Three Run Jimmy Jack

Once when I was a kid either at the Anoka County Fair or the Minnesota State Fair, my brother and I paid to see a midget. It was a trailer and I think the sign on the trailer said "World's Smallest Man". It could have said, "World's Smallest Woman." I can't remember which. I don't know what I expected but we paid our money and we got to go in. What we saw inside was a very small person, although I doubt they were the world's smallest anything. This person, whose sex I can't remember, was black and basically had an apartment behind plexiglass. This small person was sitting on a couch watching TV. He or she looked up at us, then back to the TV. I smiled and waved, and got no response. It still haunts me to this day, and I think I am scared that I am the freak in this story. I never went in for something like that again. Somehow it isn't right. Although who is being exploited? Me or the person on the couch watching TV?

There is a great movie called, "How's Your News" where people with disabilities get a microphone and a cameraman and go on the road interviewing people. Their candidness causes quite a few very honest unexpected responses. I love those guys. I somehow feel akin to people with disabilities. I feel like I know them or can understand how they feel. I was on crutches for about 4 months, so I feel a little like I can relate to physical disabilities. I can't really relate to retardedness, but for some reason I feel close to people with mental disabilities too. There seems to be so much bogosity in the world, but the people with bigger problems seem to be just trying to get through the day do what they are supposed to and not screw up. I feel like that all the time.