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[fajrdrako]

I had dinner at The Peach Garden on Montreal Road tonight.

When I was just leaving the washroom, a woman came in who was noticeably but not offensively drunk. She looked at me and my crutches with deep sympathy. "That must be a real pain in the ass," she said.

There's something about crutches - I've never had so many strangers be nice to me.

Comments

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Awwww! Perhaps you resemble The Little Match Girl? ;)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The Little Match Girl, yup, that's me!

Next they'll be putting me on the ad for Les Miserables.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Aww. That's nice.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was.

And supper was terrific.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

There's nothing better than a good Chinese meal for sheer comfort food.

I met a musical friend of mine tonight whom I hadn't seen for a few months. It turns out she'd been in a car accident & broken her hip. She's still in a wheelchair but should be able to start to be weight-bearing in a couple weeks, and thankfully is expected to make a full recovery.

It appears as though hips heal much faster than ankles -- her accident occurred months after yours.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to suspect (or fear) that ankles take longer than anything else. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

Car accidents - shudder. I'm glad to hear your friend will be all right, but I'm sure it's a hard time for her, however brief it may (comparatively) be.

Chinese food - yes, so comforting, and so good. I have a passion for the jar du chicken wings at The Peach Garden.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Two thoughts.

Tennessee Williams (speaking through Blance DuBois) certainly had it right, no?

And, seeing you go through all this has done for me what my own experiences of impairment never did: I'm vastly more aware now of how much it does mean to someone just to offer a kind word like that. I always do hold doors and so on -- and, on occasion I get a dirty look for it, as if someone had been pitied one time too many and was unable not to take it out on a non-pitying person simply giving them a hand -- but now I feel much more comfortable offering a word as well, whereas in the past I never found myself able to say anything in those instances.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes. Sympathetic words, or bits of help, are really appreciated - I have to really struggle with doors and some are incredibly heavy. I so appreciate automatic doors and doors with buttons to push that open them.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

I found that young people are much more likely to stand there and look blankly at you, maybe giggle, but not step in and help.

Yes, some doors are very heavy. I tend to hold them for elderly people just as a matter of course. And if I get a look of reproach, I just smile and say something like, "It's pretty heavy, you all right?" or else just write it off to their having a bad day! Holding doors is just one of those things you do to make everyone's life easier, eh?

I'm glad you find moments of sympathy when you are needing them most. It reassures me that my idea that most people in the world are, at core, good -- well, that I'm possibly right [g].

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I've encountered some very courteous young people - young male teens, for example, who are extremely helpful and courteous. Nice to see.

I tend to hold doors for anyone, if I can, whatever their ages or genders. And sometimes I stand holding the door... and holding it... and holding it... as a stream of people go by. Maybe I should hold my hand out for a tip.

Yeah, people are mostly all right, despite what you hear on the news.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Yes. People do tend to rise to the moment.

I stand holding the door... and holding it... and holding it...

This is known as "establishing the convention." If people see someone else doing something, they assume the others know more about the situation than they do, and they do what the other people are doing. I have had that happen to me, too. Holding the door and then realizing that all the people think it's maybe my job, or something. It can feel quite awkward!

People are mostly nice. I have noticed this personally on many, many occasions. But it's the occasional sadist who always catches me by surprise... sometimes I think the bullies of the world actually do have the psychic power to pick people like me out of a crowd, and go right for us.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't mind holding doors - when I can!

Yeah, there are sadists around, or people who are just inconsiderate, unkind, or self-involved. Otherwise there wouldn't be Paul Bernardos. Best avoided if possible.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

's what makes Paul Bernardo so scary. Sigh.

I also hold doors when I can. It's just something nice. It makes me feel good.