A Pink Flash Of Disability Visibility & A New Favorite Book

The kids are alright

In My Optimistic Era

I’ve grown accustomed to being the sole wheelchair user pretty much everywhere I go. Seeing another power wheelchair user is even rarer. And seeing another young person in a power wheelchair? Well, that’s like seeing a unicorn.

Since the weather is finally warming up, we’ve been spending weekend afternoons at a coffee shop nearby that has a great outdoor space. It’s always bustling with families, babies, dogs and kids of all ages. There’s a large flat green space where all the children mingle and play with each other.

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

Last weekend, there was a girl who looked about ten zooming all over the green space in her bright pink outfit and power chair. She was playing every game with the other kids and even leading some of the games. There wasn’t a hint of self-consciousness about her and the other kids weren’t giving her special treatment or anything, just treated her like a normal kid. She seemed like one of the “cool” girls of the group. I was proud.

At one point, she passed by in front of us and my niece flashed her a giant smile. It was one those hopeful smiles—hoping the cool older girl would ask her to play. The entire interaction made me so happy. The blindness Gen Z/Gen alpha has towards our differences is something else. They see everyone on a spectrum of normalcy, regardless of ability, gender, sexuality etc, and that gives me hope in the future. It reminds me of this iconic video.

I also wonder: it was powerful and insightful for me to see her, but I wonder what it was like for her to see me?

Monthly Faves

TV show: Severance - slow and trippy but such an original premise and well-written. It’s giving Lost vibes.

I also need to give another shout out The Pitt (HBO). The last episode had a Sisyphus reference (from my l

Podcast: Diabolical Lies - this is quickly becoming my entire personality (Taylor Swift is currently off the radar so the void needed filling). It’s hosted by two brilliant leftist women in a genre they call “intellectual shit-talking.” The episode A Tale of Two Algorithms literally broke my brain.

Book: East of Eden by John Steinbeck - This book is long, a classic, has infuriating levels of racism and misogyny, but, wow. I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved by a book. I was literally crying into the pages over a freaking conversation between characters. The insights reached were just so affecting and powerful.

The book follows the Trask family over three generations as they create a life in America at the beginning of the 19th century. It explores how we each have good and evil within us, whether from nature or nurture, but our choices determine the person we are. This book has my favorite literary character ever: Samuel Hamilton. Honorable mention: Lee

Espresso Martini: North Italia - the frangelico and oat milk add so much spark 🔥

Red carpet look: Selena Gomez at the Oscars 🤩

Song - Anxiety by Doechii

Okay, that’s all for now. I have to get back to reading and writing until Taylor Swift drops another album.

See ya ✌🏽 next month!

Yours,

Harshada