glare weather friends

It comes so naturally.

No grown-ups required.

Kids get it, friends get it.

On a sunny morning, waiting for the ANZAC Day march to set off, you need nothing more than your ‘glare weather friends’.

VIDEO DESCRIPTION

Shot 1: Image of Mac and his peers facing into the sun. Mac’s eyes closed from the glare.

Shot 2: a friend holding her hand up to provide shade for Mac’s eyes.

when stuff just happens…

fridge magnet friday…

I often hear parents of children with disabilities voice concern over people staring at their kids… but is the alternative better?

Louis Lim’s powerful observation makes me absolutely sure I will continue to embrace any prolonged gazes cast towards Mac.   I don’t ever want him to be invisible to his community, invisible to our society or to be “eliminated from our consciousness”.

So I guess I offer a word of caution to those who have difficulty accepting the ‘stare’. “Be careful what you wish for”, there might just be way more at stake if a stare, a sidewards glance, a gawk  or an outright ‘gape’ is eliminated – invisibility is a poor alternative.

Check under the fridge for more information on Louis Lim…

happy fourth…

We enjoyed our first ever Fourth of July in the USA last week.

Taking a weeks holiday on the way home from the Society for Disability Studies annual conference in Orlando, Florida we got to experience some wonderful times with great people both in Orlando and LA.

In true form we didn’t miss the opportunity to “pimp” Mac’s wheelchair – he was well and truly ready to celebrate in style with the rest of the USA.  A couple of flags some cut up plastic tablecloths woven to represent the USA flag on his wheels and his chair was right to go.

The exciting part was we actually got to participate IN the local parade with our friends and their friends who also had international visitors staying.  We helped decorate a ’66 Ford pickup, decked ourselves out in flag shirts from Old Navy and sat back and enjoyed the ride.

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