"Open the door then get out of the way."
I was a member of a church in Irving Texas at the young age of 23. I met a very bitter paraplegic man in bible study. We eventually became friends and he taught me a valuable lesson and offered insight to my character. One evening the bible class was meeting at a home outside of church. I saw my friend and his wife pulling up in front of the house with their child. I ran to open the door to let him in. The doorway wasn't wide enough to fit him and me comfortably. I sucked in my gut and helped push his chair through the door. It was a snug fit, to say the least. He turned to me and said, "I can tell a lot about the character of a person by the way they open the door. Some people act as if they didn't see me coming and continue on. Some people open the door but stand in the way and make it hard for me to maneuver. But sometimes you get a person that will not only open the door but get the heck out of the way." At that moment I decided not to get my feathers ruffled by him insulting my eagerness to help. Instead, I chose to become a person to open the door and get the heck out of the way.
I am a movie buff and always seem to take the time to sit down, relax, and enjoy the latest flick. Tonight I rented ‘MusicWithin'. It was recommended by a ‘Newbie' real estate agent. She said it is the best movie of the year thus far. I will not give you her name because she went to work for a direct competitor instead of joining my office. We will call her ‘Kim' for now but I am hoping to welcome her into my office in the near future.
As I sat and watched the movie I realized it was reflecting upon events that happened when I was ‘a baby'. I had no idea of what disabled people went through prior to the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA). I certainly understood the law and concept behind it before watching the movie. When I took the state licensing exam to obtain my real estate license it came up on one the test questions. I never really, and probably/hopefully, will never ‘get it'.
What I did ‘get' was a sense of pride to be an American and practicing as a licensed Realtor. While watching the movie it became very clear to me how hard life was for the disabled prior to ADA.
If you are a Realtor and fortunate enough to live in this country I want you to really think about the privileges we have. Take into consideration that the ADA is not just an answer to the multiple choice question on your test. Make a conscious note of what that really means, why individuals had to fight to make a law, and how you will practice it in your business every day and with every transaction.
If you haven't seen the movie rent it. Be forewarned it has some foul language. If you can tolerate that enough to get through the movie I think you will be moved just as I was.
http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm
BTW- It has some of the best music on the soundtrack I have ever heard.
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