I hasten to say, I think it's a matter of priorities rather than using one's disability to justify such things.  Young people can be awfully selfish, and one's priorities does change with age and hopefully, wisdom.

Kat

"St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Oh I see... OK hmmmm...let's see...Yes, I've gone off and done my own thing rather than be with family members a few times, not very often.
I remember going to my college roommate's house for Thanksgiving one year rather than travel up to DC for the holiday, and one year, I worked Xmas Day (but had to).

Kat

"St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List"  wrote:
> Well, I was sort of speaking in the sense of more intimate relationships.
In my case, for example, my ex and current wives.  I was driven internally
to demonstrate that I could do all of these cool things, yet I feel my most
intimate relationships were harmed by this single-mindedness.  I've always
been mannerly and courteous, but what I'm talking about is an ongoing desire
to put another's needs CONSISTENTLY ahead of my own.  Only after I realized
that did I have success in those closest relationships.  Those days when I
was out in the studio, tweaking and tweaking a mix because I wanted it to be
perfect, I could have been in the house playing with my daughter or
interacting with my ex.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Salkin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 2:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: kyle's varied past


D'you mean, was I a spoilt brat or a bitch?  Well, I dunno... I'd like to
think not.  I've never been one to go for the limelight, and frankly, I've
never thought it was my God-given right to ride over other people just
because I'm disabled.  My parents taught me everyone needs consideration,
able-bodied, or disabled, and that included good manners and consideration
for other's feelings.  My mother's mother ("Nana") lived with us, and she
was also disabled, so I wasn't treated as if I were the prima donna of the
family.

Now, I do admit to being arrogant sometimes when expressing my opinion but I
think that's being outspoken, not a spoilt brat or whatever you want to call
it.

Kat





"St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List"
wrote:
> I can't imagine this, Kat, but did you "step" on people to excel?  Did you
consider it your "right" because you were disabled?

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Salkin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 1:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: kyle's varied past


Oh, yes, my parents pushed me harder to socialise and do things than they
did my sisters (although if you were to ask them, they'd say I was let off
easy).  My teachers were rather easy-going about pushing us to excel until
the 5th grade, when my teacher then woke up to the fact that a few of us
brighter disabled students were going to be mainstreamed and we were
woefully unprepared for it.  So thus began a two-year effort to bring us up
to speed, which I hated at the time, being rather lazy about studying, but
later, I was quite grateful.

Kat