Here

Breakfast!

The most important meal of the day. Today began when we pulled into the hotel restaurant ready to tuck into a breakfast womp up. We're used to hotel restaurants. They are usually full of business men prepping to be important. To look important. To say important things. Captains of Industry. Men of action. Women of determination. Yada yada.

Joe and I are both used to being the stick in the stream that forms eddies in the water. The one's that people glance at. The one's that make people evaluate how we can, in our Birks and our jeans, afford to stay in the same hotel as their vaulted selves. At first we were intimidated but now it's fun.

But today we're staying in a hotel where a People First conference is to be held this weekend. Several people with disabilities are here to meet and to prepare for the conference. Breakfast was like a diversity version of the Star Wars bar. People who moved differently - like me were there. People who walked with a decided list - were there. People who communicated differently - were there. People who ate differently, smiled differently and related differently - were there. And damn us all to hell we were sitting in all different segments of the restaurant.

As the suits, and fine suits they were too, came into the restaurant you could see by their faces that they were distracted to the point of loss of coordination by all the difference around them. They didn't know what to do with their eyes. Some even missed their mouths as their eyes would be drawn by a new entry away and their fork would miss the target.

We were in the majority.

Tee hee. Tee hee.

I wonder what stories they'll tell.

But the moral of the story will always be the same - even if they don't tell it.

We're here.

Despite your best efforst, we're still here.