Riding The Short Bus Is No Easy Ride - Even If It Stops In Richmond

I'm reading The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney. Check that, I'm struggling through the book.

I'm not struggling because the book isn't well written. I'm struggling because the author is very adept at peeling back the pretty veneer we as a society put on dealing with people that aren't "normal."

Mooney doesn't come at his readership as someone who is talking from an academic viewpoint. He was a "special ed" kid who went through being labeled abnormal or viewed as different. His story is even more interesting because eventually graduates from Brown University and is obviously a published author.

The book centers around Jonathan fixing up an old short bus and traveling the country to hear and undertand several people's story about being disabled.

No one has complemented me on my great use of the English language in describing my son's issues and how it affects my family. I'm trying to get better, but I feel that Jonathan does a great job at hitting so close to home for special needs families and the general population.

So, here are some excerpts that illustrate what I mean:

In describing a conversation that Jonathan had with Chad, a teenager with cerebal palsy, while about to plunge down a hill on a roller coaster during a visit to an amusement park, Jonathan writes, "As we boarded the ride, I pushed Chad to elaborate. 'So Chad," I said over the roar of the machinerhy, 'what are the little things?' This wasn't me being patronizing. This was something that I needed to know. So many of the previous days had been for me about thinking through what matters, what doesn't, how we as human beings decide that. 'Names,' he said. 'You know, when, like, my brother calls me names. These are little things. I let them go.' I nodded; that seemed wise to me. 'And big things?' I asked as we were buckled in. 'Blood," he said. 'When there is blood, that is a big thing.' "

In another very honest conversation, Jonathan talks with Candee, who's daughter was born with Down syndrome. "The day Katie was diagnosed with Down syndrome, Cande said, 'Tell me she's deaf, tell me she's blind, tell me she's crippled, just don't tell me she is retarded."

The book pulls no punches and, in turn, is very honest. It's a difficult read, but a refreshing read. I recommend it to all.

Plus, the Rivah City gets a nod. Jonathan visits a family here in Richmond. That visit is outstanding. Anytime you have a little deaf girl cursing out her teachers in sign langugae, you know you can't go wrong.