Have a Seat

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I used to take the light rail to work in downtown Dallas from my home in Richardson, Texas. The train was always full in the morning. Often, I would choose to stand rather than fumble my way through the car in hopes of finding an empty seat that probably wasn’t there until someone was guilted of getting up and giving me theirs.

Which brings me to the frequent dilemma that confronted me when I stepped into the front of that train car.   Should I take the seat that someone just got out of so I can sit down, or do I literally stand on principle?

Here’s the thinking. People tend to form lasting opinions based on first impressions. Do I not have a responsibility behalf of any other person who is blind that these people may encounter in the future to make the “right” impression? There was also just my plain ugly old pride.  If someone asked me, I would often say, politely I hope, “No. Thank you. My legs still work.” 

As I got older and my knees got achier, my resolve got weaker. If someone got out of their seat, especially without saying anything, I would sit in it. I could pretend I didn’t see it happen. I decided it wasn’t worth making a scene, and yeah, I’d rather sit.

Sometimes an elderly gentleman would get on with me who demanded we get seats.  He actually needed one.  I always felt a little embarrassed.  “These seats are reserved for us by law,” he says. That’s true, but then I couldn’t board that train without thinking someone would get up out of guilt or a sense of obligation.  Some would say that’s good.  I don’t agree.  In the long run it’s counterproductive.  These people have been made to feel more uncomfortable around people with handicaps.  That is the opposite of what we need.  Should they get up for us?  Certainly they should be under no obligation to get up for me.  My eyes don’t have anything to do with whether or not I can stand.

Accessible Success is Successfully Published!

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The day has come! Actually, it came Friday, but dedicated blogger that I am, I didn’t even think to post something here. If you’ve seen my work at lionsrealm.net, you know that was meant as a joke. I still need a real job to meet our needs, so updates may be slow in coming, but they will be coming.

You should be able to purchase the book at any of the major online retailers. Here’s the link for Amazon. A Kindle version is also available.

On the Move

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Earlier this month, I signed an agreement with a publisher. My guess is that the book will be out sometime mid-year 2023. I’m excited to see what God will do with this. Meanwhile, i have taken a job. I had hoped to move into a new career, but the time for that is not yet.

The theme of my life continues. If the intent of the book had been purely biographical, I might have entitled it “This is Not What I Expected”, But maybe the title should be, “This is Better than I Expected!” I see God’s hand now in everything that has happened. Yes, it’s easier to see it when good things happen, but I am learning to trust Him in every situation.

I started reluctantly looking for work around the middle of June. I wasn’t trying very hard. I put my resume up on a couple of job search sites and started browsing through listings. Soon I started getting contacted by recruiters, and that lead to an interview and a job offer. The start date keeps moving out, but because I started this process before I needed to, the delay has not hurt me and has given me time to wrap up other projects that I won’t have time fore once I’m on the clock.

When I was laid off last year, I told my wife that because of the small number of people with experience in the software I worked with at the bank I could get a job whenever I was ready. But I confess there was some doubt. Would people be put off by my blindness? Yes, there are laws, but laws don’t change hearts or cure ignorance. The economy is down. In our polarized society, would I be discriminated against because of my views? What about the fact that I refuse to be injected with a dangerous vaccine that does not protect as well as the natural immunity that God gave us and actually makes it more likely that we catch future variants of the virus? So, it was gratifying to have my assurances confirmed.

In my mind, it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Last year was to be my big break, the chance to start a new chapter of my life based on mission and ministry. It isn’t happening quite the way I imagined, but I am not disappointed. God showed me that I am needed right where I am for now. I will be able to continue supporting our church at the same level I have for years. Someday, it will be strong enough that others will be carrying more of that responsibility, but for now God has assigned me to fill in the gap. He has provided so that my wife will have whatever care she may need.

Maybe the book will take off and lead to bigger things. Maybe it will just get into the hands of one person who needs to the encouragement to keep going. All I know is that God told me to write it, and I have obeyed. He’s running this thing. I trust that all things will work together for His glory and for my good.

Taking That First Step

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I confess, I find this a little intimidating. It took me longer than it should have to get the book written. I had a hard time imagining that anyone would read it, much less buy it. But I felt that God wanted me to write it, so I did. It’s still a rough draft as I write this, but it’s almost ready to start shopping publishers.

Now I’ve got to build the web site to go with it. That shouldn’t be a problem. I have built and rebuilt 3 web sites already, one of them several times. But this is different. People might actually visit this one who will make decisions on whether to work with me based on what they find. I don’t get a pass for being a blind man developing visual interfaces. WordPress’s new block editor isn’t the most screen reader friendly thing ever, though to their credit they have a team working on accessibility.

So what do I do? I haven’t got a job yet. I’ve got to start paying attention to how I spend my money. Do I hire someone to come make it pretty? Maybe so, if I really believe in what I’m doing. I’ve already dropped money on hosting.

It would be easy to put it off. It would be easy to give up on the whole project. I can’t do that. I’d be disobeying the Lord, and I’d be making lies out of much of what I just wrote in the book. So, here I am. Maybe things will have come together by the time you see this, or maybe it will still be a work in progress. That’s okay. I’ve got to start somewhere, and somewhere is right here!