Geo: On A Personal Note...

I always love it when we do shows dealing with exceptional people who overcome the challenges that have been given to them in the form of a physical disability. I am a firm believer that anyone, regardless of their lot in life, can accomplish almost anything they put their heart and mind into.

But there is this incredibly deep respect I have for those who succeed in spite of physical limitations. Perhaps that is most notably so, because I grew up with one such person.

If you had to ask me who my hero was, I'd be hard pressed to say Superman, or spout off the name of an epic painter, or brilliant scientist. Because, in reality, my hero has always been my little sister.

My younger (and only) sibling, was born physically disabled. The day she was born, the doctors were concerned because she only had one fully formed hand - the other only had a small, partial palm, a small stub of a thumb, and four teeny-tiny nubs of fingers (without bone).

I grew up accustomed to the stares, the whispers, the awkward questions people would ask. Some days it would downright embarass me that people could be so cruel, and other days I wished that I could just confront every person I saw and say, "Hey! Just deal with it!"

I mean, it wasn't like she had a choice - as people with physical disabilities don't. It's not like you wake up one morning and decide to get a giant Homer Simpson tattoo on your face and then wonder why people point and whisper. No one thinks it's a great idea to just wake up the next morning with a disability.

Granted, I am painfully aware of the curiosity of others. We naturally ponder, and wonder, about things we have never experienced before and do not fully understand. We may have questions and we may seek to know more information. But one must require tact, people.

After all, you wouldn't walk up to any person on the street and ask them bluntly, "So, tell me, how exactly do you go about having a bowel movement?" (Or I would hope you wouldn't. Well, maybe you might if you were Borat.)

Point being, that there is a level of appropriateness to how you should act in public or things you should say to ANYONE. Whether they are disabled, or just have their nylons tucked into the back of their skirt.

And this is why I feel that people like Josh Blue, and our Athletes, are so vital to this education. It puts the issue in your face, and forces you to deal with people who may not look, talk, walk, move, experience the world as able-bodied people do. You get past those perceptions and stereotypes, discovering that first and foremost disabled people are PEOPLE.

After all, you haven't met my sister yet. Despite only having one functional hand, she has created her own success story. Studying in the Hotel/Restaurant Management field, she was serving tables in a four-star dining establishment for years - often taking on twice as many tables as her able-bodied counterparts. I mean, do you have any idea how hard it is to balance arms full of dishes and properly serve high-end customers with that kind of physical limitation?

Yet, she was one of their most productive and highest tipped employees.

This is a girl who never says die. I don't think I have ever seen her back down from anyone, or anything, that she was told she 'couldn't' do. Not only did she do it, she did it so well that it made the rest of us (me included) look bad.

Things that I normally take for granted - like typing, or texting - she has adapted with a scary-good skill (and even though she might kill me for confessing this, I KNOW that she can drive a car, drink a coffee and talk on her cell phone all at the same time. That's something I've never been able to accomplish. Even her parallel parking puts me to shame.)

My sibling has hundreds of friends on facebook, and the scary part is that they are almost entirely people she has met and befriended in life. Her can-do personality and her charisma have earned her friends wherever she goes - a popularity that always made me (the nerd) green with envy.

She's a mother, a wife, a housekeeper, and an executive. She makes it all look easy, even though I can't imagine what it's like to try and change the diaper of a squirming baby with only one hand. (Try it sometime. I dare ya.)

In fact, her life is so painfully normal that I often forget that she has a disability at all. It isn't until someone points it out that I have to actually stop and think about it.

But, I wouldn't change that for the world. Growing up with her has taught me so much about tolerance, and the perils of making snap-judgements and perceptions of people. In fact, my rule of thumb has quickly become that the only disability I will not tolerate... is ignorance.

So thank you, my sister...and my hero... for teaching me a valuable lesson in life. For you've shown me the power of determination, and the courage to live to the fullest of your potential.

My sister... successful in almost everything she touches.

And as her elder brother, I can't tell you how insanely hard it is to live up to that bar.

Especially as a volunteer radio host, slash starving writer, slash laid off office minion, slash bachelor.

...

Talk about your sibling rivalry.