Disability Humor

A lot of my friends with disabilities have a wicked sense of humor. I spend almost the entire week of my trips to Ski for Light with visually impaired folks deflecting practical jokes about my wheelchair since I'm the only person in a wheelchair. I'll hear a cane tapping my wheelchair for a few minutes and then a grinning blind person will say,
"Oh, that must be you, Ruth."

Very funny.

I like to ski up on my sitski behind them and their sighted guide and say "Watch out!" as I go past. I see their heads turn slightly, then they grin, wave their ski poles and yell "I'll see YOU later."

And on it goes.

The best part is at the end of the week when I do a "sit down " comedy routine and, of course, include blind jokes. "Throw things," I tell them. "You'll miss me anyway." The local patrons in the bar look aghast at me making fun of the "blind people". The blind audience is, meanwhile, hooting and jeering me. It's quite a scene.

And we love each other very much.

I often wonder if able bodied people would be more comfortable around the disabled if they felt free to join in with, say, "quad jokes", like my good friends do. I think, sadly, people worry so much about saying the wrong thing that they sometimes say nothing at all. I can understand this. Our society is far too concerned with being politically correct and, quite frankly, that pretty much eliminates a sense of humor.

All I know is that this (sometimes) very tired quadriplegic misses her blind friends' ribbing and jokes and would love to have someone stumble into my wheelchair and say
"Oh, that must be you, Ruth."

It's all in good fun.

By the way, the guy in the picture above MUST be a chronic offender for them to lock his wheels for parking in the no parking zone. I've gotten away with it many times. :: grin:::