Although we may be in the minority and looked upon strangely, there are a few habits and tendencies of those in the majority that I find baffling. I am never sure how to respond when something like this has happened. Would I seem insensitive if I laughed out loud? Would I be rude if I simply said "seriously right now?" Or would I seem ungrateful if I said outright "you're an idiot.."

Regardless of what my response should or should not be, here are a few things that able-bodied people do that I find downright perplexing:

1. Taking the elevator one floor up or one floor down. Whenever I am in the elevator and I watch the able-bodied person press the number that is only down or up one floor I become the Staring World Champion. I hope the many holes I have bored in the back of people's skulls has had an effect on someone out there!

2. Fleeing or moving out of the way five feet in advance of my approach. It is endlessly amusing to me when people flee from my presence. It allows me to pretend that I've got such an abundance of power and intimidation in my overbearing 3ft, fragile skeleton presence. Or perhaps those are just the people who were never told that cooties don't really exist? You let me know.

3. "Your shoes are untied and I don't want you to trip." Wait.. what? As a wheelchair user who has a wealth of sarcastic remarks at the ready, my immediate response is always "show me how to trip sitting down!" While I appreciate the concern (they HAVE gotten tangled in my front wheels) but it's the urgency and alarm that I'm being told that my shoelaces are untied is what baffles me. Don't worry, I'm not about to launch into a marathon sprint any time soon.