CarrollBlog

A strange, electric moment: At the supermarket checkout line, there's a severely handicapped man in a motorized wheelchair in front of me. In front of him is a woman with a little boy who is crying loudly. The woman is preoccupied with getting the groceries out of her cart and onto the conveyor belt. The child cries louder and louder. The woman ignores him. Suddenly for the first time, the boy turns and sees the man in the wheelchair. His eyes widen but he grows silent. The man says gently and sweetly, "That's okay. You'll be home soon." And keeps talking to the boy, obviously attempting to calm him. The child begins to take in and grasp the enormity of the man's freakish body-- the tiny legs, the one regular arm, the other very short, his twisted torso. And as the man continues to say quiet soothing things, the kid suddenly freaks out and starts to scream. As if he's seen the first ogre in his life. And in a heartbreaking way, he has.