In the name of humour, we will now learn to respect and appreciate the capabilities of the disabled.
I wouldn`t have written this piece had it not been for this stupid guy in my office who parks in the handicap-parking slot. I tried to argue with him…but he just wouldn`t listen. Eventually, he agreed that he has a handicap…if stupidity could be one.
I asked him: “Do you ever participate in the Special Olympics?”
“What is that?”
“It is a special Olympics to recognize the capabilities of the disabled…like you.”
“Wow…can I also go there?” He seemed pretty excited.
“Yes mate. You can participate. In fact…Kho-Kho for the disabled will be held on 14 & 15 Jan, 2006 at Patna, Bihar. This could be a selection event for the 2007 Special Olympics to be held in China.” More Here
I started walking even before I finished…and I wondered if outside of the stadium, I would find one parking slot marked “For non-handicaps only”.
This had happened to me once in school. We had a blind classmate who was good in music. At the annual day celebration, he won the first prize – a cheese grater. Not knowing what it actually was…he started reading it. He thought it was a storybook in Braille. He never realized and we never told him but even to this day…he thinks the story shouldn`t have ended the way it did.
This friend used to wear dark glasses. I wondered…why glasses? If there is a reason, why don`t the deaf wear something on their ears? Talking of ears…did you know Mike Tyson was once named Sportsman of the Ear?
Only half the disable men (and women) in this World have a reason to be disabled. The rest acquire disability. Take for example…the former Philippine First Lady (and World’s best-known shoe collector) Imelda Marcos. What if she were to be amputated? What would happen to all her shoes? Will she have a yard sale or something? Or will she prefer the e-bay?