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I had just been offered a blogger position where I would be given plenty of leeway, and since my then-husband had cerebral palsy, disability awareness, inclusion, and equity were themes I wanted to shine light on.
The night the job came through, my husband and I took our kids, Syd and Jon and my mother out to celebrate. Jon was about seven and Syd was nine. We were gathered around a table in an Italian restaurant with Jon to my immediate right.
This was before cell phones were in every purse or pocket, and since I never wanted to miss a moment, I always had my little digital camera with me. Jon asked if he could hold it.
As I handed the camera to Jon, I was gabbing away to my mother about how excited I was about this job.
"I'm telling you, I can't get over how much freedom they're giving me to write about something so important. This is just so perfect!"
"Mommy, can I take a picture?"
"Hang on just a minute, honey."
"And to think I can work from anywhere. I can be home with the kids and still supplement our income!"
"Mommy?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Can I take a picture?"
"Sure, honey. But honestly, getting to write about disability awareness is such an amazing opportunity!"
Jon took a picture of his sister and when the flash went off, a waiter about 20 feet away was immediately launched into a seizure. He fell and the tray of dinners he was carrying crashed to the floor with him.
Everyone gasped and sat motionless except for the manager who was trained for situations like this. He charged from the kitchen, trying to calm the alarmed patrons while he hurried to the downed waiter.
"It's okay, everybody! It's okay! This happens sometimes!"
Then, as if speaking of the scum of the earth, the sub-scum even, the manager loudly sneered: "Someone here probably just used a FLASH CAMERA!"
Jon froze, his eyes huge. The little hands holding the camera immediately lowered to his lap and under the table. Then slowly, like one prisoner sneaking a shiv to a fellow prisoner, he slipped the camera over to me.
And like a fellow prisoner who just happened to have a large handbag on the floor by her chair, I hid it.
The waiter sat up, shook it off and laughed, saying he was fine.
But our table conversation around disability awareness came to an immediate halt since each of us was plenty aware for one night.
