“We will never get to the front!”
I tried to reassure my daughter
while struggling to imagine
how this ride could possibly be
worth the wait unless Harrison
Ford himself sat next to us in
the Temple of Doom. We were
at Disneyland and the beautiful
Southern California day had
become hot and sticky.
“Daddy, look!” my son said. “I
see a way in with no line!”
My gaze followed his pointed
finger to a nearby doorway.
“Buddy, the park reserves that
entrance for people who are hurt
or have physical conditions that
make it hard for them to wait.
People with disabilities or those
with special needs use that
entrance to get on the ride.”
“Well, let’s go through that door
then because I have a special
need. I can’t wait any longer!” he
said.
“I am not sure you have the kind
of special need we are talking
about,” I told him. “That entrance
helps people who really need
help.”
“Like him?” My son pointed at a
young man in a wheelchair in the
row behind us. I gently lowered
my son’s hand and smiled in the
direction of the young man in
question.
The man smiled and waved at
my son. He looked like any other
twenty-something at the park
except that his right leg ended
at the knee.
“Well, yes,” I said. “He probably
could use that entrance.”
“Then why doesn’t he?” my son
said.
“Excuse me, but I couldn’t help
but overhear you.”
Mortified, I turned to see the
young man in the wheelchair
now almost directly behind us in
the next row.
“Sorry,” I said. “It’s just that—”
“No problem,” the man said and
smiled. “I understand. It is fine,
really. I just overheard your
son and wanted to answer his
question if I may. My name’s
Jeff, by the way.”
We shook hands, and I introduced
myself and my family.
“I do not use the handicapped
entrance,” Jeff said, “because
I do not think of myself as
handicapped. Sure, I don’t have
all of my right leg, but that does
not keep me from living my life.
I still go to work, play basketball
with my friends, and go wherever
I want.”
“Like Disneyland,” my son said.
“Exactly!” Jeff said. “You are
only limited by the way you
Solutions • 31