Another Experiance at the Grocery Store

Tiff and I seem to be having all the fun lately. My mom lives a block, maybe a block and a half from the grocery store. For someone who will never drive, the thought that I don't have to pay for a cab every time I have a craving on a whim, could almost give me an orgasm. Not the point of this post, but after 2+ years of her living here the novilty still has not worn off.

So this afternoon I walked over to drop off/pick up a refill of my all important new mood stabilizers. As I was leaving I saw a woman and her son, who is about 4ish comming in. The woman did not see me because she was paying attention to her son who was going for the manual chair/grocery cart combo--probably the greatest thing to a 4 year old. The mom grabs his hand and says "You don't need this. It's for handicapped people." Her son then says "What are handicapped people?" What did the mother say? After a brief pause she says "people who have handicaps." I think we made eye contact about then, but did not exchange words. That really answers the question absolutely perfectly, don't ya think? Handicapped people are people who have handicaps. No duh. I'm still working on how to talk to a 4 year old on their level, but how about "You don't need this, it's for people who have a hard time walking." I bet that would have been enough of an answer and there would not have been a follow up question. Or as a response to "What are handicapped people?" Maybe "people who have handicaps are people who do things differently because they might not see or walk or learn just like everyone else. This cart is here to help someone who has a hard time walking go grocery shopping." Is that too wordy for a 4 year old?

Saying "It's for people who have handicaps" is very all encompassing. Did I miss the memo that said all disabled citizens cannot walk? Let's not even talk about dyslexia or depression or any other invisable disability, because of course those things don't really exist. Let's go with something easier. How about a blind guy with a seeing eye dog? He's very ovbiously disabled and he can walk just fine. This woman is passing onto her son a very narrow schema of what disability is. That is, if he could even comprehend her response. Now, 8 hrs later, I wish I had said something as we passed on the sidewalk. Not something smart-assed but something beneficial and educational. I'm not quick enough on my feet though (no pun intended). And actually I'm still not sure what the right thing to say would have been. I've only ever been educational when I've had a previous invitation to do so. I'm new at this. Ideas?