First Off...

By Raymond D. Cohen

First off, I would like to offer a personal thank you to Professor Stephen Hawking for his participation in Lisa Bendall’s article "To Boldly Go..." (p.5). Professor Hawking has become today’s foremost astrophysicist and, in spite of the physical limitations imposed by advanced ALS, has contributed more than any living human to the body of knowledge surrounding this important and fascinating field. As such, he is proof that, at a certain level, physical characteristics take a back seat to the power of mind.

As promised, we re-visit cartoonist John Callahan in this issue (p.94). Timely, given that our last issue carried some Callahan humour that certainly received mixed reviews. Clearly, not everybody accepted the humour printed on this page in the spirit in which it was intended. The cartoon showed a woman in a lingerie shop trying on what was supposed to be a Madonna-style bra (cones), and being a little miffed at the fact that each of the cones had little faces (somewhat resembling yours truly). The caption read, "I’m sorry! I thought you said Cohens, not cones!"

I regret any affront caused to those readers who may have been insulted by this cartoon and, in truth, the humour, from my point of view was contained in the play of words involving my name; in other words, there was no malice intended -- most certainly not to Jews and women, as some of our letters suggest.

While we are still in the "let’s-set-the record-straight department" there are a couple of other matters I should address. We had hoped to present comedian Richard Pryor in this issue. Unfortunately, this did not pan out, but we are optimistic about bringing him to you in very short order.

And, every once in a while, in the life of a magazine publisher, the unthinkable happens -- a typo or error discovered after the press run -- and after thousands and thousands of copies of this mistake are scattered all over the country. So it was that our National Access Awareness Week (NAAW) special feature contained clip art from two years ago, boldly announcing that NAAW would happen from May 26 to June 1, 1991. Of course, these dates should have been May 31 to June 6, 1993. I regret any inconvenience or confusion caused by this error.

More on NAAW: Following this year’s Access Awareness Week, the major partners got together to plan the future of what has become Canada’s premier national evaluation and celebration of disability. The opinions of all of the partners were unanimous. A transition team was established to guide NAAW into the future, with an agreement to streamline the national structure and further allocate resources to local organizers. The consensus: NAAW has as its greatest value the enhancement of the lives of people with disabilities at the local level -- and increasingly NAAW resources and activities will be directed accordingly.

Don’t miss Marie White’s account of "A Future with Rights -- the Right Future" (p.44). Human rights for persons with an intellectual disability are truly reaching a higher level in Newfoundland. The province is now setting about the business of paving the way for its communities to accept people with intellectual disabilities as full participants -- and, in so doing, providing a standard for the rest of Canada. Diane Richler, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Association for Community Living, gives us a context for this unprecedented development (p.46).

Election time looms in Canada -- and, as mentioned in last issue’s "My Word!", we have election news for you. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, shares with ABILITIES some of the things Elections Canada has been doing to make voting more accessible (p.28).

ABILITIES consulted major consumer groups such as the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped and Canadian Association for Community Living to arrive at questions we were hoping to pose to the leaders of three of Canada’s major political parties. Unfortunately, with the exception of the New Democratic Party’s Audrey McLaughlin, time and scheduling did not work in our favour. As we considered it important to present a balanced view, it was decided that Prime Minister Kim Campbell, Liberal Leader Jean Chrétien and NDP Leader Audrey McLaughlin would each provide a letter (p.30) stating their party’s stance on disability issues. The questions we were going to pose have been printed for your consideration (p.26). We at ABILITIES think it important for people who care about disability issues to take the time necessary to consider these questions -- prior to voting.