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Meg: A large woman with short hair and a bright red shirt relates her experiences traveling by air post September 11th.
Video currently offline (3.5MB)(1min 36sec)
TRANSCRIPT: I told the guys at the metal detectors that my left knee is titanium,
it absolutely was going to set off alarms. Even so when I walked through, I was
suddenly surrounded by a cluster of blue blazers. Ahmed waved at me over the shoulder
of one of the officials. I emptied out my pockets. I walked back through. And I
was still setting off red rockets of alarms. Logan had run short on those little
wands they use to pass over people's bodies. So I had to be patted down by a security
expert. Now, here's the thing: I'm a lesbian Chandler Bing. I make jokes when I
get nervous. I had some tension to let off. I did okay when the skinny white straight
girl security expert started on me, but when she reached the region that my mother
called munchkin land, as in did you wash good in munchkin land (which made watching
the Wizard of Oz a surreal experience, but I digress). When her pale, well manicured
hands began exploring munchkin land for box cutters and plastic explosives, I couldn't
help myself. I said with complete Tupelo charm, "Thank you, thank you very much."
Adam: Dark haired, slim male wearing lightly tinted glasses and a beaded choker necklace answers questions posed by audience members about living with TBI (traumatic brain injury).
Video currently offline (1.3MB) (36sec)
TRANSCRIPT: Adam, what could you do before that you can't do now?
Oh, ah, let me think here. Umm.
Well I can... what I can do now that I couldn't do before... is .. I have an excuse
for some of the mistakes I can't explain.
Sarah: Dark haired woman in red manual wheelchair talks about her experiences going out in public with her friends.
Video currently offline (2.9MB) (1min 32sec)
TRANSCRIPT: Me and my attendant, Terri, went out to eat. And at this time I was
not using my wheelchair. Terri helped me walk in. We walked in, the hostess looked
right at Terri and said, "Does she want a menu?" And Terri looked straight at her
and said, "I don't know, ask her!"
Gene: 30ish male with long hair pulled back in pony tail, wearing a Cleveland Browns tee shirt and using a power wheelchair, talks to audience in front of stage.
Video currently offline (2.9MB) (1min 24sec)
TRANSCRIPT: Do you remember that song, I'd rather be a hammer. I would rather be
a hammer than a nail. I used to sing I would rather be a para than a quad. Someone
once said that every para wishes they were an A.B. Able Body. And every A.B. wishes
they were Jane Fonda. I don't know if that's true, but I know everybody wishes they
were someone or something else. You know, it not unusual for those of us in the
disability community to look at someone else with a disability and say, "Wow, I'm
glad I don't have their disability." With all of the extensive medical background,
we can glance at someone and assess their abilities and commensurate quality of
life. We must be geniuses. I have known two worlds. One as an individual with a
disability and one as an able bodied person. Sometimes I compare myself to other
people with disabilities, but usually I compare myself to other people that are
able bodied. I would rather be who I am than be an ignorant A.B. I would rather
be almost anybody than to be Bill Clinton.
Actual Lives artists create amazing performances based on original autobiographical works. Please take some time to experience their stories.
