Cause for Celebration

• September 18th, 2006

The evening started with my friend Marc calling me and asking if I was going to attend the birthday party for “Hollywood”, a person my organization supports. He said he was going and that everyone that went to Faire Grounds, a local coffee shop in my neighborhood had been invited. So I went.

There was a crowd of about 40 folks when I arrived, all there to celebrate the indomitable spirit of this woman who was turning 50. The place was packed and the presents were stacked all the way to the ceiling. In attendance was a Buddhist monk wearing brightly colored orange robes, bringing back memories of my recent visit to Thailand. Clean cut Navy guys, gray haired ladies with canes, a bevy of beautiful women and other assorted individuals lined the entire shop, with people still arriving by the minute, presents in hand.

I’ve known the person they were coming to celebrate for over 20 years; she is kind, enthusiastic, a NASCAR supporter and an artist. She makes community for herself without fancy maps, paths or person centered tools by just being who she is; a person that loves people and believes birthdays should be celebrated.

As I was observing the festivities, and reflecting on the fact that I was the only person there from the organization that supports her, I was remembering my last birthday, which of course was nothing like this. I suppose I have fallen in to the habit of relying on those who care and love me to make my celebrations. Maybe that’s not the best approach, though a polite one.

Broken Promises

• September 8th, 2006

I’ve been reflecting today on the age old thing that we humans do with one another, which is making promises. Promises reflect something about our intentions or at least our thoughts at that time we make them. I suppose they are characterized by sincerity and the will and commitment to keep them for most folks. Yet we are a people of broken promises. Sometimes it’s the promise of our leaders who assure a nation that they uphold justice and liberty for all and that the threat of weapons of mass destruction actually existed in Iraq. Other times it’s more mundane like, “I’ll call you tomorrow”. I suppose the most common promise is about love, reflected in marriage vows and words of commitment from lovers.

I think people expect promises to be kept even though there is little evidence to support such a belief, yet each and every time a broken promise wraps itself around our heart and mind we still find ourselves ready and willing to hear another one. Maybe that’s good, having hope in the human spirit and being willing and open to trust the next promise that comes our way. But maybe it’s not. Maybe we should call a moratorium on promises, take a break from them and see how it feels to live among one another without those pesky predictions of the future.

I think people with disabilities have the most experience in this arena, surrounded and engulfed by countless promises of equity, autonomy and self directed choices made by corrupt systems and indifferent professionals. So maybe it’s not a good idea to stop the broken promises, maybe we in this industry need to be subjected to them… if for nothing more that to relate, even a little bit to those we seek to support.