I may be in a wheelchair, I may wear these ugly shoes and ugly braces on my legs, and I may sometimes walk with crutches; but I am as much of a little boy as you are! Being disabled is NOT what makes me ME!!
I have interests too, in life, just like any boy..I love sports (I even play baseball on a team for disabled kids; and some are in WHEELCHAIRS, too, just like me!!), I love video games (I have QUITE the collection; I have TONS!!), I LOVE Poke'man (I bet I could help you with YOUR collection; people just keep on giving me these things!!), and I love to watch sports on televison--you name it, and I'll probably be watching it!
Especially football; I LOVE the Dallas Cowboys!! I also love the Miami Dolphins and the Denver Broncos!
I also love music, especially country. I have been lucky to have seen many of my favorite country music stars in concert; and I have been lucky to have met them, too!! I have met Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, and "Trick Pony", and I have even been backstage at the Grand Ole Opry (both the old and the "new" Opry)! I have also been lucky to have gone to Fan Fair several times, and to several big Cajun and country music festivals!
I love to read, which is something that hasn't been easy for me until recently; but thanks to extra after-school help, I am FINALLY near my friends; I am no longer behind; and that is a GREAT feeling!! I used to ~HATE~ school; now I ~LOVE~ school!
And people say I am ~CUTE~: I have white-blonde hair that I wear like Bart Simpson's--spike cut!--, big, blue eyes, and I wear glasses. People say I kinda' look like Johnathan Lipnicki, the actor from "Stuart Little", except they have no problems tellin' us apart, 'cuz my hair is a lot lighter, and I am in this dumb ol' wheelchair. And I am smaller than he is, too! It doesn't bother me much that I am cute, but I ~REALLY HATE~ the little girls huggin' and kissin' me; that drives me ~ABSOLUTELY UP THE WALL~!! WHY can't they leave my poor little cheeks ALONE????
Just because I am disabled, PLEASE don't treat me any different!
How would ~YOU~ like it if I did this to ~YOU~???? I am just a kid, but I am a kid first, and everything else--the wheelchair, crutches, leg braces; that sort of thing--is just second. That's NOT what makes me ~ME~; I am JOHNATHON SANDUSKY, and I am a KID.
Just like ~YOU~ are a kid!!!!
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Author's Note: Besides Ronee', the "star" of several of these stories, my other favorite "star" of several of my stories is none other than her brother, Johnny, who is the narrator of the above story. Johnny is unlike Ronee' in a lot of ways, but like his sister, he has a strong, unshakable spirit that belies his delicate health and shy nature; and he, like Ronee', "doesn't know the meaning of giving up."
Johnny is dying of a terminal disease, but even despite this, he acts like a typical little boy, and he loves and cherishes life. His courage is nothing short of astounding, and his only wish in life is to be accepted and treated with dignity and respect. Everybody deserves to be treated with compassion and love, and the disabled are certainly no exception. This was why I wrote this. Even though the little child is in a wheelchair or sometimes uses crutches to walk, he is a PERSON FIRST, and he doesn't like others calling attention to problems he has, problems he CAN'T CONTROL. Please try to be more understanding of the disabled and try to help them IF they need it; don't try to help them IF they DON'T want it; let them try to do things themselves. My little characters, Johnny and Ronee', are among that group, the disabled, and I wanted you to see the world through their eyes and go through what they experience. Hope you enjoy this story; I really enjoyed writing it!!
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Reviewed by Masarat Daud
8/9/2002
Yes I really enjoyed it like everything else you write Karen. I love your honesty. Nobody should be treated differently coz sometimes if u over-do showing 'love' for the people with special needs, it makes them self-conscious.
Why do all that. Treat them like normal ppl coz they really are normal. When they're not that incomfortable about their disability...then why should we be. Good write gurl!
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