On Sat, Jan 19, 2002 at 11:32:43PM -0500, Betty B wrote:
    In a message dated 1/19/2002 2:04:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,
    [log in to unmask] writes:


    > Topics
    > Disabilities, Inspiration [ick, ick, ICK!], Motivation, Overcoming
    > Adversity, Overcoming Adversity [this appeared twice on the website -
    > an interesting mistake, and I'll refrain from ranting about my
    > distaste for this phrase, and the way it is *always* attached to
    > PWD's], Perserverance [remarks as above]
    >
    > His bio further down refers to the theme of his life as being "Triumph
    > Over Odds"........
    >
    Not as much inspiration as draw, I suspect.  I'd love to know the demographic
    picture of his average audience.


Oh, you know who they are Betty.  They're the complete strangers who
come up to you in the street and tell you that they think (and the
jury is still out on THAT one...) you/we are so brave, such an
inspiration for being out in the world, that if they were in our
situation they would kill themselves (promise???  pretty please with
sugar on top!), the ones who think they have the right to ask what's
wrong with you even if they don't know you from a bar of soap (had
that TWICE in fifteen minutes the other day, at an editing workshop I
attended, one of the people was the owner of the house where the
w/shop was being held, and I'd just struggled up a dozen aesthetically
pleasing but otherwise awful steps, and the house was REAAAAALLLY
obscenelly posh, just huge and fancy and very intimidating - the wife
is a doctor and the husband is an orthopaedic surgeon with a tax
problem - wifie is the one with the *tact* problem).  The ones that
think we are sooooooo brave for overcoming our difficulties
(difficulties that shouldn't even BE there in the first f*******
place).

Bet you this guy is raking in the audiences (and the cash), the public
looooove to have their predjudices confirmed.

Rayna