Sharon Rickman: Coder and Poet

Sharon Rickman adds a touch of humor to the experience of travel with a disability. From her "official" biography:

Sharon Rickman, a retired computer programmer, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 17 years ago. Since then she has been afflicted with limericks, the result of a mind more active than the body. With a devoted husband and three grown children, she finds writing poetry more therapeutic than programming computers.

The subway in Spain, by the way,
Is handicap-friendly, they say.
   But please be aware
   You enter by stair
Which, in my case, could take me all day.

For more artful words-on-a-roll there is Fred Small's classic song "Talking Wheelchair Blues." Below are a few stanzas. Follow the link to see the entire song:

I went for a jog in the city air
I met a woman in a wheelchair
I said "I'm sorry to see you're handicapped."
She says "What makes you think a thing like that?"

And she looks at me real steady
And she says, "You want to drag?"

So she starts to roll and I start to run
And she beat the pants off my aching buns
You know going uphill I'd hit my stride
But coming down she'd sail on by!

When I finally caught up with her
She says "Not bad for somebody ablebodied.
You know, with adequate care and supervision
You could be taught simple tasks.
So how about something to eat?"

I said that'd suit me fine
"We're near a favorite place of mine."
So we mosied on over there
But the only way in was up a flight of stairs...