Personal assistance services — hands-on help provided to support daily living — is an experience very familiar to disabled people, as well as to people who are elderly, ill, or recovering from injury. Yet it rarely shows up in literature. When it does, it can offer fascinating insights into the dynamics involved in the exchange [...]
Posts from ‘January, 2009’
Cheney’s Villainy — Nothing to Do with His Wheelchair
I never thought I’d be sticking up for Dick Cheney. But his appearance at the Inauguration today, riding in a wheelchair pushed by several Marines, has elicited so many nasty, disabiliphobic comments, that I find myself… well, not exactly defending Cheney, but at least defending the dignity of wheelchair use. Cheney apparently pulled a back [...]
The End of an Era
Today I said goodbye to an old friend: my 1994 Ford Econoline van, in all its Tobago green glory. I called last week to arrange to donate it to my local public radio station, and it was picked up this morning by tow truck. Once it’s sold at auction, I’ll get a tax deduction. I’ll [...]