Roll Model

Teyve in Fiddler on the Roof’s, If I Were a Rich Man sings “ If you’re rich they think you really know”, I am finding that if you work at an information and referral line everyone assumes I know everything. This can get a little heady if one starts to believe what people are saying about you. I just got off the phone with my buddy Steve, a fairly high official in our fair State government. Steve is an attorney training, bright, middle aged single and significantly disabled. Steve’s disability is progressive and quite frankly I am surprised that the lad is still alive. Like many neuro-musculature, progressive disabilities it not the disability which kills the person but secondary issues like respiratory o urinary which finally “offs”

the person. I get the impression that Steve saddles up his power wheelchair every day and drives his van up to the State capitol building where he has his office. If Steve has done this the past six weeks he has exposed himself to probably lethal quantities of Salt Lake city aversive air pollution. Yet the boy still lives.

Everyone knows that attorneys are or can be jerks. I used to think Steve fell into this category and he probably does to some degree. Be that as it may, I want to say I appreciate Steve for all his irascibility. Steve lives a fairly high visible life style. It is not unusual to see Steve sitting on the sidelines at the local NBA home-team with beautiful girls adorning his side. He is the only person with a disability I know living the “highlife”. I appreciate that and I a appreciate him being the roll model ( no pun intended) for other folks with disabilities.

I happened to run into the lad over the Christmas holidays and I was taken aback at how “gray” the lad had become. I am not really sure how old Steve is but I know he must be close to his fifty’s now if not now in his fifties. I was struck with the thought this attorney is not going to live for ever and I was saddened a bit. If and when Steve “kicks” and Steve will kick. I am afraid sooner then later, the local disability community with suffer a great loss. This loss will not be the loss of a leader or someone who made huge changes in legislation or disability issues but what our community will loose is a great player. One of our own who burst white “entitlement ceiling” and went pro in his own right. Someone who had the ability to purchase “season tickets” on the floor and did. This is not an obituary for Steve is very much still with us and I hope so for some time to come. I donot see a contender out there in the wings any where or in the bull pen.

So Take care of yourself Steve, Indulge, by all means, so that we flunkies with disabilities can vicariously live through you and have a goal to consider. But remember ‘wisdom in all things”.