Those Who Assume...

One day on a train was a twenty-four year old man traveling with his father.  As the young man looked out the window becoming more and more excited, he happily exclaimed to his father, "Dad!  Look!  Look how all the trees are like disappearing behind the train as we go!"

"I know son!  Isn't it amazing?!!"

A couple sitting across the aisle who appeared to be in their thirties watched the young man's behavior whispering to each other with "that look."

"Dad!  Can you see the clouds?!!  The clouds are racing with us!"

At this the couple couldn’t stand it any longer so they spoke to the father about his son regardless of the fact he was sitting right there too.  [How many times this has happened to me when friends or my interns were rudely grilled about me while I was sitting or standing right smack next to them as if I were deaf, stupid, and an "object" without any humanity?]  

"Look old man, why don't you just take your son to a doctor or have him admitted to one of those places for those like him?"  

As "the old man" proudly smiled wrapping his sons' hand within his own he said, "I'll tell you exactly why that I hope you both take with you."  

"Yes, of course!"  

"My beloved son and I are just returning home from the hospital.  You see my son became blind as a child and due to the miracle of laser surgery the gift of his sight has been fully restored.  Today is his very first day outside being able to see the amazing wonders we take for granted."  

"But..."  

"And you know what else?  Every person in this amazing world we live has a story.  Not the kind of story those with unseeing hearts want to write FOR them before even trying to know them but a story revealing the love, the beauty, the wonder, and the magic within.  The ways their story becomes our treasure if only we would not assume they are less than us.  If only we would quit defining others by their appearance before you know them, otherwise it's your loss.  Not theirs."

The Theatre Scene Design curriculum involved far more than just classes painting on massive canvas flats or painting plywood to look exactly like marble, bricks, or wood paneling.  It also involved classes learning how to use table saws, circular saws, all other tools.  And the ability to design then construct from various types of wood an entire theatre set from stage up creating the magic of theatre. 

However I must confess theatre always has a wealth 

of wonderful, excited to learn Interns including some very dear Scene Design interns I was privileged to teach and mentor along the way throughout my career.  They were a huge help to me over the years in handling the large sections of lumber needed, then the construction 

of the set.  Inaddition, I was always highly proud to help launch them each on their careers and yes, I became like a stage/life/fun/wise/mentor/mother to each one as well.😊

Now and then my Interns would witness the ignorance 

I encountered, never hesitating to take a stand for me which unfortunately was often needed.  For you see,  invariably people who came looking for The Scene Designer would see me...hear me, yet proceed straight past me to my interns as if I were not there at all.  This of course would highly infuriate my Interns to no end.  And though I was as "used" to being treated like this as one can be, it really infuriated the hell out of me too at times.

"Hello there sir, I would like to do an interview with you on how you create the amazing designs your sets are known for?"

"Uh sir, you know what?"  

"What?"

"I'm an Intern and I strongly suggest you interview my highly talented boss, the Scene Designer herself you just very rudely ignored who spoke to you.  She also just happens to have a fully loaded nail gun in her hand at this moment she is not afraid to use."😂

How many times throughout my journey in this amazing world have I had people talk to me as if:

A.  I must have a mental deficiency that goes with the height deficiency 

"Miss, here are the papers you need to sign and since you probably can't write you may put an X..."

"WHAT PART OF I AM A VERY INTELLIGENT COLLEGE GRADUATE ARE YOU NOT GETTING?"

B.  I must be deaf or incapable of understanding ANY hooman language on the planet Earth so they LOUDLY ENUNCIATE  their words...

"You mean THAT CAR  IZZZ YOURS and you CAN REEELLY DRRRIVE THAAAT CARRR?"

"DID YOUUUUU NOT JUST VERRRY RUDELY STARE THEN WHIP OWLT YOUR CELLPHONE TO RECORRRD  MEEE AFTERRR I GOT OWLT OF IT?!!"

"YEAH, SO WHAT MIDDDGITTT?!!"

"Why are you talking so loud to me?"

"Because you midgets are short."

"WHAT HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH TALKING SO LOUD TO ME?!!"

"Words take longer to reach you."

[I am NOT kidding THIS conversation or similar has happened to me!]

C.  We are EXPECTED to reveal all secrets hidden deep in a cave somewhere near Mt. Everest pertaining to the mythical kingdom of Midgetdom with treasure we are all supposed to know about because Jerry Springer says we know this.

"Where is that kingdom you midgets all come from?"

"WHAT kingdom?!!"

"The one we heard Jerry Springer tell about and anything HE says is THE Truth only he doesn't know where midgetdom is located!"

"Oh THAT one!  It's in the Land Of Oz just off Route 66 

in Nevada exactly 101 miles, four feet and three inches north of Las Vegas where Munchkinland-dom is located and I'm telling you the truth never before revealed in all the history of hoomankind-dom."

And FINALLY...

D.  At ALL times we are EXPECTED to make for great entertainment the moment cellphones invasively record our every movement for the express purpose of ridicule on a massive scale that pours money into the bank account of said cellphone owner who will stop at nothing to obtain images of us because we of course are objects and have no humanity when actually it is the other way around.

Four times where I currently reside strangers who somehow learned a midget lives here have VERY rudely and dangerously intruded which is exactly why I must ferociously guard where I dwell [unfortunately all one needs to do is ask the "right" non-human where "The Midget" lives and BAM].  So imagine what it is like to suddenly see a non-human with their cellphone trying to capture my image IN MY OWN HOME!  It is terrifying and thrusts me into a very dangerous position against 

a potentially very dangerous non-human!  If blinds are drawn they knock on my door.  I am a object to them and they will go to great lengths to obtain what THEY ASSUME is THEIR right.  Even assuming I am on opiates THEY should have!

But I am not only a fighter I am very creative and talented in these things.  Especially since my career was devoted to creating magic for theatre.

For you see I have made a very realistic looking security camera which I am replacing with a real one.  So when the non-humans show up at my windows with their cellphones and demands, I yell/asking if they are aware of the camera recording their image trespassing on MY property which is linked directly to our county police...

And WHOOSH!!!

Bye bye non-humans!

KA-CHING!