E-mail Kevin

Why chaironwheels? I've been asked this question dozens of times, and the reason is simply put: it was available. I needed a new disability-related screenname in 2001 when I began working on my own time as an ADA advocate in Tennessee. Since then, I've found it has reminded me regularly how important accurate descriptions and language  are to the disability community. A person is not disabled; a person has a disability. In the same vein, it is a wheeled-chair or a chair on wheels.

The Questions of Life

During winter, I rented and watched all five seasons of Babylon 5, the 90's sci-fi alternative to the Star Trek universe. Compared to other shows that showcase different authors every episode, Bab5 had a clear storyline - almost like a novel in television format. The characters and writing challenged me to take my life to another level.

The show continually asked its characters to answer the questions: Who are you? What do you want? By the third season, the questions became more difficult. Why are you here? What are you living for?

Are we alive just to hold jobs, eat three meals a day, raise 2.3 kids behind a safe white-picket fence? Or are we here to make a difference - to build a safehouse on the front porch of hell? If everyone were to take one cause and devote their lives to it, I truly believe we would eliminate many of the evils of the universe.

I've needed to make changes in my life also, ridding myself of the distractions of everyday life, of a selfish life. It's a continual process, considering I regularly spend $5 for a mega iced latte at the local coffeehouse.

My History - The Long Road

I always knew what I wanted to major in at college - print journalism - so I could make things fair and just. I wasted several good years in college going around in circles at my hometown college, Austin Peay State University, since their print journalism program was so lacking and I didn't have the funds to transfer. Finally, after a tornado, dropping out, quitting a job, and totaling my van and myself, I found the focus, the funds, and a great college print journalism program at the University of Southern Indiana.

Be careful what you ask for, you might get it. I am so grateful to USI Professor Ron Roat for helping me learn to write for clarity and power and showing me what journalism should be. That idealism was destroyed during a short stint at a Florida paper. While learning more writing skills there, I quickly realized news articles are simply there to fill the space between the ads. It is no longer about righting wrongs and fighting injustice, at least at most news organizations.

I spent three long years back in Nashville, Tennessee, working through my frustration with the injustices in the world by unleashing about 50 ADA lawsuits against Nashville businesses. I first attempted to work positively with Nashville businesses only to receive vacant stares and empty promises. During a recent visit home, I noticed several of the improvements completed because of the lawsuits, from which I never received money, unlike some plaintiffs in California.

During these years I worked dead end jobs at cell phone companies, wrote a novel, and was near home as my father and aunt battled cancer. Once my father won his battle and my aunt lost hers, I knew it was time to move on with my life.

My Present - A Gift

Sometimes life just opens a door extra wide and pushes you through. In August of 2004, after a failed bid to re-enter the news business, I found a new church and a new apartment in Nashville. Then everything went to hell at work and after a lot of prayer, I sent out resumes to all parts of America. I honestly sent the resume to the Independent Living Center in Juneau, Alaska as lark for a practice interview.

Slowly, my other opportunities closed up or were delayed, and Juneau, as the most accessible small city in America, looked better and better. Before I knew it, I said goodbye to my goldfish and rats, packed up, drove across America in five days, rode the ferry from Washington to Juneau, found a motel, and began work the next day, October 20.

Despite the daily insanity of a small office, I've never enjoyed a job as much as this one, knowing that I'm working as an advocate for individuals and the greater disability community. And doing good portions of the newsletters for Southeast Alaska Independent Living returns me to my roots in journalism.

It hasn't been perfect. We had 36 inches of snow in four days two winters ago, my old van developed a mystery problem in March 2005, adjusting to very little light and lots of light was a challenge, and 70 mile per hour winds with driving rain is a horrible experience. I've flown more since being here than ever in my life, for outreach and conferences. They know me by name at the airport.

But the beauty of the Gastineau Channel area in the spring and summer rivals the Canadian Rockies for beauty. The weather in those two seasons in 2005 is was the best I've ever experienced, and the 2006 winter was mild. The 2006 Spring has been rainier, but summer has been decent so far. A good coffeehouse, my pet rats, a good swimming pool, a new fast scooter, and a few friends are making life enjoyable.

My Future - A Blank Tablet

On March 1, I got word that my van is finally fixed - almost one year after it went down, something about a screw falling out of the engine. Part of me enjoyed the freedom of having my vehicle back, but by May 15, the van was back in the shop with another difficult problem.

I'm taking on some supervisory roles at work and am still adjusting to being the only man in an office with eleven women! I've thoroughly enjoyed giving school presentations on disability awareness to 1500 students in Juneau this year (twice as many as the grant required).

I'm happy here in Juneau, taking one day at a time, letting the future take care of itself, but I do want to network with others in the forming of a national arthrogryposis network, similar to the TAG group in England. I am not a leader, but I am a man of words, a writer, and if I can craft a vision, an idea, an environment for another Ed Roberts or Judy Heumann to step into, then I will have found my place in this universe.