AAAHHHHH, I was nicely surprised

In this book I was reading mentioned previously I wrote about that horrible character. Well, closer to the end of the book she tells the main character that she had the crush on, that she has had past lovers and was going back to one of them. She asks him if he is surprised. She tells him that the fact that he supposes that she can never experience happiness or joy in life hurts her. So, basically she challenges his stereotypical views and I was really glad to see it!

Horrible Character

I am currently reading the book "Empire Falls" by Richard Russo. It took me quite a while to get into it. It was on the recommended reading table at my library. There is a character in the book who is disabled from a young age after being hit by a car. She is totally a stereotypical character of a "cripple" which is how everyone things of her. She is painted as someone to pity and loathe. Poor Cindy, is how most of the town thinks of her. She is not at all motivated to do physical therapy and is described as both spoiled and weak. She is also someone who has spent half her life in mental hospitals. She tried to kill herself over the main character in the book the only person who even remotely showed her any friendship when she was growing up, which he did because his mother convinced him that poor Cindy's life was so miserable that he out to be kind to her, being a good Catholic, which he was. She declared her undying love for him in high school and he has been afraid of her ever since, but when she comes back to town after a long absence he invites her to a football game in spite of himself. She is also the daughter of his boss, the richest woman who owns half the town. God! The whole thing is so stereotypical. I have been feeling angry the last few days and I realize it is because of this book. The way this character is portrayed is exactly how I fear that others see me. (Minus the mental hospital part: I have never been in one). However, she also reminds me of an ex-boyfriend who had CP and spent a good deal of time in mental hospitals after I broke up with him. He was constantly threatening to kill himself over me. Ugh. I don't want to think of him. A few times I thought of not finishing the stupid book, but I can never do that. I always have to see how it turns out even if I hate it!

All is quiet, for now

There is nothing new in my Criplife, to be honest, other than the fact that my lawyer informed me that I may be able to move to a new category of Medicaid without being cut off all together, which would be a blessing indeed. OK, now that I said there was nothing new, I am thinking of things to blog about. For one, the kids at school have been observed by me making fun of my gait. I talked with the Guidance Counselor about how to respond and she recommended that I ask them how they would feel if someone made fun of them. Since that discussion, a couple weeks ago, I haven't seen anyone doing it. I am just waiting though. One of the 7th graders came in with crutches on Thursday after spraining her ankle, and her friend was trying out the crutches. She then asked to try mine, and she prefaced it by saying: "Look I am Miss T." I thought she was going to imitate me, but she didn't. On the one hand, I expected this and am not surprised. Actually, I thought I would see more of it. At the same time there is a part of me that is still a kid inside who wants to belt them and call them names. Do any of us ever lose that little kid enough not to be bothered by being made fun of?