It’s a matter of semantics to most folks, but ask a person who is blind, deaf, paralyzed, etc., and they will tell you it matters greatly. People who don’t have a physical handicap are prone to refer to those who do as dis-abled. News flash! We’re not dis-abled; we’re handicapped. “Disabled” implies we are not able and that’s far from the truth. And it’s not just the people who have physical challenges who are handicapped. There’s the man who can’t get a job; the single mom w/ no financial support; the teen w/ abusive parents; the successful career woman who hides her crippling emotional baggage. Whether it’s chronic back pain or chronic heart pain, it’s a handicap. And we all have them.

I thought of Mike Orman recently and it brought all this to mind again. If you’ve heard my “Mike” story, just skip this part.

Mike used to build street rods, work on motorcycles and race both. After he went totally blind from diabetic retinopathy he still built street rods and worked on motorcycles. And occasionally some dummy would take him out on a back road and let him drive. One night Mike and his wife went out to dinner at Malone’s Fish & Steak House. When they were about to leave they ran into a sighted guy and his date. Since James worked w/ Mike, there was lots to talk about, but it was sprinkling rain. Mike’s wife noticed they had a flat & relayed this info to Mike. James said, “I’ll get my date seated and come back to help you.” Mike was removing the flat when he heard James walk up behind him and start talking. Since he didn’t offer to help, Mike continued the messy job of putting on the spare. When he finished, he put all the tools and the flat in the trunk and they were on their way. He sneered when he said to Wanda, “James certainly was a big help.” Wanda laughingly replied, “Yes, he was. He stood there and held the flashlight for you the whole time.”

You see, James didn’t think of Mike as disabled. To James he was just another guy who could take care of things. It probably took Mike a little longer to change the flat (hence the description handicapped), but he still accomplished the task with no help. Oh, except for the light of the flashlight, which he couldn’t see!

So when you catch yourself referring to someone as disabled, stop and think. Are they really? Or do they just have a handicap, like most other human beings?