Wheelz-O-Thunder

Wheelz-O-Thunder has been my handle since my senior year of high school and has garnered me a lot of "that's a sweet name," "that's fitting for your crazy driving," and "are you a trucker?" comments over the years. The name has defined me in my online/e-mail "life" but has rarely invaded my "real" life... until this past Saturday.

I was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park with my sister and a family friend enjoying the afternoon. We were going over a wooden footbridge when I hear a woman down below tell her friend she thinks it's going to rain because she hears thunder. My initial reaction was to look up... then it hit me... the sound she was hearing was my wheels rolling over the wooden planks of the footbridge. My friend and I both started cracking up at the same time, which probably only enhanced the thundrous noise the woman was hearing. The situation was extremely funny on its own, but it became absolutely hilarious when the thought of my handle entered my mind.

Later on, as I was left alone to my thoughts, I realized that this was yet another metaphor of life, particularly my life. We must accept the fact that we have an impact on others' lives. I have struggled with this fact for many, many years as I've had countless people tell me that I'm an inspiration or heroic to them. I simply think that I am leading my life as if I didn't have a disability; as "normally" as possible. To me, how can normal be inspirational? To others, however, there is nothing "normal" about my life and yet I have succeeded to get to where I am today. Others wonder in almost a state of bewilderment that I'm standing tall on that proverbial mountain top.

Perspective. Despite how hard one might try to explain to another what he or she experienced or witnessed the other person inevitably will see it in a different light. We must learn to accept this, to accept others' humanity, others' opinions. I must learn to accept I impact the lives of others even when I don't intend to... even when I pass overhead on a wooden footbridge. As a human race, we need to accept that there are billions of perspectives and billions of people who, to them, are seeing things correctly. Difference should be respected at the very least, and an effort made to understand that difference of perspective.