Month: February 2022

Categories
Celebrations Education

So Where Do You Wear A White Horse Hair Wig?

New Zealand bar admission with Nana & Dad
Angela stands at elbow height of her father and grandmother standing behind her. All three are formally dressed: Angela in a black robe, white collar, and white horse hair wig; Nana in a pink dress, white cardigan and white necklace; and dad in a blue suit and tie with a camera strap draped over his shoulder.

My presence in a bar has been challenged more than once, but exchange the bouncer for the bailiff and you’ll find me unchallenged at the bar of the local court. Eligibility for this bar is based on a certificate of admission to the High Court of New Zealand not a certificate of birth.

On the first day of February 1977, the order of admission was made by the presiding judge. Indeed, the day actually carried an air of fantasy. It began with a parallel to “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” I felt like big daddy bear robbed of chair, porridge, and bed. When I came to sign the Roll of Barristers and Solicitors, somebody had signed on the line reserved for my name.

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In all the excitement, one of my peers had signed her name in my space. There was nowhere for me to sign.

The story took a different turn when the Deputy Registrar stepped into the picture. As though a fairy godmother waving her wand, she took out an eraser and removed all traces of the error. With it she also wiped out any suggestions of fantasy. In reality, I was standing there at age 23 ready to enter my name on the roll and to begin my career as a Barrister and Solicitor in law.

Note: In 1977 it was customary for New Zealanders to qualify as an attorney at about age 23, as students entered the four-year law degree program at age 18, without being required to complete an undergraduate degree. However, a first year of general studies, known as pre-law, had to be successfully completed before a decision as to law school admission was made. A fifth year of part time study, while working as a clerk in a law office, was spent qualifying for admission to the bar.

I stood with pride alongside my fellow classmates also taking the oath of admission. As predicted, only half of those who began the five-year law program stood with us on this day. We were at the end of a long road and were finally entitled to speak before the court.

The occasion called for traditional dress—a white horse hair wig and an expensively pleated heavy black legal robe. I couldn’t help thinking how much we all looked like over-dressed penguins, but the apparel was a prerequisite to appearance and the right to speak as counsel in court. It was no time to voice objections. Instead we all robed meekly and took the oath put to us. We hoped other people understood that appearances aren’t the most important thing in the world.

That hope was put to a severe test when I discovered that prospective employers were very interested in appearances. This post is excerpted from Chapter 3, At the Bar, in “Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses,” the first book in my dwarfism memoir trilogy covering my first quarter century. Click on the link to read what others say about the book and find out where to get your copy: https://angelamuirvanetten.com/dwarfs-dont-live-in-doll-houses/.

Categories
God's protection

Navigating February Blizzards

Blizzard

Within two weeks of our first time attending the Second Presbyterian Church, Reverend Smart made an unannounced home visit. We were shocked because this was February 1983—when almost 23 inches of snow covered the city after the second biggest snowstorm on Baltimore’s record books. But the Reverend walked the half mile from the church to our apartment. It was a safe assumption that he would find us at home. We benefited from the reminder that despite the storms of life, God always shows us a way through. Just like He did in February 1984 when I took the Ohio bar exam in Columbus, three hours south of Cleveland.

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Because we only had one car, Robert had to drive me to Columbus on the weekend, leave me at a motel near the exam site, and drive back to Cleveland for work on Monday. I awoke on Monday morning to see snow falling—nothing unusual about that in an Ohio winter. However, to wake up on Tuesday—the first of three exam days—and still see snow falling was alarming. I had prepared for the exam with endless hours of study, but had not prepared for a blizzard that dumped about 12 inches of snow. My fear was that my pre-ordered cab would be a no-show. If I did not get to the exam site on time, locked doors would keep me from taking the exam for another six months.

I thanked God when cabs came for me at both the beginning and end of the day. It was a blessing to meet Yvonne and Paula at dinner in the restaurant across the street from the motel. They recognized me from the exam site and invited me to join them.

I would never have made it back to the motel without their help. They held onto me—one on each side—to stop me slipping and sliding in the snow and ice. When blocked by a wall of snow left in the wake of a snow plow at the motel driveway, a motel employee shoveled the snow and helped lift me over the snow bank. Preparing for such obstacles was not in the bar review material.

It was definitely a God-ordained bonding experience with Yvonne and Paula. The three of us teamed up for the next two days for ongoing support, meals, and rides. Our meal the second night at the Spaghetti Warehouse perked up our spirits and gave us the energy to get through the last grueling exam day.

On May 2, 1984, I woke up at 6:45 a.m. in a cold sweat. It was the day to call in for the bar exam results and I dreamed that I had failed.

When the operator reported excitedly, “You passed!” I was relieved to learn that not all dreams—or nightmares, in this case—come true.

I was just as excited to learn that my bar-exam friends, Paula and Yvonne, had also passed.

This post is a condensed excerpt from chapter 7 in “Pass Me Your Shoes: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigate Life’s Detours with Love and Faith.” Click on the title for a Look inside at the first few chapters, endorsements, Table of Contents, and a wedding photo. Link to retail sites on my website at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/books.

Categories
Relationships

Honeymoon Romance Takes A Dive

Pass Me Your Shoes

Our Oahu leis made of fragrant yellow ilima flowers put us both in the mood for romance, though our ideas of how to achieve this were quite different. I thought it would be romantic to walk back to our hotel along the beach. Bobby preferred to walk on the sidewalk along the main road. As a Floridian, Bobby saw no special attraction in traversing sand and surf, but wanting to please his bride, he agreed.

I was ready to walk barefoot and enjoy the warm water caressing our feet, while Bobby preferred wearing his shoes and socks, suit and tie, in the style of an English gentleman. Thus, he was reluctant to go anywhere near the water because he did not want to get his shoes wet.

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Again, for the sake of his bride, he not only took off his shoes and socks, but he also walked with me hand-in-hand as the water lapped our feet. He even perked up when the skyline of Waikiki and Diamond Head presented a perfect backdrop for him to photograph me in the sparkling water.

Soon thereafter, romance and perfection took a dive. With the roar of three waves piling one on top of the other, I let go of Bobby’s hand, lifted my dress, and braced for the crashing waves. Regrettably, Bobby anticipated nothing—his first indication of trouble was when he found himself flailing prostrate in the swirling waves and clawing in the sand to resist the undertow threatening to pull him out to sea.

He wondered if I was looking for evidence of his demise when he heard me calling out, “Pass me your shoes! PASS ME YOUR SHOES!”

Of course, it was nothing so sinister. I had withstood the waves by digging my toes deep into the sand, but could do nothing to stop Bobby’s plunge. My first thought was to salvage his shoes since he had been so adamant about not getting them wet.

I helped Bobby to his feet and noticed something far worse than wet shoes—salt water was streaming out of the camera case still hanging around his neck. His camera was ruined. I captured the moment on my cheap camera and titled the picture: Total Trauma. Somehow Bobby’s photo of me on Waikiki Beach survived the salt water—our $200 picture represented the replacement cost of the camera, not the value of the subject matter. This was when I learned that a new camera was a nonnegotiable budget item. I did restrain Bobby from bringing the ruined camera on the plane in a bucket of water to prevent further corrosion.

This post is excerpted from “Pass Me Your Shoes: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigate Life’s Detours with Love and Faith.” Click on the title for a Look inside at the books first few chapters, endorsements, Table of Contents, and a wedding photo. Link to retail sites on my website at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/books.

Categories
Inclusion

Turning 18: Facebook Jolt and User Caution

smartphone

Facebook’s growth spurt ended on the eve of its’ 18th birthday. For the first time ever, the number of daily active users dropped. A tremendous jolt for a business that made growth charts obsolete.

Facebook burst out of the gate with a 1,000% growth rate within 24 hours of its’ February 4, 2004 launch. And growing by leaps and bounds took on new meaning as users grew from millions to billions—one million in one year (2004), one billion in 2012, and almost three billion in 2022.

But hold the champagne. The drop in fourth quarter income triggered the biggest ever daily stock market loss for a U.S. firm, namely Meta, Facebook’s parent company.

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Disturbing for Facebook, but why should people with disabilities care? The same reason as the other three billion users! We count.

Because Facebook allows anyone with an email address and real-life identity to have an account, users with disabilities are included without typical exclusionary barriers. As a result, we are among the multitudes affected by Facebook’s foibles and fumbles. So as Facebook presumably reflects on its’ path forward, users need to reflect on how we spend our time on Facebook.

Let’s start with appreciating what Facebook does for users:

  • Dissolves global boundaries and connects users ready to share what’s happening in our lives.
  • With Facebook’s 2016 shift toward meaningful communities, organizations like Little People of America and people with dwarfism contribute to the count of ten million groups. People with dwarfism and their associates join various groups in which they receive news, support, ideas, answers to questions, et al. For example, an advocacy group solicits action on cultural and social issues negatively impacting people of short stature, such as “midget” as a descriptor of products, dehumanizing entertainment like dwarf tossing, and barriers in the built environment.
  • Safety Check allows people in or near disaster sites to confirm they’re safe after a blizzard, fire, flood, hurricane, mass shooting, or other emergency.

At the same time, we are individually responsible to protect ourselves from the dangers inherent in social media use. We can’t count on Facebook to protect our privacy. So share wisely. Let’s not be among the plus 50% who post their email address or 20% who share their phone number online.

Evaluate the veracity of what you read. Facebook has been blamed for spreading false stories and fake news on things like elections and vaccination rates. And be aware that five percent of Facebook accounts are fake.

Don’t be manipulated by Facebook algorithms that can influence how we express ourselves. For example, in 2018, Facebook allegedly tweaked its algorithm to encourage angrier content. Remember “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 (New American Standard Bible)

Regulate your Facebook time to avoid addiction (more than 4 hours each day), loss of meaningful real-life experiences, and exacerbating depression. Let’s take a Facebook holiday when our use negatively impacts how we feel or behave.

            So what’s your experience with Facebook?

For information on subscribing to my weekly blog and ordering books in my dwarfism trilogy, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/books

DWARFISM TRILOGY VALENTINE’S SPECIAL: email me at angela@angelamuirvanetten.com to request all three books autographed—Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses, Pass Me Your Shoes, and Always an Advocate—for $20, plus $4.00 postage.