A cartoon show I used to watch makes its DVD debut Oct. 4!

My All in the Family DVD collection (so far)

Happy 75th Birthday Jim Henson, my idol!

Grandparents Day and Betty White

Yesterday (Sept. 11) was Grandparents Day. It usually falls on the second Sunday in September. Though this year's Grandparents Day was overshadowed by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, and understandably so, it wasn't too far from my mind. Since 2006 it has become my day to honour and remember my grandparents. I got to know three of my four grandparents, and I cherish all the memories I have of them.

About six months ago I had a dream where I got to meet comedic actress Betty White. I've been a fan of hers since watching her play Rose on The Golden Girls back in the '80s. Coincidentally, she shares the same birthday as my maternal grandmother (January 17), and I've sometimes fantasized about adopting her as my grandmother in the 17 years she's been gone.

In my dream I was in Los Angeles, and had tickets to see a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I'm a Leno fan, and I got excited when I heard that he had invited Betty White as one of his guests for the evening. I must have taken leave of my senses at this point, because without hesitation, I devised a plan to get up close and personal with her.

Security at the NBC Studio must have been lax that evening, because I easily managed to slip pass the guards by sitting near the green room, where guests lounge out before going on stage. It wasn't long before I saw Betty White, and I wasted no time in saying hello to her. When she saw me, she was very kind and sweet towards me, and somehow understood that I was a harmless admirer.

After I gushed over her work on TV and film, I asked if I could make her my honourary grandparent now that my real ones are gone. She found my request flattering, and was touched by the sentiment. She added that though she couldn't commit to fulfilling this role, she appreciated the offer. She then kissed me and wished me well. She also encouraged me to watch her new TV series, Hot in Cleveland.

The woman is 89 going on 90, and shows no signs of slowing down. I've watched her new show, and by my account she's still got it.

Betty, if you're reading this blog, I want you to know that I love my honourary grandma. You are truly golden.

From the Archives: "A Review of September 11th from an Independent Living Perspective"

A Review of September 11th from an IL Perspective by Don Barrie

(originally appeared in the Fall 2001 edition of CILT In The Stream, published by the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto)

For many people living in the United States -- or in any country allied with them -- Tuesday, September 11, 2001 is a day "which will live in infamy." 

Those were the words U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used to describe December 7, 1941. That was the day the Americans were brought into World War II after Japanese bombers attacked their naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But for people of my generation, the terrorist attacks of September 11 have come to represent our dark, Pearl Harbor moment.

When I arrived at CILT at 8:50am that morning, I did what any person working in an office environment would do. I checked my voicemail. Then I turned on my computer, visited my email account, and scrolled through the news on the Web. When I went to CANOE.CA, I noticed a peculiar headline: "Plane crashes into World Trade Center." I remember being in high school when terrorists bombed this New York landmark in 1993, but reading of this new attack didn't seem real to me. Then I heard Vic Will (our Executive Director) tell all the other staffers to go watch the TV in the boardroom.

So I left my office and sat with the rest of the staff as images of fire, smoke and debris flashed before our eyes. I later saw the other hijacked plane crash into the building with the staff. And we all screamed as both of the building’s towers fell to the ground. All we could do in the boardroom was stare at the TV screen and at each other.

The rest of the day is hazy; I don't remember much about it now, except that we all left at 2pm, three hours before the workday was supposed to end.

The next day, I talked to Vic and a few other staff, and began wondering how our American IL allies had been affected by these senseless acts. I checked the Web to see if the ILC in New York had an email address, and proposed that we send them a condolence email. So Vic emailed the Executive Director of the New York Center of Independence for the Disabled on our behalf. In his email, he expressed how sorry we all felt. He also wrote "our brothers and sisters in disabilities were almost entirely excluded from the news broadcasts and human interest stories… We just want you to know that we are sensitive to the untold stories that certainly impacted the lives of New York citizens with disabilities and we share your sorrow and rightful anger."

It wasn't until after we wrote to the NYCID that we picked up some stories with a disability angle that were reported by the mainstream media. One concerned an able-bodied man who asked the rescue team in New York to let him remain beside his quadriplegic friend killed in the attack. (He later died.) Another story told of a blind man who was led out of the WTC by his dog before both towers fell. This survivor would later tell his story to Larry King on CNN. And we also read of two able-bodied men who carried a female employee with a physical disability down 68 flights of stairs following the first attack.

But the story that made the biggest impact at CILT came from Pennsylvania. Colleen Fraser, the Executive Director of the Progressive Center for Independent Living in Ewing, New Jersey, was flying to a conference in San Francisco when terrorists hijacked her plane, and sent it crashing in a town near Pittsburgh. She was killed instantly. We emailed a condolence message to the PCIL on September 26. They wrote back in appreciation the next day. (At press time, there was no response from the NYCID, located near where the WTC once stood.)

Could This Happen Here?

The chances of a terrorist attack happening in Canada may appear slim, but the risk might increase once our support for the U.S. in Afghanistan becomes widely known in the ground war.

Can support for the American-led rage in Afghanistan pose a risk of retaliation against Canada? What would happen if Toronto were to face a terrorist threat, and how would we as IL consumers be prepared for it? These are the kinds of questions we should be asking ourselves. The threat of an attack here isn't likely, but it's something we should always be prepared for.

Many schools, SSLUs and public buildings have evacuation plans and procedures if a fire was to occur. CILT also has an emergency plan in place. But just because they exist doesn't mean that all employers, tenants or building personnel are trained to assist anybody with a disability that may be present.

Nicole Bondi, the news editor and content producer for the iCan disability news service, suggests that even though evacuation plans exist, we are the only people who can take responsibility for our own personal safety needs. In a recent column, she listed the top 10 ways we can protect ourselves from an emergency:

1. Know your building's evacuation plan. Learn where any evacuation chairs are stored. Find out where any rescue areas are located, know where the stairwell is and learn what procedures may be in place to accommodate your disability. 

2. Have a network of people lined up who can assist you in case of an emergency. Have back-ups in case your primary support person is on vacation or not in the building.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Don't assume you'll know how to use that evacuation chair when you need it. Make sure you -- and your support network -- rehearse your personal safety plan. You should also revise or update your plans periodically.

4. Keep your cell phone on hand and fully charged. Many people used their cellphones during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to alert authorities or to call loved ones.

5. Take part in your company or building's risk management team. People with the disabilities are considered 1) the people with the most concerns and 2) the most information about what they need.

6. If your office building does not currently have a disaster plan, encourage upper management to consider one. Volunteer to help develop a plan.

7. Make sure you also have a disaster or fire plan in place at home. While high-rise office buildings have built-in technology and safety features, houses or apartment buildings are often less safe. People are more likely to die in a fire at home than at work, and that risk is even greater for people with disabilities. 

8. When traveling, identify yourself at hotels as a person with a disability and explain that you will need assistance in an emergency. Describe the type of assistance you will require.

9. Carry an emergency health card with all relevant medical information. Describe your condition, any medications, equipment you use, allergies, communications difficulties and emergency contact information.

10. Keep a small flashlight handy to aid you in stairwells if the power goes out. This may be particularly helpful for people who are deaf and rely on visual cues during an emergency.

Aftermath

It's hard to know what the long-term effects the events of September 11th will have on the Canadian IL community. But we will likely find ourselves having to accept security guards scanning our mobility aids more thoroughly. Medical supplies may also get checked, especially when boarding an aircraft. The risk of loss or damage may also increase, but these things can be replaced and compensated for. But I believe that IL consumers aren’t much different from the average New Yorker. We are tough. We will survive. Life will go on. The events of September 11th can help us re-evaluate our priorities and re-examine our personal safety needs in the broader community.

CILT thanks Nicole Bondi at www.ican.com for her contribution.

Song Blog: "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"

To say that the world has changed a lot since September 11, 2001 is an understatement. The traumatic effects of the terrorist attacks 10 years ago in the US are still being felt. However, there is still one song that carries a healing power that transcends what happened on the day now known as 9/11. Country star Alan Jackson wrote "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" shortly after the events unfolded on that infamous September day. While the song is about that day, the real message behind it is that love is the greatest gift of all.

Best known for '90s hits like "Don't Rock the Jukebox" and "Chattahoochee," Jackson wanted to write a song that expressed his thoughts on 9/11. He agonized over how it should be written until one Sunday morning in October. When the lyrics and melody came to him, he immediately got out of bed and sang them into a hand-held recorder so he wouldn't forget them. He skipped church that morning so he could complete the song.

Jackson uses the song to sum up his feelings about 9/11 before paraphrasing a Biblical passage from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13; the exact words St. Paul writes are, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (NIV).

Jackson initially hesitated about releasing "Where Were You," thinking that it would exploit the tragedy. Everything changed once his wife and producer heard it, and they encouraged him to record a master. Jackson went a step further once it was cut in the studio, and he debuted it during the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards broadcast (November 7, 2001).

I remember watching that performance live on TV, and like most other viewers, it made an immediate impact. Radio agreed, and "Where Were You" went into heavy rotation. When the studio version was released, it spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Country Chart. It also reached the number 28 position on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Jackson's highest-charting pop single to date.

In late 2002, "Where Were You" won the CMA Award for Best Single. In early 2003, it garnered Jackson his first (and so far only) Best Country Song Grammy.

Jackson's reaction to the song was published in an article for USA Today (November 21, 2001). He said, "I think it was Hank Williams who said, 'God writes the songs, I just hold the pen.' That's the way I felt with this song."