Today was voting day! Brad is very involved with voting education, so we posted that we would give anyone a ride who needed one, and would help anyone who needed help with voting on Nextdoor. No one needed a ride, but someone needed help with a recent move and a change of address. Brad was happy to help.
We went to our polling location and saw that they had van-accessible spots marked off with supposed-to-be-empty parking spots next to them for either vans with ramps or wheelchair unloading from a car. The only problem is that people didn’t understand this and parked in the marked off spots, so all the van accessible spots were not accessible for us. Luckily it was an open parking lot and we found a space where we could get the ramp out. (Reminder: Never park on the diagonal lines!)
We went inside and had pretty much no line! We saw all our regular poll workers, they recognize us now! We had printed off sample ballots so we knew who and what to vote for. We successfully voted, though it was awkward and a little tough for Brad since the lunchroom tables at the school had picnic table like benches that were folded up and in the way for someone trying to pull up in a wheelchair. Our way out we had a photo shoot around a “vote here” sign.
As Brad was getting his camera out, a woman approached us and asked if we wanted to hear some “good news”. I said sure, but I was sorry the minute after I said it! She wanted to tell us that Brad could be cured if only he prayed hard enough. But she wouldn’t stop talking! Brad never once looked at her (getting camera stuff out and purposefully not engaging). She never looked at Brad! She just told me that Brad could be cured with enough praying. She talked to me for several minutes about Brad!
People not in wheelchairs, this does happen fairly regularly to people who are in wheelchairs. Two things that are annoying. Both the praying-cure and the talking to someone else about the person with a disability instead of engaging the person with a disability. The first assumes that you both need to be healed (are not okay with how you are—you’re defective and an object of charity) and that you want religious healing. The second assumes that the disabled person isn’t responsible for themself (no agency or ability to communicate) and so everything should go through the “caretaker”. It was interesting to have both happen at the same time!
I was polite and just smiled, but inside I was thinking that Brad’s family are the best Christians I know, and if their prayer didn’t work, no prayer would ever be enough to cure him!
Anyway, picture time! I am wearing my blue butterfly dress and red shoes. Hestia has a red and black mesh vest on. Brad is wearing a red shirt, a black sweater (can’t see it), and then a red blazer on top with a blue scarf. Yes, he was cold and I was hot! It was in the low 70s, perfect weather for me!
Below are the pictures, enjoy!
Veronica and Hestia handing over ID to vote.
“VOTE HERE” sign next to the back of Brad’s backpack. Brad’s backpack has a sign on it that says (in colors of the American flag): In our America, all people are equal, love wins, black lives matter, immigrants and refugees are welcome, disabilities are respected, women are in charge of their bodies, people and planet are valued over profit, diversity is celebrated.
Wider angle of the last photo, showing Brad in his chair turning around and smiling!
Brad in his red blazer and plaid blanket next to Veronica wearing her blue butterfly vest and holding Hestia in a red mesh vest next to a “vote here” sign.
Veronica kneeling and Hestia on the ground looking at the camera cutely. They are in front of the “vote here” sign, and also behind the curbside voting sign.
Zoomed in of the last picture, Veronica smiling cutely!
Veronica holding Hestia in front of an access aisle with a car parked in it.
Closeup of Brad’s “I voted” blue sticker on Brad’s red blazer. You can see the texture of the fabric, and it looks very cool.
After 4 days of reading all the ballot information, I mailed my packet in 3 days ago. I hate voting for things like Judges – no info about them at all – so I left them blank.
My favorite picture is the one of Brad with back to camera and a BIG smile over his shoulder. We get so few photos of Brad, who is always busy TAKING the pictures.
I liked the sign he had on the back of the wheelchair! Did you guys make that yourselves, or was it obtained elsewhere? It was great!
I’m glad you are both civic minded and voted – every vote counts!
You are lucky– CA gives out voter information to everyone! Here in SC, they don’t put out a voter guide, so you have to do all your own detective work. It is a lot of researching to do– the ballot was three pages for us!
Here is where we got the sign: https://www.nwgsd.org/download It is a free download, so we just printed it on our color printer.
Brad is so proud of his sign on his wheelchair he he he, and you can see that in the picture!
egads on that woman. *rawr*
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sign on Brad’s backpack! way to git er done, Team Morris <3
Brad was a little worried they might not let his sign into the voting place. But it’s not really a political sign, just a statement of our view of America. In any case, I don’t think anyone there noticed it.
Yeah yeah! Love that sign!! 🙂
Creepy invasive people in your face, though? Bleah! 🙁
The sign is awesome, isn’t it! I think he might start printing out a few extra copies to hand out to admirers he he he!
I am so proud of you both and I love you more and more each day. I am so glad that you’ll went to vote
We all need to exercise our privilege to vote or we will eventually lose the privilege
Love you bunches
Nana
Thank you Nana!
I LOVE the sign! Brad looks so happy, and I was glad to get to see a picture of him in that snazzy blazer! Veronica, you and Hestia look great too!
I’m really glad you got out to vote, but sorry you had to deal with people parking in the spots for unloading the ramp and that person telling you about that “prayer cure” for Brad! That sucks! People can be weird.
My polling place was on the top of a HUGE hill that is inaccessible by bus, and the only way to get to the top from where I live without walking up a ridiculously steep hill in almost any direction would be to walk up a somewhat less steep hill and then loop around several blocks to get to it, passing two other polling places on the way. I was super lucky that Evan drove me to the polling place, because that hill has been giving me asthma attacks more and more frequently when I try to walk up it! I did the mail voter thing for the first time, but didn’t get it mailed in in time to be counted the first night, so I just dropped it off at the polling place, and got my coveted “I Voted” sticker!
Yay everybody for voting!
I’m glad Evan drove you! I don’t want you getting sick walking up a big hill! But yay for voting! He loves his new blazer– he got it from Amazon. From one of the Chinese companies that make things in Asian sizing and not American sizing. That way it actually fits lol!
Wait, there’s Asian sizing? How is it different? I can’t find clothes that actually fit, due to my proportions being atypical, and I’m part Asian, so I wonder if their sizing would fit me better; that is, if they have larger sizes too… Or is it just that Asian sizing is smaller? I’m gonna have to check this out!
Asian sizing is just everything is a lot smaller. Good for people like Brad who normally have to wear kids clothing!
I love Brad’s sign!
The cure conversation did not surprise me at all. I’m very used to it because of my headache issues, I’ve been hearing it since I was 10. I guess the nice thing is, random strangers can’t walk up and tell me, people have to know I’m ill first. As a kid, I became very religious because I believed people, and the Bible. Then it had the opposite impact. I ended up stopping going to church because all anyone would ask me about was how my head was. My mental health was fine, except when constantly being bombarded by questions about my headache! Even with my parents telling people to ask them the questions, not me, it was still an issue each time we went. It’s a constant headache people, it doesn’t go away!
That is what lead to me never telling people about my issues. That ensured people go to know me for me and did not limit me because of assumptions about my illnesses. I have even dated guys and not realized I never told them about my medical issues! Usually just not realizing, it’s not something I think about.
My thought was, at least she told you and not Brad. But Brad probably doesn’t feel the same way about it that I do.
I guess I do not understand why anyone would assume someone cannot speak for themselves just because of an assistive device. How odd?
LOL at forgetting to tell dates about your health!
Brad gets that quite often when people assume he cannot communicate since he is in a wheelchair. The thing is I wish people would ask him things not me, so for both of us he is the preferred talker!
Yeah, I dated a guy for at least four months and after we parted ways I realized I’d never told him about any of my medical issues. Oops! Another guy I had dated for about two months when he asked me to help him with something in the lab and I told him I’d be gone to a doctor appointment. He asked if everything was alright and I replied something like, “yeah, I just have my regular appointment with my neurologist.” He was so confused, I hadn’t even realized I’d never mentioned any of my medical stuff to him before. So he got a long list of medical problems. The relationship ended shortly after (which was good).
So, basically, I can see someone almost every day for months and not think to tell them. And apparently no one can tell anything is off either. I can totally imagine myself being engaged to someone and being like, “oh, yeah, I don’t think I’ve told you about my medical issues, my bad.” Another positive for having a SD!
Yeah for voting!
This was the second election where I worked at a polling location. It was a long day, almost 17 hours, but worth it to help preserve our right to vote.
Thank you so much for working at your polling place! I want to do that sometime. Voting is SO important!