I never got much feedback on this, so I don't really know how people felt about it.

I had polio when I was two years old and all my life I've walked with a leg brace and a pair of forearm crutches. I had private tutors early on, but entered public high school at the age of sixteen. The other kids didn't make any big deal out of the fact that I used crutches. I had friends like any other kid, wound up with a couple of steady girl friends (not at the same time, however), and, in general, everything was pretty normal.

When the high school drama group was trying to put together a cast for the following year's senior play, "You Can't Take It With You," the faculty drama advisor asked me if I would be willing to play Grandfather. "But I walk with crutches," I said, having already given up the idea of going on stage. "That's no problem," Mr. Hanawalt said. "In the movie, Lionel Barrymore played the role from his wheelchair." It occurred to me that Lionel Barrymore played all of his later movie roles from a wheelchair (broken hip followed by severe arthritis).

Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres):   Shall I bring the patient downstairs, Doctor?
Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore):   Young man, you will note that this wheelchair possesses neither wings nor an aeroplane motor! Of course, bring her downstairs!

"You can use your crutches," Mr. Hanawalt continued, "or we can rent a wheelchair if that would be easier." Unfortunately (?), I was already a senior, due to graduate in June, so I wouldn't be around for the following year's senior play. Bang goes my Tony and my Oscar.

When I started singing in public, the issue of the crutches, image and all that, just never occurred to me. And it never gave me any kind of problem. On television, when the camera moved to me, I was already sitting down with my guitar, so probably a lot of viewers didn't even know. When I went out on stage, I lumbered out on my crutches, sat down, and either my guitar was already sitting there on a guitar stand or someone would walk out behind me carrying my guitar. I noticed that violinist Itzak Perlman does it the same way. Same deal in the coffeehouses.

I think the only time anyone ever commented on it was a fellow who'd contacted me after one of my concerts and asked me if I gave guitar lessons (which I did). After we'd known each other for a couple of years, he mentioned to me that he had been surprised when I walk out on stage on crutches. He said that he went to the concert because he was interested in folk music and a couple of people (bless their hearts!) told him that I was someone he ought to hear. He said that no one ever mentioned that I used crutches.

"It just wasn't important," he said. "I noticed them at first. But since we've gotten to know each other, I can see that your crutches and leg brace are of no more significance to you than my glasses are to me. You can't walk without the sticks, and if I didn't have my glasses I'd be bumping into the walls."

The shoulders gave out some years ago, so now I use a wheelchair. Still sing in public from time to time, and other than limiting the places I can perform (access, etc.), as Loren said, it just isn't that important. Somehow I've just never really regarded myself as "handicapped" or "disabled." But it can be damned inconvenient sometimes.

But obviously there are people who seem to fixate on the unimportant. That can be a worse handicap than a limb or two that's missing or doesn't work as it's supposed to.

Don Firth