Thanks to his speech therapist, Gareth has been using a keyboard/touchpad system to type out his thoughts for the past couple weeks.  Usually, it’s pretty typical stuff.  “Play videogames” or “when is dad coming home” or “go bookstore”.

But not today.  Today, Gareth asked something I’m sure he’s wondered about for a very long time.  He asked why he doesn’t eat with his mouth.

Brandy sat down with him and explained why it is that he doesn’t eat like everybody else.  I don’t know whether or not he was satisfied with the answer or whether or not being different has caused him any heartache, but it’s so incredibly amazing that he can finally ask us these questions.

I’m sure we have many more topics to cover - why he can’t walk, why he needs suction, why he can’t talk like us.  And we’ll answer every one of them openly and honestly.

And while it won’t always be easy to talk about these things, we at least now have the opportunity to do so.  We have about 5 years of talking to catch up on.

About a week ago, Brandy and I took a look at a house for sale that had a very appealing location.  We’re passing on it because the house needs far too much work.

But during the showing, I was talking with the realtor and mentioned some of the challenges we would face in the house because we have a son in a wheelchair.

As soon as I said “our son is in a wheelchair”, he interrupted me to say, “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

This happens frequently, and I get it - people just don’t know how to react to that info.  So I’m here to help.  Here’s a quick guide towards an appropriate reaction:

- If “in a wheelchair” is said in the middle of a sentence and is said matter-of-factly, that means the speaker is cool with it and does not need your empathy. Don’t interrupt, and don’t evoke pity.

- If “in a wheelchair” is at the end of a sentence and is said with some emotion while being followed by a dramatic pause, go ahead with the sorry.  The speaker is looking for it.

- If “in a wheelchair” is yelled while the speaker is pounding on your car window, it means you parked too close to the van accessible space and the driver can’t get the wheelchair ramp down and get his son out of the car because you park like an idiot.  No sorry required, just move your ass.

That should cover most of the scenarios in which one would have to deal with a sudden revelation of disability.  If you encounter any others and find yourself at a loss for an appropriate response, please feel free to consult me for further guidance.

I recently dumped a few photos of Collin on Flickr and have looked at them a number of times.  They’re insanely cute shots of him wearing a cowboy hat and themed shirt.  But as much as they make me smile, they also make me a bit sad.

Seeing Collin smiling, sitting up, rolling over, reaching, standing, eating, laughing, and babbling has been great fun.  There’s no denying that.  The problem is that I then contrast that with our experiences in Gareth’s infancy.  Doctors, nurses, therapists, monitors, mist tubing… unable to sit, stand, roll over, eat. 

At the time, I was so shellshocked by the whole situation that I don’t think I ever stopped to consider what we weren’t experiencing.  And, with time, I grew comfortable with the realization that I should just enjoy the things Gareth could do instead of wishing for the things he couldn’t.  

Now we have a kid who can do all those things, and I feel guilty taking pleasure in them.  I feel like every time I enjoy Collin’s development, I’m somehow discounting Gareth’s.  Every time I play with Collin, I have to wonder if I played the same with Gare.  And every time I take Collin’s picture, I feel like I need to swing around and snap a few of Gare to maintain balance in the universe.

At some point, soon, Collin will surpass Gareth physically.  It’s going to be a challenge finding a way to keep Gareth encouraged to work hard at achieving the things that will come easily to his little brother.

But I love both my boys.  We’ll figure it out.

The CDT Online has a few more shots, one of which is me. It also states that the reason I rode with AAA was because of Gareth, which, while true, isn’t the whole story. I was there representing BikeAble, but BikeAble wouldn’t exist without Gare.

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A while back, Gareth and I were in the CDT … somewhere between the legs of a circus elephant.

Well, today, I was in the CDT myself.  Or at least the two front wheels and the flag of my trike were.  I’m on the right, hidden behind Joe.

Believe me, I’m not angry.  The ride wasn’t about me.  I just thought it funny to once again almost be in the paper.

I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’ve been invited to ride a short stretch with Amputees Across America on Monday, followed by demos at the HealthSouth rehab hospital and then a luncheon with their department heads and lead therapists during which time I will give a 5-10 minute talk about accessible cycling and do a short Q&A.

Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning.

The 99 Designs experiment was interesting, and I did walk away with a logo that I mostly liked, but it doesn’t really compare to what a professional graphic designer can pump out.  With that, here is the new and final BikeAble logo as created by Shannon Lake of Lake Creative Communications:

To say I’m happy with this design would be an understatement.  Now I need to rush an order of new business cards in order to have them for the WCD Expo next week.

And then I need to erase all mention of BikeAble from this site so that nobody comes here by accident when looking up info on it.  No offense to myself, but I hardly think the contents of this blog are suitable for a disability organization.

Well, except for that entry on disabilities and masturbation.  No no, even that’s pushing it.  Oh well.

I’m really loving this logo design that was submitted earlier today.

Honestly, what’s not to like? It nailed the inclusion of something recognizable as bike gear while also pulling in the human aspect in a way that looks tight! Opinions?

I’m not sure if I like the use of gray as opposed to black, but I should be able to play with that once I get the vector art.

Forget that lamenting over logos crap.  I found 99 Designs, which lets you set up a contest with a dollar reward (minimum $100).  I set up my contest on Friday and already have some good designs (one that I love).

This is much easier than the other avenues I pursued.  And the results come quick!

I’m trying to get going on a new long-term project.  It’s a service that goes by the name BikeAble that offers free consulting to anyone who has a physical limitation of some sort that keeps them off a bike when they’d rather be out riding.

This naturally spawned from two events.  First was going through the paces of getting Gareth his bike and adapting it accordingly.  Second was going to the PSU retiree fair and talking to a bunch of people who long ago gave up on bicycling because they had no idea what possibilities existed for them.

As usual, I’m going about things in a backward manner.  Instead of just saying, “Hi, I represent BikeAble” and getting out there to help folks, I’m working to get a site set up, get my partnerships in place (RBR is on board), and get a logo designed.

I thought for sure that I could make up something suitable for a logo, but after purchasing a Wacom Bamboo tablet, I came to the sudden realization that hardware purchases do not translate into artistic skill or sudden knowledge of Adobe Illustrator.  (Not that I regret buying the tablet.  It’s awesome for me in Photoshop.)

What to do?  I posted an ad at work that resulted in a hit from a graphic designer in NYC who waived his usual $3K “creative” fee but still wants to charge me $50/hr with an estimate of 9-10 hours.  Come on now.  I don’t really have $500 to throw at a logo, no matter who designs it.

So then I hit Craigslist and found somebody in Williamsport willing to do one up for $125.  That’s much better.

But then I hit the mother lode - I hooked up with Elance and put in a project.  Bids have been flying in from as low as $75 and as high as $500+.  There are a couple in the $120-140 range that look promising, so I’ll be combing their portfolios to get a sense of their usual clientele.

Of course, I thought about hitting up INART on campus, but I figured the semester is nearly over making it unlikely that any students want to pick up my little project for the fun of it.

It’s good to have options, but I really had no idea how challenging it was going to be to find somebody to help me with this at a price that won’t kill me.