Disability Blog Carnival 81 ... It's All About The Love

I heart you ... blue wheelchair guy. I like how you sit so purposely in your wheelchair. I like how you are marking out territory, it's kinda hot really. Like maybe you peed on the four corners of the parking space. I love how you look directly forward, into the future, like a kind of skinny visionary. Yep, I have a symbol crush on that dude who watches over me and my car. I heart how he makes the world just a bit more accessible for me. I heart what it means that he's there. I really do.

I heart so many things. By the way I'm absolutely NOT using the <3 symbol because when I first saw it I thought it odd that they'd come up with a pictogram for testicles, now I can't see the heart for the testicles - which may simply mean I'm a gay man. I heart my wheelchair, particularly the self powered one, the one in which I sit in Winnipeg and write this. The one in which I sat in London, and New York, and San Francisco, and Vancouver, and, well, a lot of different places. I'm able to do what I do because it does what it does. I look for it when I land at the airport, I look for it when I swing out of the car, I look for it first thing in the morning when I need to head in to shave. I heart it. I really, really, heart it.

Because I love these things so much, I decided that I'd like to host a Valentines version of the Blog Carnival where we get to proclaim our love for that which makes the world accessible. The first to come in was from Planet of the Blind where there was posted a lovely post in tribute to guide dogs. I was immediately pleased to have chosen this topic because I watch service animals with wonder, and maybe a bit of envy. Following hot on the heels of that post I got one from Gimp 'Tude who stated that she refuses to love what simply ought to be, I didn't read these posts until today, wanting them to be fresh in my mind and this is a 'That's as it should be, Eddie, that's as it should be' post and I liked the twist this added to my reading.

Before getting much into Lene, at The Seated View's post, I was smiling. She writes about her power chair and mentions that it's blue. I remembered immediately that they tried to force me, no kidding, to get a red one because red is 'zippy'. I pointed out that something that goes five miles an hour isn't, by definition, zippy. But Lene's experience mirrors my own. I work and I contribute because of what makes the world accessible. Over at Hand 2 Mouth there is a reflection about what we have, what we lose and how we need to fight to keep what we need - along with that, there is a sense of thankfulness for the means with which speech turns into words and words turn into action. At I Am Not My Disease the need for connection and the love of the things that make that possible continues as a theme. And Atomic Geography takes it all a bit further and asks an interesting question about our relationship to our machinery.

Ettina over at Abnormal Diversity broadens the discussion to include ... well, it's a lovely read, I won't try to summarize it. But what is made clear is that there is much to love and many things and many people to be grateful for. And SeaLinc2 talks about what it takes to 'blow the stink off' which is an expression I love and has just entered into my vocabulary. I love things that are so delightfully descriptive and that's a term that meets that standard.

Girl With A Cane ponders the nature of the friendship, the relationship, we have with our mobility devises. She wonders 'if my cane were a person ...' We'll end with Here Be Dragons who takes a familiar passage and gives it a real twist ... anyone who knows me I like a bit of twisted love myself!

Well, that's another blog carnival! I enjoyed touring the Disabled Blogosphere and reading the various posts. I hope you do too. Please leave a comment when you visit. I love them and I'm guessing they all will too. I should say one more thing ...

Joe and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day ... we tend to express our love throughout the year and the artificiality of this day strikes me wrong somehow. But this blog carnival taught me that I need to remember to express my love and my thankfulness about my accessibility more often.  It also reminded me that I don't often stop and say thank you and I heart you to all of you readers who come back here so faithfully. So consider yourself hearted today.

PS: The Carnival terrifies me because every time I've done it I've lost a post, I tried to be more organized this time but ... well, it isn't a strength. If you sent one in and it isn't here, its simply because I've misplaced it. Let me know and I'll include it ... I ask now for forgiveness that I probably don't deserve.

PPS: It appears that there is a need for a volunteer for a Carnival next month. Contact Disability Studies to sign up.