Being Different
Coming Out Blind
For most of my life I have not lived openly with my blindness. I have hid it and rejoiced in its invisibility. The sad thing with most things you try to hide about yourself the only person I was fooling was myself…. It takes a lot of energy to appear sighted, you’re constantly acting and anticipating the […]
Downhill Skiing
I love to downhill ski. I grew up in Calgary forty five minutes from Banff and some of the best skiing in the world. I learned to ski in Calgary at PaskaPoo renamed Canada Olympic Park for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Anyway when I was learning to ski we called it Poo Glacier as […]
Raising Children
Parenting is interesting at the best of times. I’ve learned more about parenting styles since my divorce then I did during my marriage. Do I parent differently because I’m blind? In a word yes. Before I had children I was the biggest opinionated arrogant non parent around. Oh those people don’t know how to parent […]
Changing a Diaper
Isn’t it a right of passage for a parent to get painted with urine or plastered with poo while changing a diaper? I think all of us parents have at least one story, well maybe two. I’m not convinced that there is any difference being blind and changing diapers. Its a nasty affair at the […]
Support Systems
As the Beach Boys put it, “I Get Around!!”. It’s all about gettin around. If you’re blind, simply put, you need to be the easiest date at the prom. It’s all about logistics. Getting groceries, getting to the doctor, getting the kids, etc. It’s about getting things done. Your support system is everything. Without it […]
Canned Extrovert
I am a weird mix of introvert and extrovert. People who know me – friends or colleagues – would all call me a “flaming extrovert”. Generally this is true. However; in situations out in the world that I don’t have context for, or situations that are adverse to me seeing, I am a decided introvert. […]
Performing
I sing. Funny that a voice like a fog horn. A tuned fog horn of course. But still very loud and distinctive. I have done a number of shows over the years with lead roles and chorus roles, for amateur and professional companies. So I really can sing. I even do the national anthems from […]
Realizing My Potential
Have you ever noticed how, depending on you take on things, God or the universe chooses to talk to us? Have you ever noticed how often we are given messages? There are countless songs poems stories etc about how we are spoken to. The subtle the sublime and sometimes the sledgehammer on our stubborn heads, […]
Normal
None of us like to feel or admit we are different. I look at my choice of careers. I used to shun the musician, masseuse thing as it was stereotypically blind. I now am spending more time singing and want to learn the message trade. I chose a career in information technology “IT”. Why because […]
Angry Blindman
CNN has provided much inspiration for my writing recently. There was a headline recently about Obama in the context of the BIG oil spill. A lot of people want Obama to get mad and kick some butt. When your a member of a “group” of people be it a color creed or disability you are […]
