy Disabled New Year!
I Was Interviewed About My CCSVI Experience
I was interviewed by a Canadian magazine about my experiences with MS and CCSVI. The overall story starts on page 16. My input is on pages 34 – 36. Click here to read.
A New Way to “Enjoy the Ride”
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I Know This…I Believe That
I know that there should be a playoff system in College Football.
I believe that someday there will be one.
I know that I can become a better person.
I believe that I am on the right track.
I know I can lead a contented life, given my current circumstances.
I believe that this may not always hold true, however, as my disease progresses.
I know that I love my wife more than anything.
I believe that she understands this, even if I don’t say it often enough.
I know that modern democracy is superior to every other form of government so far conceived by mankind.
I believe that there must be a better way to govern, yet undiscovered- a government based on thoughtful, intelligent discourse rather than mind-numbing political rhetoric.
I know that one day we’ll cure MS.
I believe that it will be too late for me.
I know that I have many treasured friends.
I believe that I don’t foster these friendships as well as I should.
I know that the odds of winning the lottery are hopelessly slim.
I believe I still have a chance.
I know that questions of a moral nature are best resolved by choosing the path that maximizes human well-being.
I believe that eventually this concept will win the day.
I know that tomorrow the sun will rise in the east and set in the west.
I believe that each day has the potential to be an amazing one.
I know that, like everybody, one day I’ll die.
But first, I believe that I still have a bit of living left to do.
What do you know? What do you believe?
Why the iBot is Spending the Night in the Garage
I did a little wheelchair deer hunting today. I got a stuck in the mud for a while, but the iBot came through for me. Was Kim as impressed as I was? Not really.
I've Been Faking the Whole Wheelchair Thing
For over two years I’ve been perpetrating a fraud by posing as a full-time wheelchair user. It’s a big, fat lie, and I need to come clean. Since July of 2008 I’ve been an iBot user, but only in the past couple of weeks have I actually become a wheelchair user, and then only part-time.
If you read my posts (here first, then here) about how I was almost scammed as I shopped for a power wheelchair recently, you know that I’ve been looking for a backup for my iBot. About two weeks ago my new Invacare Pronto M51 was delivered, and I’ve been using it frequently around the house in order to save wear and tear and battery life on my iBot. As you may know, the iBot won’t be around forever (click here for an explanation). Just yesterday, for the first time, I decided to venture outside of my house in the M51- a real wheelchair. Yikes.
I expect that when most people “come out” in public for the first time in a wheelchair, it is a traumatic experience. And I expect that the primary reason for said trauma is that many people regard wheelchair users with either apathy or pity. They literally and figuratively look down on us, no doubt comforting themselves with thoughts like, “I’m glad that’s not me.”
But I didn’t go through that ordeal in July of 2008. I didn’t go out in public in a wheelchair. I went in an iBot, and that’s quite a different thing.
Whenever I operate my iBot in public, I try to do so in balance mode (depicted at left), for several reasons. First, it’s practical. Communicating with people eye to eye makes sense. But mostly I operate in balance mode for non-practical reasons. When I’m zipping around on two wheels people don’t look at me with pity. In fact, in an implausible twist of fate, they sometimes look at me with envy. I realize they don’t want to be disabled, but they appreciate that they’re in the presence of a cutting edge device, and I’m the pilot. As my friend Max Burt pointed out to me, when you are in balance mode in an iBot it gives you personality. You are doing more than just getting around. You’re getting around in style. This is not a frivolous consideration. Projecting a little personality is good for the soul.
But back to my other wheelchair…yesterday my son was scheduled for day surgery at a local hospital. My wife was working, so I volunteered to accompany Zach. The batteries on my iBot were running a little low, so I decided to venture out into the cold, cruel world in a mere wheelchair, rather than in my iBot. I was finally going to stop faking it. I was going to be a real wheelchair user for once.
So how did it go? I had mixed results. Since I was usually sitting in a waiting room or sitting by my son’s bed, there really wasn’t a lot of opportunity to be in balance mode anyway. There were no surprise stairs to climb or curbs to navigate- no beaches either. I was just another cripple zipping around an accessible hospital in a wheelchair, not projecting my usual personality, and not attracting comments every five minutes.
The only functional shortcoming of my wheelchair was evident in the cafeteria. I was sitting too low to get a good look at the food being offering at the buffet, and so I ended up with a rather horrible cashew chicken dish. In order to wash away the taste, I decided to go back and get some dessert. I couldn’t reach the handle on the soft serve ice cream dispenser, so I had to ask a gentleman to help me out. I didn’t particularly like asking for help, but, well, the ice cream washed away both bad tastes.
My first public wheelchair experience wasn’t too bad, but I think I’ll stick with my iBot in the future. I’m just not the same without it.
Political Advertising- Make it Stop!
(Photo credit: Coventry City Council) |
I know this blog is supposed to be about leading a contented life as a disabled person. But there is something else I’d like to write about today, if you will indulge me.
Here in the United States we have a big election tomorrow. It’s what we call a midterm election, so we’re not voting for President, but we are voting for just about every other possible position in federal, state, and local government.
I’m not here to advocate for any particular candidate or political party, but rather to publicly protest about how absurd the process has become. I understand that it’s better than the alternative – not being able to choose your own representative government. But we’ve been doing this for over 200 years now, and it is getting worse, not better.
Specifically, I’m here to complain about political advertising on TV. As a disabled person who sits at home all day, I tend to watch a lot of television. I try to pick out the quality programming, but I must admit that sometimes the TV is on in the background for no reason in particular (like right now, for example).
In the last couple of months, my television viewing experience, and more importantly my enthusiasm for tomorrow’s election, has been raped and pillaged by incessant political advertising. It would be one thing if the commercials were informative, well done, or even creative. But they are not. They are absolutely mind-numbing.
In response to this deluge I conducted a scientific study of the candidates’ advertising. My extensive data analysis indicates that if a negative claim is made against an opponent, there is a 99% chance that said claim is at best distorted and at worst completely fabricated. The data further reveals that if a positive claim is made about a candidate, there is an 80% chance that said claim is at best distorted and at worst completely fabricated.
I have scientifically established, therefore, that negative advertising is less informative than positive advertising, and that positive advertising is far less informative than no advertising at all. Because of this, as I finalize my voting decisions today, I will award “bonus points” to the candidates who inundated me with the fewest commercials (but I’ll give more bonus points for lack of negative commercials, as they are the worst kind).
OK, maybe I didn’t really conduct a study, but I bet my percentages are pretty damn close to the truth.
I can think of only one good reason why candidates spend so much money on television advertising. It must work. I would be ashamed of myself if I let the content of these commercials influence my vote in any way (other than my bonus point system). We should listen to debates, meet with the candidates, hash things out with our friends and neighbors, but we can’t let these fraudulent commercials sway us! Since many of us apparently are duped by this disinformation, then I must reluctantly conclude that we are a weak-minded society, prone to manipulation. Shame on us.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
I’ll make my informed voting decisions based on how I feel about the candidates’ ability to represent my family’s interests, with adjustments made for how I was treated as a consumer of their advertising. The only way we can stop the insanity is to demonstrate to the next round of political candidates that mudslinging and tacky advertisements will not produce the desired outcome. All television commercials of the current style, even the positive ones, are a waste of our time and an insult to our intelligence. Make it stop!
Can I get an amen?
I Was Interviewed by HealthCentral.com
The interviewer, Lisa Emrich, maintains the blogs Carnival of MS Bloggers and Brass and Ivory. To read the interview click here.
Fall in Maine
Here is a photo montage I threw together. Enjoy.