She was big alright, just like they said, the largest of ladies calmly lying there naked and beautiful in all her glory and magnificence, beckoning the next customer, available and receptive to all who wanted her, but at a price.
This lady was both mistress and master; imposing, in charge, in waiting, as if daring someone to challenge her authority, but no such challenge would come, for she was the last of her kind, the Queen of all she surveyed.
The well-respected lawyer stood up to speak to the conference in his role as the new Chairman of the Schumacher Disability Association.
“I have been an idiot and you can quote me on that!”
“Let me take this opportunity to apologise to all the disabled people here today and throughout the UK and beyond, for I have been a fool in my lifetime, an ignorant selfish fool who could have used his able-bodied prowess and higher education to help so many.
“Sadly, I did not, for I was blinded by my own physical and mental abilities which I took for granted.
“Now, at last, I hope I can put that right.
“In the last year, this charity has raised over £1 million for disabled men and women in the UK alone, and huge amounts more in the USA. It would never have happened in the UK if it wasn’t for a chance meeting I had with a little guy from South Carolina, with a big heart, our President and founder sat right next to me today, Mr Gary Schumacher.
Applause filled every corner of the international conference at the Birmingham NEC.
“Unwittingly he changed my whole mindset and set me free from the bondage of an unfulfilled life, for only now do I realise the importance of my fellow man, regardless of their physical ability, and maybe my purpose here on earth.
“Prejudice is a curse which at times afflicts us all. When something is different, we feel threatened, and our logic becomes flawed.
“The solution is to educate ourselves and open our minds to the possibilities we may have missed.
“As you will shortly find out, my journey into the world and restriction of disability began in 2019, but it’s now 2023 and the world has finally awoken to the fact that disabled people are human just like the rest of us.
“It’s taken me these last four years to grow up and on the recommendation of my American friend, I am delighted to accept the Chair of this fine organisation.
“You may well ask yourselves; if I was so immature then why on earth would he choose me, a successful, career-driven, able-bodied British lawyer? I shall tell you shortly, but first, let me ask you all a question.
“It is often said that to understand something we need to “walk a mile in another man’s shoes.
Please ask yourself, how can you do that, if he is in a wheelchair?
Let me tell you a story!”
