My road came to an unexpected halt on November 9, 2010.

That morning, I was bicycling to work when a garbage truck turned across a city bike lane. I was in that bike lane.

A team of trauma surgeons saved my life, but they had to amputate my left leg. My body and life were forever changed.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

As I learned to walk again, I measured my recovery in steps and then miles. Over time that journey grew into something more -- a way of being in the world, wherever I go.

I am a person of ability and disability. I travel in the space between. These are my postcards.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Go for a "Ch-alk"

View of the blue sky above Arch Street, streaky with clouds in late afternoon
Greetings from Mile Marker 9417...

...What's a "ch-alk?" you say?

So glad you asked!

A "ch-alk" is a video chat + walk.  I made it up.

It's when you bounce along cobblestones trying to hold your phone steady in order to give a 300-mile-away-friend a tour of your neighborhood.

(Prosthetic leg optional.)

I admit I'm not the smoothest camera person.

Screenshot of a video call with Brenda in mainframe and me in upper right-hand corner
Luckily, Brenda doesn't get motion sick :)

Brenda and I met at my first adaptive climbing competition back in 2017.  Talking with her brings back memories of teamwork, road trips, international travel, and eating in diners at midnight.  You know, good times.

Standing with a group of adaptive climbers at The Crux competition. Brenda in center.
Like The Crux in 2019,
back when these things were possible!

Today, our "ch-alk" wanders from Independence Hall, to Ben Franklin's Grave, to Betsy Ross's House, to Elfreth's Alley.

There's something special about video chatting with a long distance friend on the oldest residential street in the country.

The oldest house on historic Elfreth's Alley
What would Ben Franklin think?!

Back at home, Brenda gives me a tour of her houseplants.  

Screenshot of Brenda's planter shaped like a turtle and my face in the upper-right hand corner.
An obsession we both share!

For two friends linked through climbing, we have a lot in common.  

We live on our own. 
We're fiercely independent. 
We're adaptive athletes.  
We do meaningful work. 

We also struggle with significant health issues -- very different ones, but still.  

We marvel at things that are essential now, like video chats, grocery delivery, working remotely, embracing downtime, and spending more time at home.  

In the past year, these ways of life have become mainstream -- while people with disabilities, immunity issues, and other chronic illnesses already knew them well.  

So we wonder...

What will happen to these lifestyle changes when the world returns to "normal?"

We ALL want the pandemic to end.   But when it does...

Who will make that leap?
Who might be left behind?
And what can we do about it?

"Ch-alk" is a good name for what happens at Mile 9,417.  

Like a trail of chalk on the sidewalk, a face-to-face video chat is expressive and intense.  And then, when you push that red button -- poof -- it disappears.

Still, this path we "ch-alked" today leaves an impression on me.  

I want to keep thinking about it.  I want to keep talking about it.

I'll keep the dialogue going.

Maybe you will too.

Walk on!
Rebecca

Chalk writing on sidewalk: Keep on Walkin'
Vintage chalk art from Mile 9,000 :)
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