[East] Disabled PAXers Meetup?

Facelesscog

Hi there, everybody. Those of you who have been to the last couple (2'nd) Q&A panels may know me as the guy who stood up from his wheelchair to hug Gabe and whose leg was hoisted up (ala The Lion King) on the main stage. My wife and I have been lucky enough to attend all three PAX Easts, and from the very beginning, the staff was kind enough to point out the medical badges, and how useful they would be to someone like myself (in a wheelchair).

So, for three years running, I have showed up a bit early, headed over to the Will Call desk and retrieved my medical badge (and the +1 for my wife). Due to the nature of things, we usually end up seeing the same people at panels over the years, as we (typically) end up seated in the same area. For those who aren't familiar with them, the medical badges exist to assist people who, for one reason or another, would have trouble standing in line, need extra space or assistance, or other "disabilities." From the outside, it may seem like a pretty sweet deal, and in truth, it kinda is. True, we get to skip most lines and get seated up front at most panels, but much like the good parking spots, we pay a pretty big price for it.

It was finally this year, while doing some volunteer work for AbleGamers, that it occurred to me, maybe a meetup is in order. You see, while the medical badge is great, and truly necessary in most cases, sometimes, you can't help but feel a little different. I, for one, feel a bit guilty for skipping the lines, as odd as that sounds. It occurred to me that if I'm sometimes uncomfortable with it, there must be others who sometimes feel the same way. So, I thought that perhaps a meetup would be in order...a chance for all the folks who take advantage of the medical badge to get together, introduce themselves, tell their stories, etc. In short, it would let us all see that we're not alone. Of course, there's also the chance that I'm the only one who thinks this is a good idea. If that's the case, no problem. As it is, we've certainly got a long time to plan.

So, if any black badgers out there think this is a decent idea, please chime in and let me know. I've had the chance to introduce myself to some of you, and I have yet to be disappointed, so I'd really love the chance to meet more. Later, folks.

UNHMAN

Where would you set up as a meeting place?

Facelesscog

Hmm...Good question. Just about anywhere in the BCEC is accessible, so if we stayed inside the building, we wouldn't have much of a problem, same for if we decided to meet over in the lobby or mezzanine of the Westin. I think, as a first idea off the top of my head, I'd say the mezzanine in the Westin (where they set up for the Pre-PAXEast Game Night) would be a great place to meet up, if we did it during the day. (At night, it fills quickly with board gamers.)

LexiconGrrl

FC - please pardon my hijaking this thread for a minute, but I wanted to say that I just saw the video of you giving Mike a standing hug at the Q&A last East. I bawled my eyes out. That was about the best thing I've seen in a long, long time. How you kept it together I'll never know.

Aaaaaand, back to the thread topic.

Facelesscog

Awww, thanks Lexi. I think it helped that I had gotten my crying out of the way earlier in the weekend. I have several friends who had NEVER seen me standing. I met them after I was in the wheelchair, and outside of videos, they had never seen me on my feet. Earlier in the weekend, I was able to give out several standing hugs to these friends, which caused more than my share of bawling. By the time I got to the 2nd Q&A, I was all cried out.

UNHMAN

Is it for next PAX East or sometime between now and then?

Facelesscog

Oh, I'm definitely talking about doing it at the next PAX East...which, admittedly, is quite a ways away. It's probably too early to even think about it, but I wanted to post this while I was still thinking about it, so I wouldn't forget.